Communism/Socialism and the EU believe in a nationality free world where all are one. My wife grew up in the USSR in Central Asia. They were taught Russian not their native Kyrgyz. They were not Kyrgyz but citizens of the USSR. This is why Putin claims that former members of the Soviet bloc have no right to a separate existence.
IThe EU wants to become a Unitary state. It can only truly achieve that aim by removing nationality and making people accept that they are Europeans. It has been a slow erosion of history promoted by successive governments and happily taught in schools and Universities. Tory governments should have reversed it and did nothing. Now valuing our history gets one branded as Far Right or Racist. My wife, 22 years here with a successful career, voted Brexit because the EU reminded her of the USSR. She's a proud Brit as are so many who know what socialism does to people's lives.
As long ago as 1911, Booker T Washington said "I am afraid that there is a certain class of race-problem solvers who don't want the patient to get well, because as long as the disease holds out they have not only an easy means of making a living, but also an easy medium through which to make themselves prominent before the public". The best way to stop racism is to stop talking about it, not to always be talking about it. No doubt there is another department of the government scratching their heads wondering why Patriotic Alternative and their ilk are doing the rounds.
I have often thought about this issue in passing, ever since when at a family dinner not long after the Brexit vote, my partner's daughter suddenly turned to me and said: "I bet you are proud of this country aren't you Colin?", which took me by surprise, but of course I answered "Yes", whereupon the other young people present all made it clear that they were ashamed of this country. Brainwashing completed, I'd say. But, let me widen this, what country can be proud of its past if today's criterion is applied? Certainly not any colonial power, which rules out Britain, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Holland or Germany. What about any country that has ever invaded another country for aggrandizement? That rules out almost every country in the world. What about countries that have oppressed and replaced their native peoples with immigrants? That excludes Australia, NZ, USA, all the South American countries and the West Indies. What about those countries that practised slavery? Well, apart from the usual suspects including the Ottomans who were the biggest slave traders and the Russians (from whose language the word 'slave' emanates -Slav -)what about the African countries who practised slavery on a massive scale, and still do so today?
If the self-richeous Lefties wish to delve into history, I bet that every country in the world has carried out acts of barbarism and enslavement, because it is a natural human condition to wish to expand and increase one's wealth and land; it happens every day on the streets - someone sees someone with something that they would like, so they take it.
This is a really tricky one. I, by nature, agree with everything Matt writes and always would have done. But we somehow have to get our heads round the idea that in terms of slavery we are bit different. The condition of slavery has existed since time began but in later historical terms it has normally been imposed on the losers of conflicts or criminals and such like. I suspect that our involvement was unusual (probably not unique) in imposing slavery on innocent human beings for commercial gain. How do we get round this?
It doesn't bother me, because lots of other countries treated slavery as a commercial enterprise, particularly the Ottomans, who it is estimated transported 18 million Africans to their lands, all of them being slaughtered when their usefulness expired, and do not forget that it was the Africans themselves who captured and sold these people to the slave-trading nations, but more relevant to me, as a working-class person, is that none of this was the fault of the working-class, who were de facto slaves themselves, whether as serfs working on the lands of the ruling-class or as workers in the Victorian factories, who were treated as sub-human, being paid subsistence wages, with no health and safety, suffering appalling injuries and health problems as a result, and being dismissed at the whims of foremen and managers. The working-class did not have the right to vote, and therefore no say in how the country was run, and therefore have no reason to feel any guilt for the past. Maybe that is why the Elite hate them so much.
Others have already said this, but I feel driven to add my voice if only to reinforce theirs. There is nothing unique about the British role in the slave trade as I understand it, given the numbers of other European countries cashing in on it.
What I do understand to be unique is the Act of Parliament that abolished Slavery in Britain and its colonies and even diverted a squadron of the Royal Navy on to the role of intercepting slave ships of all nations on the high seas. The slaves were given a form of freedom due to the vast majority having no clue of their continent of origin let alone country.
The ships were either repurposed to intercepting other slavers or sunk. This cost British taxpayers many millions of pounds.
