It has been suggested by Lord Goldsmith (former Attorney General, now adviser to the Prime Minister) that teenagers, before they leave school, should take part in a citizenship ceremony and take a formal oath of allegiance to Queen and Country.WHAT A PREPOSTEROUS IDEA !!
I have always thought that one of the more endearing characteristics of the British People is their understated sense of identity and patriotism. Most of us feel British, (or English, or Welsh, or Scottish) and are proud to belong to this nation, but (unlike our American cousins) we do not feel so insecure and unsure of ourselves that we feel obliged to fly the Union Flag outside every house in the street, nor shovel our patriotism down each other's throats at every opportunity.
The proposal throws up one or two problems as well: what happens to those who refuse to take part in such a ceremony, or refuse to swear an oath of allegiance to the Queen? For myself, I am far from being a teenager, but if I was asked now to swear such an allegiance I would refuse. I don't mind swearing allegiance to my Country, but not to the Queen. I've nothing against her personally, and she makes a good fist of a ridiculous job forced upon her by accident of birth; I just don't believe in the concept of a hereditary monarchy. I am a democratic republican.
There is a lot to be said for British Citizenship courses and a graduating ceremony for legally admitted immigrants to the UK, but as for imposing such a thing on the indigenous population as part of the process of leaving school, I hope that the whole idea gets laughed out of court.
2 comments:
You write:
but (unlike our American cousins) we do not feel so insecure and unsure of ourselves that we feel obliged to fly the Union Flag outside every house in the street, nor shovel our patriotism down each other's throats at every opportunity.
I feel as though I need to (respectfully) respond to your comment.
As someone who flies the American flag at my home every day, I have to tell you that my motivation is not insecurity, nor the desire to "shovel" patriotism down anyone's throat.
To me, it is the same thing as wearing a wedding ring. It is a silent symbol of love.
Roberta
Oath of allegiance = bad idea
Ours wasn't that bad until the McCarthy crew decided to add the "one nation under God" in the 50's to counter those "gol-danged pinko commies".
It just set the stage for the cretins that are in charge at present.
As for flying the flag...I don't get offended by it, it's just a symbol. I also think it's important not to confuse patriotism with nationalism. Patriotism = healthy dissent, Nationalism = blind loyalty.
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