Gary's views

Gary's weekly views

Each week an article by Gary has appeared in the Plympton Plymstock and Ivybridge News in South West Devon. The articles are published here

ST GEORGE

Friday is St George’s day and I will be waving my red and white flag. We celebrate him as the patron saint of England, a symbol of triumph over adversity, of courage and honour. Legend has it that our hero took on a mighty dragon and won, an inspirational example to us all.

It falls this year in the same week as the government announced that we will after all get a referendum on the proposed EU Constitution. It comes hot on the heels of the first new British citizens being sworn in under a new system, requiring greater allegiance to our Queen and traditions. It takes place in the midst of a world in turmoil, in Iraq, in the Middle East where we seem to have lost our independent voice.

St. George’s day is a good time to reflect on who we are as a nation. (Forgive me for now applying this to Britain and not just England. Call me old-fashioned, but I still believe in the Union.)

For the major part of the twentieth century we saw our empire gradually decline. During the last fifty years, people have come to our shores in unprecedented numbers, many from vastly different cultures and religions. We have seen our sovereignty increasingly eroded, first by more integration within the EU than many of us ever intended, and then by forces of globalisation pulling the rug from under national governments’ ability to make autonomous decisions.

All of this has thrown us into great confusion about who we are.
So is the dragon destined to win this time round? Many cynics say that the concept of “Britishness” has no more meaning. I profoundly disagree – and now would be a very good time to start rediscovering who we are and plot a course to national self-confidence. May I suggest five possible steps?
1. No more integration into the EU.
2. Insist on much more cultural integration for anyone choosing to settle here.
3. Embrace a more positive vision of our unique standing in a troubled world. There are many things that we do best: not least diplomacy, peacekeeping, aid, law and democracy.
4. Teach our kids a proper version of British history and stop apologising all of the time.
5. Remind ourselves that we can be generous, compassionate and tolerant, and patriotic and proud of our country and heritage at the same time.
It is time for St George to ride again.

posted by Nigel on Sunday, April 25, 2004