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| Britain |
| England is the country that 'dare not speak its name' |
| 2004-10-17 |
| Dr David Starkey, the historian and broadcaster, is calling for a revival of English patriotism that recognises the country's unique role in shaping the modern world. Dr Starkey, 59, believes that the reluctance of the English to champion their own homeland means that England "is now the country that dare not speak its name". He also claims that English national identity is in danger of "going down the pan" because of a post-war obsession with the idea of being "British". Dr Starkey's patriotic rallying cry coincides with his new 24-part television series on the nation's kings and queens, which begins on Channel 4 tomorrow night and will continue over four years. Monarchy will profile every English monarch from the year 400 to today at the rate of six a year. The series is as much a defence of the English and Anglo-Saxon culture as a series of personality portraits. "This series is about the history of England," said Dr Starkey. "Yes, England - the country that dare not speak its name. In England we have this dreadful inhibition about talking about ourselves. England is a historic country which has shaped the world we are in. It is arguably the very origins of modernity. That is something we should celebrate, not be ashamed of." Dr Starkey believes that the English need to celebrate their national identity in the same way that the Scots celebrate theirs. England, he argues, is much more important than Scotland, which is a "tiny" country that "does not much matter". "English identity and culture may be at the point of going down the pan. We are at a crossroads and which fork in the road we are going to take is not clear. If you go to Scotland you will notice there are two new buildings. There is the parliament building, which is loudly advertising that Scotland is an independent nation. The second is a museum of Scotland. We do not have an equivalent in England." |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #11 I was just kidding, Tony... |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2004-10-17 3:47:25 PM |
| #10 Dave Dave Dave, read some of my other posts on RB. Ok, I'll come clean, certainly one of the others is America ;) Anonymoose, what Bulldog said. BH, there are plenty of football songs that do that...with plenty of swearwords... |
| Posted by: Tony (UK) 2004-10-17 3:38:16 PM |
| #9 I'll finally believe it when somebody pens a song called, "England, F*ck Yeah!" ;) |
| Posted by: BH 2004-10-17 1:35:33 PM |
| #8 ...it should be pointed out that there are more Irish in England than there are English... Um, yes, riiiight... |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-10-17 1:33:03 PM |
| #7 "England is *not* multicultural and is one of the few countries in the world that can loudly proclaim that we have influenced the world *for the better*. (can you guess one of the others?)" I do hope you're not talking about France... Anyhow, England... Britain... whatever; I salute the whole lot of you. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2004-10-17 1:11:16 PM |
| #6 While I'm encouraged to see the St. George's flag instead of the Union Jack (a naval banner?), it should be pointed out that there are more Irish in England than there are English. Perhaps it would be better to reanimate the English "zeitgeist" of power through superb diplomacy--diplomacy that created empire as much as the British navy. In other words, England could be as influential as it was, by re-creating a competant foreign service, not one corrupted with internationalist-leftist sentiments. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2004-10-17 12:55:27 PM |
| #5 There is something about a British historical documentary that screams look at it. I hope to see this series over in the US at some time when available. |
| Posted by: Bill Nelson 2004-10-17 12:35:40 PM |
| #4 Speaking personally, I feel about as British as I do English. Having spent a few years living in Scotland, that's been tested to the extreme, and I've seen at first hand there what petty nationalistic negativism can do to a people. I think the Scots got the 'victimhood' thing down pat long before the Arabs embraced its destructive tribal comforts. That said, we've got a whole lot more in common with the Scots and Welsh than many people recognise. The Scots have contributed to England just as the English have contributed to Scotland, and Wales, and vice versa all round. Competition between the nations is healthy, but throwing insults and baiting each other isn't. As for the series - it should be good, and I'll be watching, but it seems as though Starkey will have trouble classing monarchs after (the Scot) James I as 'English'. Under him the two nations' thrones were unified, all the way back in 1603. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-10-17 12:05:48 PM |
| #3 I'd be very interested in this, our cousins accross the pond shoud be very proud of their history. An island nation that had one of the greatest empires of all time & a navy that was second to none -extremely impressive. Without their enterprise and willingness to fight the Spaniards and French over the new world there would be no U.S. ...Now get the fuck out of Northern Ireland you limey bastards. Sorry, as a known Irishter - had to throw that in. |
| Posted by: Jarhead 2004-10-17 11:44:10 AM |
| #2 Well at last someone is starting to say it. Whatever the hyper-leftists say, England is *not* multicultural and is one of the few countries in the world that can loudly proclaim that we have influenced the world *for the better*. (can you guess one of the others?) I get very wary of people spouting of about 'Britishness', and I do think there is something of a backlash against it - there was a literal sea of England flags when the Rugby world cup was on and when England were playing in Euro 2004. |
| Posted by: Tony (UK) 2004-10-17 11:36:22 AM |
| #1 Coming to the US? DVD? |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-10-17 11:07:58 AM |