I do so love the progressive “we” – a bit like the Royal “We” but more presumptuous. You only have to read the headline to Madeline Bunting’s latest piece for an example:
If Scotland goes, all we’ll have left is the Englishness we so despise
But I don’t despise Englishness. Not one jot. Not one iota, not at all, in fact. I do despise progressives, though…
Why does that make us shiver? What is it about Englishness that, in some contexts, makes polite society nervous? We’re happy to talk about the wonders of the English language, the delights of the English landscape and English rock or pop, but definitions of English nationalism have been abandoned to football hooligans and the far right.
Um, no… Only if you are one of the progressive Guardianista. There are plenty of folk who are able to define English nationalism without hooliganism.
As an Englishman I have no qualms about Scotland going it alone. I have no desire to bring about the Guardian’s desired progressive nationalism, for progressiveness is nothing more than a euphemism for authoritarian control freakery and identity politics.
The English have a long and proud ancestry, starting from the Saxon kings – well, Alfred – who formed the nation from the smaller kingdoms and fought off the Viking invasions. Scotland, Wales and Ireland our neighbours have been both allies and enemies through that period.
I have travelled Scotland and Ireland and for a while lived in Wales. Much as I have enjoyed the experience and have been moved by the places I visited, England is my home and despite my mixed ancestry, I am English first and foremost. Consequently, I do not despise it. Quite the opposite, in fact. So when the Guardian headline writers refer to “we”, they actually mean “they”, not me.
And how did they get to be called progressives anyway?
The media and politicians have dreamnt the name ‘Progressives’ up in an attempt to pass the blame for Westminsters mistakes over the last 30 years or so.
“It wasnt us, it was the Progressives. Vote for me because I was always against mass immigration, multi culturism, etc”
I wouldn’t use the word ‘progressive’ to people who:
Have a complete lack of tolerance for other people’s views
Are oppressive control freaks
Impose mass immigration and foreign cultures on the indigenous population, without so much as a by-your-leave
Are a bunch of self-loathing racists
Tax and spend other people’s money to enable the state to live beyond its (and our) means
Apart from the immigration/multiculturalism, it sounds a bit Hitlerian, don’t you think? To think my two grandfathers and so many other people of their generation gave so much in the fight against Nazism. They might just as well have stayed home in England, Scotland, Canada, Australia etc…