Painted faces tell a different story

THE first principle of modern existence is that two people can be looking at the same thing, and depending on their philosophical perspective, they will extract a completely different meaning from it.

Thus I have seen people of a nationalist bent admiring the way that the World Cup allows the supporters from the various countries to give full vent to that nationalism, and for everybody looking at it to see what a glorious sight it is — far better indeed than the anodyne expressions which we associate with the Eurocrats of Brussels, with their dismal efforts to homogenise all our cultures and blend them into one bland Eurosoup.

But I don’t see it like that at all — what I see, with these joyous scenes of flag-waving and face-painting and other such patriotic and indeed beer-driven celebrations, is the perfect argument against the claims of nationalists.

They have been arguing incessantly that our patriotic souls have all been stolen by the little grey men from the Berlaymont, with their sinister movements towards a United States of Europe, their nit-picking regulations and their control freakery in general.

But when I see all these folks going to Russia to support their countries in whatever way they please, I realise that, in truth, the little grey men have made no difference at all, that all those Brexiteer lines about Brussels devouring a people’s vital essence are a load of cobblers.

And looking at these two entirely different perspectives, there is only one possible conclusion: I am right.