§ 7. National Loyalties
1. Are British people patriotic?
Perhaps because of the long tradition of a clear separation between the individual and the state, British people, although many of them feel proud to be British, are not normally actively patriotic. They often feel uncomfortable if, in conversation with somebody from another country, that person refers to ‘you’ where ‘you’ means Britain or the British government. They are individualistic and do not like to feel that they are personally representing their country.
During the last quarter of the twentieth century there has been a dra¬matic and severe loss of confidence in British public institutions. Nearly one third of the people questioned in an opinion poll in the early 1990s said that they could think of nothing about Britain to be proud of. In addition, almost half said that they would emigrate if they could - suggesting a low degree of attachment to the country. This decrease in confidence has been accompa¬nied by a change in the previous rather patronizing attitude to foreigners and foreign ways. In the days of empire, foreigners were often considered amus¬ing, even interesting, but not really to be taken seriously. These days, many foreign ways of doing things are admired (although perhaps a bit resentfully) and there is a greater openness to foreign influences.
2. What form does British patriotism often take?
Along with this openness, however, goes a sense of vulnerability, so that patriotism often takes a rather defensive form. For instance, there are worries about the loss of British identity in the European Union. This is perhaps why the British cling so obstinately to certain distinctive ways of doing things, such as driving on the left and using different systems of measurement.
It is in this climate of opinion that the dramatic increase in support for the government during the Falklands / Malvinas War in 1982 must be inter¬preted. Here was a rare modern occasion for the British people to be ac¬tively patriotic. Many of them felt that here, for once, Britain was doing something right and doing it effectively!
3. Are the modern British chauvinistic?
The modern British are not really chauvinistic. Open hostility to people from other countries is very rare. If there is any chauvinism at all, it expresses itself through ignorance. Most British people know remarkably little about Europe and who lives there. The popular image of Europe seems to be that it is something to do with the French. An entry in the Radio Times can serve as an example. This is a very popular magazine which gives details of all the week’s radio and television programmes. In April 1994 it subtitled its introduction to a programme which previewed that year’s entries for the Eurovision Song Contest as ‘tips for le top’. Notice the ‘le’. It is an indication of the apparently widespread assumption that Europe is a place where everybody speaks French.
The British continue to be very bad about learning other peoples' languag¬es. Fluency in any European languages other than English is generally regarded as exotic. But there is nothing defensive or deliberate about this attitude. The British do not refuse to speak other languages. They are just lazy.
Questions:
1. How much do British people feel British?
2. What is cultural chauvinism? Is it characteristic of the British?
3. Are British people proud of their country?
Additional Reading Stonehenge and Midsummer
The huge slabs and uprights of stone at Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire were somehow inched into position about four thousand years ago, in the Bronze Age. This prehistoric monu¬ment consists of two circles of huge stone blocks. Inside these are two groups of stones in the shape of a horseshoe. No written record exists of the origins of these features and they have always been surrounded by mystery.
At one time, people thought that Stonehenge was a Druid temple. The Druids were a Celtic religious group who were suppressed in Great Britain soon after the Roman Conquest. Some people believe that they were a group of priests, while others regard them as medicine-men who practised human sacrifice and cannibalism. It is also thought that the circle of stones was an immense temple in which to honour the sun god, and perhaps even to offer human sacrifice.
The theory saying that the Druids used Stonehenge as a temple is kept alive today by members of a group called the ‘Most Ancient Order of Dru¬ids’. They perform mystic rites at dawn on Midsummer's Day (24th June). Every year, they meet at Stonehenge to greet the first midsummer sunlight as it falls on the stones and they lay out symbolic elements of fire, water, bread, salt and a rose.
Scientists think that the early inhabitants of Britain were sun-worship¬pers; they thought of the sun as a god and they built Stonehenge in honour of that god. On June 21st, the longest day of the year, the rising sun faces the open part of the horseshoe and shines on the centre stone.
There were many beliefs and superstitions concerning Midsummer, often to do with happenings in the future: who was soon to die, and who was soon to marry. There is a bright yellow flower, rather like a little sun, which blooms around 24th June, and is called St. John's Wort. It was considered to have magical properties of driving away the evil spirit and fairy folk who were out working mischief on St. John's Eve. This flower was also used in love charms and to protect houses from fire and lightning. It was best gath¬ered very early on St. John's Eve, while the dew was still wet on it. If a girl slept with it under her pillow that night, she would dream of the man she was to marry. William Shakespeare wrote a play called A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which all sorts of tricks are played on human beings by mischie¬vous fairies and a hobgoblin called Puck.
Midsummer was once one of the most popular highdays of the year, but gradually many of the customs connected with it have died out or been taken over by May Day, which is still celebrated in most countries of Eu¬rope.