We don’t have to “get around it”. We acknowledge that it happened, that’s all. It wasn’t US (the current population) who were involved in slavery. It was some of our ancestors. WE bear no responsibility for it at all and thus should feel no shame. It would be ridiculous to do so.
I am not “proud” of being English/British. My nationality is not a personal achievement so why would I be? I love my country. It is my home and I’m deeply appreciative that it is a free, prosperous nation with democratic values at its heart. And it is familiar to me, so gives me a sense of belonging and comfort. That is what my patriotism is based on. A love of my home.
It would be boring and predictable of me to quote reproduce Orwell's quote "He who control the past controls the future" but a more apt quote from Nietzsche is (regarding ressentiment): "The sufferers, one and all, are frighteningly willing and inventive in their pretexts for painful emotions; they even enjoy being mistrustful and dwelling on wrongs and imagined slights ... they rip open the oldest wounds and make themselves bleed to death from scars long since healed, they make evil-doers out of friend, wife, child, and anyone else near them". This is almost a daily occurrence.
There seems no room for debate or discussion and, ultimately, history is not changed by these activities; the removal of statues and the renaming of streets is often perceived as punishing people who have personally done nothing to please people who have not personally suffered. The irony is that many of those on the list of people to be expunged from history contributed to a chain of circumstances ultimately leading to the freedom that allows such plans to be considered.
Learn History. Embrace it. Don't repeat the bad bits. That's not difficult, is it?
All that you write of is happening here in Australia at a furious rate of knots. Our school curriculum has been gutted. Our children from pre-school to university are taught to hate our history; that gender is fluid; that feelings trump science and on (and on) it goes. Our universities, in particular are hotbeds of leftist so-called 'progressive thinking.' We have on-campus demonstrations against Israel on an almost daily basis. Its as though the holocaust never happened and anti-semitism is all the rage once again.
Most alarming of all, our institutions... politicians, the judiciary, the police, the defence forces, the schools, sporting codes, even big business along with local government are all well and truly on board
with the agenda of self hate and destruction of the past.
Last year about 60% of Australians voted against establishment of a race based insertion into our hitherto 'colourblind' constitution. In the almost 12 months since, it is as though nothing has changed. The proponents of the change (all of the above institutions, that is) are simply powering on as though the nation actually voted in favour.
Brilliant post, James. The ONLY country in the West where this is not happening is Switzerland because Switzerland has direct democracy and - unlike Australia and Britain - every government in Switzerland MUST implement the results of a referendum. Every country in the West needs Swiss Direct Democracy.
Understanding people of the past in their historical perspective is a compliment we pay them in the hope that people in the future will do the same to us. In their historical context, many people (famous or not) would have been unremarkable for racism, beating their wives, kicking animals and sending unpopular relatives to asylums. People of historic significance are, like us all, flawed. In many ways, that is what makes them interesting and allows us to relate to them. Shine a bright enough spot-light on any one of them and you are likely to find some aspect of unacceptability: Martin Luther-King Jr was a serial philanderer; Pope Benedict XVI had been in the Hitler Youth (albeit briefly and involuntarily); Aristotle was a misogynist, etc., ad infinitum. One man's freedom fighter will always be another man's terrorist (e.g., Mandela). Having [informed] discussions about (say) Churchill is healthy and should allow individuals to come to their own opinions; having a conclusion imposed upon all is not a healthy part of democracy.
The onus should be on educating the audience, not vilifying the art/streets/buildings. It is the job of institutions and heritage organisations to objectively tell us about the cultures that produced the artefacts (and why), not altering them to fit the sensibilities of a new breed of people who are utterly intolerant and demand that everything, new and old, fit their particular moral compass. Everything is nuanced, History almost infinitely so. A policy of "retain and explain" seemed to me classic British compromise, so why push further? To see the UK tearing at its own history makes me think of a group of vegans tearing in torment at their own flesh because they've realised that they themselves are made of meat.
I definitely hold the ethno traditional pride in being British, to my core, but I am not very proud of Britain at present . We have moved towards becoming a democracy in name only where politicians feel no obligation to pay more than lip service to the concerns of the majority . Free speech is under attack as never before and we are having diversity rammed down our throats at every turn . You WILL embrace diversity whether you like it or not !!!!!!
