We cannot allow the emotion of greed, hate and fear to win against logic, fact and love.
I remember thinking when Teressa May put her Brexit plan to the House of Commons, on its third time - that surely, out of 650 MP's - there must be 326 who were endowed with more common sense than the rest.
It was not just a case of enough of our MP's putting their own personal gripes or political loyalties aside for the common good - but for the good of Europe and indeed the whole world.
But a lack of leadership, misguided loyalties and personal egos got in the way, and of course, I was wrong.
MP's should have read and memorised Ernest Hemingway's character, Robert Jordon's famous quote:
"Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be. But what will happen in all the other days that will ever come can depend on what you do today."
It seems to me that this "inter-connectivity" is the big issue that no one quite appreciates and it isn't even discussed. It is not on peoples radar, but it should be.
Out of all the objections I have listened to on the topic of Brexit, I have not heard one compelling or logical argument that is persuasive. From who should have the right to work in the UK - to the European Court decisions - to the amount of money we pay into Europe.
Brexit is trivial when compared to the issues facing our world today. The whole idea of Brexit only exemplifies the fear of greed and indolence of the self-important in our society.
Notwithstanding, the intransigence, provocation and unreasonableness of some EU leaders, we in the United Kingdom should have risen above this.
There are lots of issues in Europe that can be improved, and the EU is certainly not a perfect organisation for all its members. But that inevitably goes with the territory of belonging to any organisation. No member is going to like all the decisions.
But when you belong, you can work from with-in to improve. Being the second wealthiest nation in the EU, we in the UK pulled our weight and were a respected voice in many areas for fairness and reason.
Forget about the federalists who want to create a "United States of Europe" for the moment. That is a distraction and a red herring.
But dismantling the fabric of Europe is impossible without massive consequences. While some of them will have been anticipated - there will be others that no one has foreseen, and they will possibly be devastating.
The point is that the whole premise for Brexit is utterly selfish. Some may well yearn for the nostalgia of Britain past. But many intelligent people are being foolish and not thinking it through. They are thinking small and short term and encouraging the uninformed to retreat into their fear.
A truism of life is that if you keep working at something, imperfect as it might be, you will improve. So it is with the EU. But if we walk away, all is lost, and not just for us but so many more.
Firstly it is vital to acknowledge the world is a very complexed place and is facing some massive issues that concern every country and individual in the world.
What is depressing is that there are far more significant problems than Brexit for which we have to find answers. If our world is to survive and move forward for the long term, we will need to gather a consensus and a motivation to achieve this.
If the British are retreating into self-obsession, it sends a bleak message to our partners in the world. And of course, if Europe splinters because we left and all the consequences that could involve - we will have caused even more division in our world and we will be rightly vilified.
The irony is not lost here. It was the United Kingdom of Great Britain, who, at such massive personal cost, came to the rescue of Europe twice, in two world wars. And do we want it written into history, "the UK then deserted Europe in its hour of need", and perhaps was indeed the cause and the catalyst of, who knows what catastrophe?
Far more gravely, if the UK and Europe are unable to conclude successful negotiations - what chance has the rest of the world got of solving so many global issues that affect so many different countries.
There is a real urgency for solving the giant issues of our world. These are all doable if we act now. But we do need to take action if we want to address the problems facing our world and the world we leave to our children. Do we really want to leave our children with the issues of deforestation, pollution, overpopulation, famine, the extinction of species, rising sea levels, increasing temperatures - the list is long and growing?
It is time to act, to find solutions, to be imaginative, to commit to solving the issues with the same determination of those who defended our country during the last world war.
But this takes leadership - which means finding exceptional people who can command respect and who have the vision and imagination, the self-belief and the determination to get the job done.
We and our world are inter-connected. We can't escape this fact. We may not like it but we have to rely on each other if we are going to have any chance of redressing the damage humans have caused our planet.
Brexit is a distraction - a self-inflicted wound that could well turn septic for so many if not revoked. We need a leader who realises that there are much more important challenges facing our world; if not for us, for our children and their children.
Richard Summers - Suffolk - UK - 22nd August 2019
Notes from England