Britain Day?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Brown speech promotes Britishness

Sadly the BBC article suffers from the usual addition of "the opposition viewpoint" at the end... I wish they wouldn't do that (even when the main article is about The Other Side)... but...

I vote yes o/c; letting the loonies claim "Britishness" (whatever it is; and that's part of the problem and a problem that needs addressing) as their own is something that has to end.

[afleitch]

I agree with the idea, but I'd rather it was held independently of Rememberance Day as they would be very contrasting events. I think it is about time we celebrated our Britishness and I for one am happy to wave the Union Flag on one hand and the Saltire on the other!

[??????????]

I vote yes. Every citizen should be proud of the nation in which they live and should celebrate that fact once or twice a year.

[Frodo]

Yes -and the article raises an important point that the rest of continental Europe with a large and growing Muslim population should consider: with a society like that of the United Kingdom growing ever more diverse with every passing year, patriotism is the one factor that can bind a nation together, which puts into question the rationale for the establishment of supranational organizations like the European Union.   

[Emsworth]

I think that establishing "Britain Day" will not have any significant effects. Would the 7/7 terrorists have behaved any differently had there been a "Britain Day"? Probably not. Those who reject mainstream British values will be unlikely to embrace them merely because Westminster designates a new national holiday.

Furthermore, this idea seems unnecessarily nationalistic. The government's functions do not include instilling opinions.

[MasterJedi]

Yes -and the article raises an important point that the rest of continental Europe with a large and growing Muslim population should consider: with a society like that of the United Kingdom growing ever more diverse with every passing year, patriotism is the one factor that can bind a nation together, which puts into question the rationale for the establishment of supranational organizations like the European Union.   

^^^^^

[??????????]

I think that establishing "Britain Day" will not have any significant effects. Would the 7/7 terrorists have behaved any differently had there been a "Britain Day"? Probably not. Those who reject mainstream British values will be unlikely to embrace them merely because Westminster designates a new national holiday.

Furthermore, this idea seems unnecessarily nationalistic. The government's functions do not include instilling opinions.

Does the fourth of july offend you?

[Emsworth]

Does the fourth of july offend you?

It does not offend me. However, I believe that it is unnecessary for the federal government to recognize "Independence Day" or any other public holiday.

[??????????]

Does the fourth of july offend you?

It does not offend me. However, I believe that it is unnecessary for the federal government to recognize "Independence Day" or any other public holiday.

The govt has been celebrating that holiday since the very early days of the Republic. I have no qualms with the govt celebrating its birthday.

[Democratic Hawk]

Yes (Brit). We (i.e. the Labour Party) should have done it years ago. Whether you are Labour, Tory or Lib Dem, being British is something to be celebrated

Dave

[Erc]

When I was living in Britain, I felt that Guy Fawkes Day somehow performed the role of a 'national holiday'--although, of course, it isn't an official holiday, it doesn't really celebrate Britishness per se, could be seen as anti-Catholic, is too close to Armistice Day--and, being an American, I still had the Fourth (and, to a lesser extent, Thanksgiving) to take up the 'national holiday' slack.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

It used to be (in a way), yes. Times change though; it's even less important now than it was when I was a kid. And nothing on what it was in the 18th century.

[Serenity Now]

yes, why not? As long as it's not too nationalistic in character

[Michael Z]

Call me cynical, but I personally find the idea a bit silly. British patriotism has always drawn its strengths from being understated and subtle, not flying the flag and shoving your pride into other people's faces (obvious exceptions aside, eg. WW2, football-related celebrations, etc). Britain Day just sounds slightly phoney and ostensible to me.

That aside, it was clearly an attempt by Brown at stealing the Tories' patriotic clothes. Political manouvering, basically.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I had meant to reply a while ago but forgot... some of the following comments are a little random but anyways...

British patriotism has always drawn its strengths from being understated and subtle

No, no it hasn't... that's actually a very recent development (ie; within the past thirty years or so) and is still *essentially* limited to what could be thought of as (for want of a better term) the metropolitan classes.

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Have a look at photos from just about any public event about fourty odd years ago and before then.

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It's always been about that up to a point

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Ah, but WW2 is absolutely crucial to what British identity there is left; after all the Postwar years were they heyday of the sort of patriotism that Brown seems to be interested in (which was o/c very much a cause of the Left at the time).

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No more than (for example) the nationalistic flavour that Burns Night has aquired north of the border. Or any other "nation day" (St Patricks day is another example).

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Political manouvering, yes (up to a point), but in a more geninunely ideological way than has been seen much recently. Not so much stealing whatever patriotic clothes the Tories had left (and they had been reduced to the tattered and, frankly, soiled boxer-shorts of the union-flag-waving-plus-land-of-hope-and-glory stuff seen at Tory conferences of a decade ago. I wouldn't be that suprised if the Tories go the other way as far as patriotism goes actually; they've headed into metropolitan-land on just about every other issue... 'cept things like immigration) as reclaiming the ones ditched by the Left in the '70's. Things have been doing bizarre full-circles of late actually... and I suspect more is to come over the next few years as the Big Two realign themselves to the decline of the Third Party...