I feel alienated from our political system , alienated from and worried about our educational system , my four year old grandson starts school this week , but already has come home from preschool with a question about gender fluidity .
Fortunately I saved the best children’s books from previous generations as many of today’s offerings are dumbed down as far as language goes and designed to indoctrinate. It doesn’t make me feel proud when I look at our education establishments. Or dirty streets. Public services not functioning well. The break down of law and order , knife crime is endemic, elder abuse by teenagers is growing, and many children seem feral.
The powers that be are not standing up for British values in our education, policing , justice, civil service . I am hard pressed to think of anywhere it happens . Even the National Trust went woke .
If you dilute anything sufficiently it disappears and when I look around me at the sheer numbers of immigrants that is what is happening here . How can you have a national picture when the pieces of the jigsaw don’t fit together and never will.
So I am very proud to be British , of my heritage, but I am not proud of Britain either at home or on the world stage . Say what you like about Boris Johnson but he is the only recent prime minister who oozed pride in being British and I believed him . That overt pride in being British is what we need in a leader
Why should we, The British, those of this Isle, change ourselves to suit those who seek to come here under whatever terms and reasons? Surely - like other countries - we should welcome them but expect that they “fit in” with our culture and our ways of life?? Move to any other country and that is what they expect of newcomers so why are we being told we should be different?
The only outcome is eradication of all that is British. 🙄☹️🥲
This sort of thing used to make me despair: now I just roll my eyes at the tedious repetitiveness and predictability. Those responsible need to be told to "grow up" and concentrate on what the people of the UK are desperate for (such as healthcare, effective public transport , etc.,) rather than trying to impose on people that with which they do not agree. Such plans are very authoritarian and risk making the [assumed] offended groups look so weak and delicate that they need special protection.
If only they were capable of 'growing up' we have a generation of brats, protected by helicopter parents, harassing schoolteachers for refusing to acknowledge the genius they perceive. We have military institutions who must guard their every word unless tomorrows armed forces recruits feel uncomfortable. How they will ever take up arms is beyond me. Their sense of entitlement beggars belief.
I am so glad to see the defaced statue of Churchill. It reminds me how angry I was to see this done. As a baby I was taken to his lying in state.
In my fury I cycled from north London to Parliament Square with some cleaning materials at 7am the next day after the vandals had been.
There I met up with a painter and decorator who had the same feeling. He taught me that the way to gently clean the stone was with 10% turpentine. We worked carefully on several statues removing stickers and paint for a couple of hours.
I never knew his name,but we chatted amicably in our shared work and ,despite very different backgrounds we shared a pride in our history.
Without history we have no future, history is important you learn from the past enabling you to go forward celebrating the good things we have achieved and learning from the bad things we have done. Our history is amazing one that built us into the nation we are today, the liberal woke left might try to whitewash it away but those such as myself, proud of our nation and accomplishments, have ensured our children do not forget despite 3 decades of a left leaning education systems backed shamefully by both Labour and fake Tory governments who have done their best to erase our history, culture and heritage. It's up to ordinary people like us to ensure none of what we have a achieved is forgotten, we must keep telling our children or all is lost.
With no onservative party that was willing to protect our history or education establishment, and a current government also unwilling, I fear the worst. The electorate mostly favour the same two parties. I don't see a way out unless the electorate change. These two parties are united in destroying us, both have too few people willing to change the broken status quo.
The 6th leader of the Tories will still inherit a socially liberal party that will just continue to purge and we'll be back at square 1 as too many people are just tribal.
You are right. The current selection exercise is a farce. No one of the candidates will be able to establish an agenda so long as the deep, deep fault lines in the party are not resolved. The conceprt of "unifying" the party is for the birds. The differences are too profound. One flank or the other has to establish itself as "Tory".
Communism/Socialism and the EU believe in a nationality free world where all are one. My wife grew up in the USSR in Central Asia. They were taught Russian not their native Kyrgyz. They were not Kyrgyz but citizens of the USSR. This is why Putin claims that former members of the Soviet bloc have no right to a separate existence.
