Everyone's entitled to there beliefs wrong or right
But I'm British and proud to be that don't mean I have to be proud of everything in Britain as its a mess at the minute
But it's still home
I can agree with that - one of things that concerns me about poppy wearing is that it shows signs of being put on the list of the compliance mentalists that now seem to think they have a right to police the behaviour of anyone living in Britain: shouldn't smoke; shouldn't drink; should be the ideal weight, should do this, that, and the other!
Such thinking smacks of the blonde, blue eyed, caucasian, ideal type, mentality that our ancestors stood against, and paid a price for.
One of the positive effects of the war (and I believe there are very few) is that it brought people together, i.e. people stood with solidarity against a common enemy. That sense of solidarity remained in Britain for many years after WW2, and people cared about what happened to each other, e.g. whether others had a home, a job, decent health care, etc.
By the 60’s the memory of the war was fading and people enjoyed the freedom of a liberal society without thinking too much about the previous costs of such a lifestyle, perhaps drifting into complacency about such things.
In the 70’s a different kind of conflict began to grow, not on the outside of British society, but within the civil relationships of the British populace.
There was a new kind of enemy, and it was everywhere, the parody version was one of: “reds under the bed”!
Arthur, Red Robbie, these were the people that now threatened the British way of life.
Then out of the dust of this conflict arose a new champion: a modern day Boudicca who was raised in a corner-shop and carried a handbag.
The Iron Maiden was more than ready to do battle with the: ‘enemy within’. The battlefield was not on some distant shore, or beach, it was central London.
Mrs Thatcher marshalled her ‘boys in blue’ army in Parliament Square, and we saw miners, and other British workmen being charged by police on horseback wearing their new form of battle gear. We witnessed the same British workmen that had stoked the furnaces and form metal into tanks, boats and planes to defend Britain with being beaten with battens by police in riot gear.
Trade Unions were decriminalised in the UK in 1867, but the battles of the 1970/80’s saw the Unions looked upon as tantamount to criminals once again by many people in Britain.
The social cohesion that had lasted for nearly thirty years after WW2 had begun to break down – civil relationships became divided: The Tax Payer v The Unions. Blue collar v White collar. Lefties v Neo Right-wing advocates, etc.
The five pillars of the welfare state were criticised by politicians, and became regarded by more and more people in the UK as liabilities that were dragging Britain down.
The 60’s saw the growth of the commercial media in Britain, and with it came more and more American thinking, and an increasing on-the-hoof tabloid philosophy that turns every issue into a simplistic decision about: “what is good, what is bad, what is right, what is wrong”. Complex issues became simplified, large numbers of people stopped thinking too much about politics, economics, social policy, etc, whatever the Sun, The Daily Mail, or “the TV” said became accepted as: ‘what must be right’ by many people.
Apart from a few bumps and grinds, Britain generally experienced a general sense of wealth during the late 80’s. 90’s, and up until the credit crunch.
Much of the sense of prosperity was propped up by the rise in house prices and easy credit, but a lot of people felt as if they were doing OK financially, even if much of it was illusionary.
Having spent many years playing almost every group in society off against each other, politicians now tell us that we are: “all in this together”!
Apparently, Britain is now once again a united society, and it’s all down to collectively paddling around in “the brown stuff”!
The common-enemy has become “The Bankers”, who were once Mrs Thatcher’s best friends!
The problem with battling against “The Bankers” is that they have a lot of our money, so giving them a good beating is a bit like: ‘spiting the nose on your own face’!
Plus, they do tend to be faceless wonders, and we’re told that if we are too nasty to them they will: “pick up the ball and play elsewhere”.
So here we all are, stood in a rising sea of the brown stuff, and without a common enemy to do battle with.
The Olympics is over, having been milked dry by the politicians re: ‘national morale and sense of identity’. All the good memories of Jimmy Savile on Top of the Pops have been flushed down the pan, and the BBC seem to have gone mental playing ‘spot the pedo’!
I’m still not sure about wearing a poppy – should I exercise my right not to wear one, or should I wear one to show that I appreciate the right not to wear one if I was so inclined?
[FONT=&]One thing I do feel surer of is that if those that gave up so much for this country could see it now they would probably be somewhat downhearted at the state of it![/FONT]
