Protecting our human rights via international courts and treaties? Encouraging enterprise and investment by remaining a member of (off the top of my head -- certainly one of) the world's largest single market? Profiting from European labour moving into our work force? Getting better international deals by negotiating as a bloc? Standardising our consumer legislation via a government that, while not perfect, is willing to go after big names like Google when they do something wrong? Benefiting from cultural exchange with our neighbours? Boosting the tourism industry by making holidays easy and hassle-free? Fostering international investment by not brazenly going against the advice of almost every economist? Collaborating with our neighbours on important issues like counter-terrorism or nuclear regulation? Access to development and innovation funds targeting our poorest communities, long-forgotten by Westminster? Checking our national government - which is only ever going to get more frighteningly authoritarian - with an essentially centrist one? Having a loud and important voice in one of the world's emergent superpowers? Having the reassurance of being part of a big club to help us when facing bullying or threats from Russia or China? Playing our part to counterbalance America as a western politco-cultural centre (more important now than ever)? Still maintaining the ability to leave at any time if any of the paranoid doomsday scenarios from those 'sovereignty!' people ever actually happen?
No, we'll take what's in May's mystery box.
Why? Because some people watched too much
The X-Files and think the EU is some kind of antidemocratic Illuminati, and some others think that voting Leave will make all the brown and eastern European people they see on their morning bus ride disappear. Oh, yeah, and because of that stupid bus ad that the typical voter was apparently too thick to fact-check.
Maybe the UK will be able to 'achieve' some of those things eventually by negotiating, but it's a long time - a big set-back and a lot of pain and hassle and missed opportunities - just to end up back where we started. I pray I won't be here for that process -- working hard on learning Italian and getting my German back up to scratch at the moment. I was born European and I hope to remain European.