IThe EU wants to become a Unitary state. It can only truly achieve that aim by removing nationality and making people accept that they are Europeans. It has been a slow erosion of history promoted by successive governments and happily taught in schools and Universities. Tory governments should have reversed it and did nothing. Now valuing our history gets one branded as Far Right or Racist. My wife, 22 years here with a successful career, voted Brexit because the EU reminded her of the USSR. She's a proud Brit as are so many who know what socialism does to people's lives.
As long ago as 1911, Booker T Washington said "I am afraid that there is a certain class of race-problem solvers who don't want the patient to get well, because as long as the disease holds out they have not only an easy means of making a living, but also an easy medium through which to make themselves prominent before the public". The best way to stop racism is to stop talking about it, not to always be talking about it. No doubt there is another department of the government scratching their heads wondering why Patriotic Alternative and their ilk are doing the rounds.
"Grifters gotta grift"... And the "race grifters" appear to be the most dedicated, unfortunately.
I have often thought about this issue in passing, ever since when at a family dinner not long after the Brexit vote, my partner's daughter suddenly turned to me and said: "I bet you are proud of this country aren't you Colin?", which took me by surprise, but of course I answered "Yes", whereupon the other young people present all made it clear that they were ashamed of this country. Brainwashing completed, I'd say. But, let me widen this, what country can be proud of its past if today's criterion is applied? Certainly not any colonial power, which rules out Britain, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Holland or Germany. What about any country that has ever invaded another country for aggrandizement? That rules out almost every country in the world. What about countries that have oppressed and replaced their native peoples with immigrants? That excludes Australia, NZ, USA, all the South American countries and the West Indies. What about those countries that practised slavery? Well, apart from the usual suspects including the Ottomans who were the biggest slave traders and the Russians (from whose language the word 'slave' emanates -Slav -)what about the African countries who practised slavery on a massive scale, and still do so today?
If the self-richeous Lefties wish to delve into history, I bet that every country in the world has carried out acts of barbarism and enslavement, because it is a natural human condition to wish to expand and increase one's wealth and land; it happens every day on the streets - someone sees someone with something that they would like, so they take it.
This is a really tricky one. I, by nature, agree with everything Matt writes and always would have done. But we somehow have to get our heads round the idea that in terms of slavery we are bit different. The condition of slavery has existed since time began but in later historical terms it has normally been imposed on the losers of conflicts or criminals and such like. I suspect that our involvement was unusual (probably not unique) in imposing slavery on innocent human beings for commercial gain. How do we get round this?
It doesn't bother me, because lots of other countries treated slavery as a commercial enterprise, particularly the Ottomans, who it is estimated transported 18 million Africans to their lands, all of them being slaughtered when their usefulness expired, and do not forget that it was the Africans themselves who captured and sold these people to the slave-trading nations, but more relevant to me, as a working-class person, is that none of this was the fault of the working-class, who were de facto slaves themselves, whether as serfs working on the lands of the ruling-class or as workers in the Victorian factories, who were treated as sub-human, being paid subsistence wages, with no health and safety, suffering appalling injuries and health problems as a result, and being dismissed at the whims of foremen and managers. The working-class did not have the right to vote, and therefore no say in how the country was run, and therefore have no reason to feel any guilt for the past. Maybe that is why the Elite hate them so much.
Others have already said this, but I feel driven to add my voice if only to reinforce theirs. There is nothing unique about the British role in the slave trade as I understand it, given the numbers of other European countries cashing in on it.
What I do understand to be unique is the Act of Parliament that abolished Slavery in Britain and its colonies and even diverted a squadron of the Royal Navy on to the role of intercepting slave ships of all nations on the high seas. The slaves were given a form of freedom due to the vast majority having no clue of their continent of origin let alone country.
The ships were either repurposed to intercepting other slavers or sunk. This cost British taxpayers many millions of pounds.
That I believe is unique and seems very British.
We don’t have to “get around it”. We acknowledge that it happened, that’s all. It wasn’t US (the current population) who were involved in slavery. It was some of our ancestors. WE bear no responsibility for it at all and thus should feel no shame. It would be ridiculous to do so.
