Swearing Allegiance
My initial thoughts on Lord Goldsmith’s proposal that all school leavers should swear allegiance to the Crown was that it was little more than a gimmick. It is one suggestion in a 150 page report, but it ensured it got coverage. The irony about the current debate about Britishness is that everyone is falling back on Americanisms - swearing allegiance, flying the flag and so on. It’s not really part of our tradition, and it cannot necessarily be imposed from above.
And yet. Some of this stuff does work. I, for one, am delighted that Government buildings fly the Union Jack, and I would be delighted if all public buildings, from Job Centres to Council Offices, either flew the Union Jack or had one on a flagpole inside. Citizenship ceremonies are also a very good idea. I attended one at Wallingford School in my constituency the other day - apparently it is the first school in the country to host one. It was organised by Year 9’s. The school band played, “British” food was available (scones and cocktail sausages among other treats), and the High Sheriff turned up in full rig (I also wore the British national costume - the stuffed shirt). The forty or so people who were getting theri citizenship all swore their allegiance. They came from dozens of different countries, and all looked delighted by the ceremony and their new status as British citizens. All in all a wonderful occasion.
So I won’t dismiss any of these ideas as gimmicks just yet. And my wife definitely wants the extra bank holiday.
Votedave said on March 11th, 2008 at 5:16 pm:
I like the idea of another bank holiday. We are pitifully short of them here - just 8 days a year compared to 11 in France, 15 in Germany and 18 in Spain!
Tizzy said on March 11th, 2008 at 6:54 pm:
Forced nationalism? Not for me, thanks. Flags and national anthems should be used sparingly and not as a means for some notional unity. Don’t force kids to pledge allegiance, please. I remember reciting the Lords’s Prayer during morning assembly at primary school - it was totally meaningless to me at that age, and a pledge would have served no purpose either. Plus, the allegiance in the US is to a flag rather than to the Head of State leading to the presumption in the UK of the acknowledgement of our ’subject’ status which isn’t exactly C21, is it?
I can’t remember when the cinemas stopped playing the national anthem at the end (early 70’s?) but I do remember my local emptied as if a fire alarm had gone off.
Please don’t let’s go down the path of, for example, America or France, who wallow in their self-righteous belief that *their* countrymen are the creme de la creme, belittling the rest of the world in their eyes.
As for the so-called extra bank holiday, surely you realise that the majority of low-paid workers won’t get an extra day since employers will count it as part of the national minimum entitlement, ie they’ll still only get 24 days (to date). Yet more smoke being blown from this gvt.
canvas said on March 11th, 2008 at 9:07 pm:
I’m all for another bank holiday - and there’s nothing wrong with a ‘British theme’.
It’s just sooo British to be embarrassed about being British
I think it’s good that children grow up with a sense of pride in their country instead of feeling alienated - and also it’s a good thing to want to be a part of Europe. Now, if only we can find some decent politicians who do things that we can be proud of…