David Cameron has written a statement on his take on being British, in response to an item on Conservative Home, which is where his (moderately long) reply has now been posted.
Now, one might wish to dismiss this as nothing substantial in and of itself, as it reads a little bit like a party political broadcast (but then again, how else could anyone word such from-the-heart views, realistically?) but it does put down a number of what I might call "attitude markers", and also reminds us of some truths about where we are today and how we got here — both good and bad. As such it is a valuable piece, and I have taken a safety copy for my own records.
Cameron's response is broken down into sections, whose headings I reproduce below, together with some of my own thoughts:
Britain is a great country that has shaped the world
True enough. It is not sufficient to rest on the laurels of yesteryear, but it is a good reminder of the capabilities of this nation and its people, and we should not forget it or abandon that way.
Conservatives believe in the unity of the United Kingdom
Yes: for all its problems, a United Kingdom is far, far better than the alternatives. It can be annoying, frustrating and even frightening at times, but it is still the best way to be — united!
Gordon Brown gets patriotism wrong
Oh, hopelessly so. He hasn't even a fraction of a percent of understanding this subject — and I suspect that very few Scots do anyway, because of the anti-English chips on their shoulders. Beyond that, Brown himself hasn't much of a clue about real life anyway, as has been comprehensively documented by many commentators over the years. I don't need to bulk out this article going over that old ground…
We must abandon 'state multiculturalism'
This emphasises the single biggest threat to our nation, cleverly disguised as "tolerance", "diversity" and "inclusiveness". Of course, it is none of these in reality, just a smoke-screen for a dismantling of what Britain always was, in an attempt to drag us down into a kind of neo-Soviet totalitarian State. The devices are well-known and not exactly new — except to us here in Britain. Many here have been caught off-guard, owing to lack of experience, but ny now surely most must have woken up to what this false ideology really means in practice.
We must teach the whole narrative of British history
A good idea; even though history wasn't exactly my own favourite subject at school. I do understand its importance, but it needs to be taught well and in a way that will engage pupils' interest.
We must defend our armed forces, our monarchy, our democratic traditions
These are the building blocks of a true society. Those like myself might well find other topics most engrossing, but we do need to concentrate on building a solid foundation uon which to place all that follows. Anything else can and probably will collapse, and everything will be lost.
That's it: Cameron understands the real Britain that was, the Britain that now is, and the Britain that must come. No other political leader even comes close to this, so it is a perhaps surprisingly valuable document that Dave has provided. I suspect even he doesn't yet realise its full significance!
And the Winner of the Caption Contest is….
30 minutes ago