I am not “proud” of being English/British. My nationality is not a personal achievement so why would I be? I love my country. It is my home and I’m deeply appreciative that it is a free, prosperous nation with democratic values at its heart. And it is familiar to me, so gives me a sense of belonging and comfort. That is what my patriotism is based on. A love of my home.
"Never let your enemies educate your children"
~ Malcolm X
It would be boring and predictable of me to quote reproduce Orwell's quote "He who control the past controls the future" but a more apt quote from Nietzsche is (regarding ressentiment): "The sufferers, one and all, are frighteningly willing and inventive in their pretexts for painful emotions; they even enjoy being mistrustful and dwelling on wrongs and imagined slights ... they rip open the oldest wounds and make themselves bleed to death from scars long since healed, they make evil-doers out of friend, wife, child, and anyone else near them". This is almost a daily occurrence.
Some such individuals love to pick at their scars until they bleed. Then they blame the other person for their open wound.
There seems no room for debate or discussion and, ultimately, history is not changed by these activities; the removal of statues and the renaming of streets is often perceived as punishing people who have personally done nothing to please people who have not personally suffered. The irony is that many of those on the list of people to be expunged from history contributed to a chain of circumstances ultimately leading to the freedom that allows such plans to be considered.
Learn History. Embrace it. Don't repeat the bad bits. That's not difficult, is it?
All that you write of is happening here in Australia at a furious rate of knots. Our school curriculum has been gutted. Our children from pre-school to university are taught to hate our history; that gender is fluid; that feelings trump science and on (and on) it goes. Our universities, in particular are hotbeds of leftist so-called 'progressive thinking.' We have on-campus demonstrations against Israel on an almost daily basis. Its as though the holocaust never happened and anti-semitism is all the rage once again.
Most alarming of all, our institutions... politicians, the judiciary, the police, the defence forces, the schools, sporting codes, even big business along with local government are all well and truly on board
with the agenda of self hate and destruction of the past.
Last year about 60% of Australians voted against establishment of a race based insertion into our hitherto 'colourblind' constitution. In the almost 12 months since, it is as though nothing has changed. The proponents of the change (all of the above institutions, that is) are simply powering on as though the nation actually voted in favour.
Brilliant post, James. The ONLY country in the West where this is not happening is Switzerland because Switzerland has direct democracy and - unlike Australia and Britain - every government in Switzerland MUST implement the results of a referendum. Every country in the West needs Swiss Direct Democracy.
We in England feel your pain.
It’s bad in Canada too with idiot Trudeau in power.
Understanding people of the past in their historical perspective is a compliment we pay them in the hope that people in the future will do the same to us. In their historical context, many people (famous or not) would have been unremarkable for racism, beating their wives, kicking animals and sending unpopular relatives to asylums. People of historic significance are, like us all, flawed. In many ways, that is what makes them interesting and allows us to relate to them. Shine a bright enough spot-light on any one of them and you are likely to find some aspect of unacceptability: Martin Luther-King Jr was a serial philanderer; Pope Benedict XVI had been in the Hitler Youth (albeit briefly and involuntarily); Aristotle was a misogynist, etc., ad infinitum. One man's freedom fighter will always be another man's terrorist (e.g., Mandela). Having [informed] discussions about (say) Churchill is healthy and should allow individuals to come to their own opinions; having a conclusion imposed upon all is not a healthy part of democracy.
The onus should be on educating the audience, not vilifying the art/streets/buildings. It is the job of institutions and heritage organisations to objectively tell us about the cultures that produced the artefacts (and why), not altering them to fit the sensibilities of a new breed of people who are utterly intolerant and demand that everything, new and old, fit their particular moral compass. Everything is nuanced, History almost infinitely so. A policy of "retain and explain" seemed to me classic British compromise, so why push further? To see the UK tearing at its own history makes me think of a group of vegans tearing in torment at their own flesh because they've realised that they themselves are made of meat.
