Reading Caroline Jackson MEP's article on the Conservative approach to the EU reminded me of the need for a more positive approach when it comes to Europe - and the need to use temperate language in an area the arouses great passions on all sides. Ms Jackson, who was elected as a Conservative MEP, expresses concern about the Conservative Party's "nasty" tag. She then goes on, without irony, to refer to Conservatives who do not share her more Euro enthusiast vision as "patches of poisonous fungus". Fellow Conservative MEP Dan Hannan comes under fire. Ms Jackson also trains her guns on Conservative representatives at the Council of Europe who, on my reading, are effectively labelled as toadies of Russia's President Putin. Temperate language. Hmmm.
Now I greatly respect Ms Jackson's right to hold a viewpoint and would not attack her for what she and many other members of the war generation so sincerely believe. We should not forget that when we signed up, our political leaders had failed us to the point we were a total basket case. So they thought - and many still believe - that they were saving the country (from themselves or itself is never too clear).
But I do think that as time has moved on, we all need to think about where we are now and our future. It is necessary for younger Britons to set out why a new approach to Europe would be so much more positive for the future of Britain.
For starters, we can't just sit on the sidelines bashing the EU. We need to set out the benefits of our participation in a free trade area shorn of European Governmental involvement so harmful to our economy. We need to set out the positive fact that our growth rate is so much higher than that of the EU and how it could be higher still if we move on from a lot of European legislation that holds us back. And the benefits of adopting a free or freer trade relationship with India, China and other growth economies. This positive approach to the wealth of our nation is not base nationalism - it is about increasing our economic stability and making our country and countrymen richer and stronger for the long term. Britain should be stronger.