British TV is showing ‘In the Name of the Father’ again tonight. It’s the story of the Guildford Four. Just in case anybody doesn’t know, the Guildford Four were a group of innocent Irishmen who were tried, convicted and imprisoned for a terrorist crime that the government and police knew they hadn’t committed. It’s a story of disingenuous politicians, corrupt policemen and a bigoted legal system, all prepared to punish the innocent in the name of self-interest and propaganda. Very British. It’s one of the reasons why I’m prepared to stand up and say ‘I am not proud to be British. Why should I be?’ It isn’t the only reason, of course, since I’m aware that there isn’t a country in the so-called developed world that hasn’t been guilty of abusing the innocent and misusing its power. We British don’t have a monopoly on such things; we’ve just been very good at it. What I really question is the whole concept of nationhood.
I’m an old fashioned internationalist. I dislike flags and national anthems. I squirm when somebody tries to tell me that I should be more patriotic. I groan when I hear ‘I’m proud to be British,’ or see some dim, deluded fool on American TV saying ‘I’m a patriotic American.’ What is there to be proud of? What is the value of patriotism? I manage a wry smile when I hear that line from Rule Britannia, much favoured by proms-deluded students and the jam-and-Jerusalem crowd - ‘Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.’ The people who take such delight in those words don’t seem to realise that slaves is precisely what they are: slaves to a lifelong process of brainwashing that insinuates into them an unthinking allegiance to a sense of identity in which they had no choice. Patriotism is a measure of moral weakness, an indication of being unable to think deeply and independently for oneself. Is that something to be proud of?
This concept reaches the height of absurdity with the notion that the greatest cause to which we can be called is to ‘fight for king and country.’ It had its beginnings at different times in different parts of the world, but always it was invented to further the personal interests of kings, princes and potentates. Nowadays, it serves the interests of a more complex political system, but it’s no less absurd for that. I believe in fighting for a just cause, for a high ideal, to protect the innocent, or to preserve my freedom. Any notion that fighting for king and country is inherently right and honourable denies freedom. It forces the unwitting into a narrow and essentially self-centred mindset, in which nationhood is more important than the interest of humanity. That cannot be right.
What I can allow myself to take pride in is the fact that I can place an honest hand on a genuine heart and say ‘I am not proud to be British. I am not a patriot. I left such concepts behind when my brain cells started to function properly.’ People are what matter to me, not countries.
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9 comments:
This is very true.
At the same time, I don't see too much a problem with being proud of where you're from, depending on what your pride is of, I suppose.
On one hand I take a strong sense of pride from my heritage, but I believe that this pride is more of a sense of identity than patriotism, and moreso in the folk sense than the political sense. Song and dance and folklore and literature dealing with ways of life and sense of community, practices very specific to certain locations and people, rather than a pride associated with the country or political background. Does that make any sense?
And on the other hand, as you said, it's people that matter, not countries. Countries and political boundaries and things of that sort are completely made up, and aren't truly what matters. What it truly comes down to, for me anyway, is a love and pride of my family. It wouldn't matter where we are from. Our heritage is just another thing that binds us and our community that much closer together, and therefore is embraced and celebrated.
Yes, of course you're right. That's the problem with blog posts. For the sake of brevity you have to state the essentials, ever mindful that there are side issues, implications, and nuances of interpretation that need to be added for the fuller picture. It's the old story of the conflict between journalism and literature. Lovely to hear from you, McC. Glad you're getting your fill of Jameson!
re: your comment...i'm sure it's all very nice where you are but i can't take the accent(really)...so to get my green and clean air and space on your continent I'll head for the land of the leprachauns...for the rainbows and pots of gold to be found of course! *lol
Phew! Good job I was joking, eh? You might consider rekindling your interest in alcohol, and then taking a sip or two of the Guiness over there. It's the only place where it tastes right.
That should have been Guinness.
One of my least fave. "holidays" is 4th of July, I try to head out of town where the good 'ole flag is flying high for all of us Americans to be proud of. The war, the killing and enslavement of indigenous people. I think the men who wrote the constitution had good intentions, but you know what they say about "good intentions." But to be fair, I also try to live what being an American tries to stand for, individualism, ingenuity, acceptance and hopefully good relations with other countries. I said I try, and that's all we can do is start in our own backyard. I loved the movie w/ Daniel Day Lewis, one of my absolute fave. actors ever, is that the movie you're talking about?
It is indeed. And in case I've given the wrong impression, I'm not anti-American. I dislike certain things that America chooses to stand for; but I'm aware that it has arguably the most complex culture of any in the world, and that there are many Americans who are among the very best of people. I hope that opinion doesn't offend.
Not at all, every individual no matter their heritage has both the dark and light.
Wendy: did you get the story? I sent it from my Hotmail account, and there’s a history of conflict between Hotmail and AOL.
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