I definitely hold the ethno traditional pride in being British, to my core, but I am not very proud of Britain at present . We have moved towards becoming a democracy in name only where politicians feel no obligation to pay more than lip service to the concerns of the majority . Free speech is under attack as never before and we are having diversity rammed down our throats at every turn . You WILL embrace diversity whether you like it or not !!!!!!
I feel alienated from our political system , alienated from and worried about our educational system , my four year old grandson starts school this week , but already has come home from preschool with a question about gender fluidity .
Fortunately I saved the best children’s books from previous generations as many of today’s offerings are dumbed down as far as language goes and designed to indoctrinate. It doesn’t make me feel proud when I look at our education establishments. Or dirty streets. Public services not functioning well. The break down of law and order , knife crime is endemic, elder abuse by teenagers is growing, and many children seem feral.
The powers that be are not standing up for British values in our education, policing , justice, civil service . I am hard pressed to think of anywhere it happens . Even the National Trust went woke .
If you dilute anything sufficiently it disappears and when I look around me at the sheer numbers of immigrants that is what is happening here . How can you have a national picture when the pieces of the jigsaw don’t fit together and never will.
So I am very proud to be British , of my heritage, but I am not proud of Britain either at home or on the world stage . Say what you like about Boris Johnson but he is the only recent prime minister who oozed pride in being British and I believed him . That overt pride in being British is what we need in a leader
Well said!
Why should we, The British, those of this Isle, change ourselves to suit those who seek to come here under whatever terms and reasons? Surely - like other countries - we should welcome them but expect that they “fit in” with our culture and our ways of life?? Move to any other country and that is what they expect of newcomers so why are we being told we should be different?
The only outcome is eradication of all that is British. 🙄☹️🥲
This sort of thing used to make me despair: now I just roll my eyes at the tedious repetitiveness and predictability. Those responsible need to be told to "grow up" and concentrate on what the people of the UK are desperate for (such as healthcare, effective public transport , etc.,) rather than trying to impose on people that with which they do not agree. Such plans are very authoritarian and risk making the [assumed] offended groups look so weak and delicate that they need special protection.
If only they were capable of 'growing up' we have a generation of brats, protected by helicopter parents, harassing schoolteachers for refusing to acknowledge the genius they perceive. We have military institutions who must guard their every word unless tomorrows armed forces recruits feel uncomfortable. How they will ever take up arms is beyond me. Their sense of entitlement beggars belief.
Thankyou for this Matt.
I am so glad to see the defaced statue of Churchill. It reminds me how angry I was to see this done. As a baby I was taken to his lying in state.
In my fury I cycled from north London to Parliament Square with some cleaning materials at 7am the next day after the vandals had been.
There I met up with a painter and decorator who had the same feeling. He taught me that the way to gently clean the stone was with 10% turpentine. We worked carefully on several statues removing stickers and paint for a couple of hours.
I never knew his name,but we chatted amicably in our shared work and ,despite very different backgrounds we shared a pride in our history.
It is a fabulous memory.
What a wonderful, instinctive thing that you both did. I applaud you both.
We live under a anti White regime now.
Without history we have no future, history is important you learn from the past enabling you to go forward celebrating the good things we have achieved and learning from the bad things we have done. Our history is amazing one that built us into the nation we are today, the liberal woke left might try to whitewash it away but those such as myself, proud of our nation and accomplishments, have ensured our children do not forget despite 3 decades of a left leaning education systems backed shamefully by both Labour and fake Tory governments who have done their best to erase our history, culture and heritage. It's up to ordinary people like us to ensure none of what we have a achieved is forgotten, we must keep telling our children or all is lost.
With no onservative party that was willing to protect our history or education establishment, and a current government also unwilling, I fear the worst. The electorate mostly favour the same two parties. I don't see a way out unless the electorate change. These two parties are united in destroying us, both have too few people willing to change the broken status quo.
The 6th leader of the Tories will still inherit a socially liberal party that will just continue to purge and we'll be back at square 1 as too many people are just tribal.
You are right. The current selection exercise is a farce. No one of the candidates will be able to establish an agenda so long as the deep, deep fault lines in the party are not resolved. The conceprt of "unifying" the party is for the birds. The differences are too profound. One flank or the other has to establish itself as "Tory".