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Our Past is embedded in our national consciousness-It asks were we came from and who we are.
In
the Daily Mail on Friday, January 28th 2005 an article by the
historian Lawrence James reminded us: Without our History-
We have no Future Heartening news: at last the Conservatives have decided to conserve something. They have announced their intention to restore history to its rightful place at the heart of the school curriculum. It
will be studied by all pupils until the age of 16. They will learn how Britain has evolved, the forces that shaped
the nation and about the lives of the great men and women who guided it. At
last a tide of astonishing ignorance will be stemmed. A generation’s neglect of history has produced pupils without any
sense of historical continuity and ignorant of the great events of the past and
their significance for their times and our own. There
are secondary school students who fancy that Oliver Cromwell fought at
Hastings, are unaware in which century World War I was fought and believe that
Hitler was a figment of someone’s imagination. A mastery of history has never been so important. Today, we are engaged in great debates as to the nature of government, the powers it dreams of claiming and the liberties of ordinary people. Autocratic
Home Secretaries cite present emergencies as excuses to whittle away the right
to Trial by Jury, extend the powers of the police and compel everyone to
carry an identity card [ID -card]. The State is encompassing more and more power; individuals seem to be losing ancient freedoms. Liberty Historians know this better than anyone else. So should the public, for what is at stake now and in the future are laws and systems, which have developed over centuries. Democracy, Habeas Corpus And Freedom of the Press Did not spring from nowhere. They are results of a slow process and were opposed by governments, which used the arguments of necessity being resuscitated today. How Tony Blair or Charles Clarke would love to declare, like Richard II: ‘The laws of England are in
my own breast’ But they were not in Richard’s breast. As any schoolboy could have told you. He was deposed by his subjects and they did the same to Charles I after he elevated himself above law and custom. Understanding the historic struggle to secure individual freedom and government by consent should make today’s school children aware of the value of liberty and democracy now so taken for granted. Learning
the human cost of their establishment will teach pupils to cherish and defend
them. Political life is not just about
expediencies and cunning propaganda.
Ultimately, it is about principles, and to understand them fully is to
inquire of their origins and why they mattered. History answers these
questions. British
history is
interwoven with that of the rest of the world. It can be argued that
Britain’s expansion overseas began a period of global modernisation. Regrettably,
and under pressure from politburo of political correctness, the history of the British
Empire has either been marginalized in the schoolroom or rewritten as a
sequence of hand wringing apologises. This pleases Leftish school teachers, but leaves pupils
misinformed and puzzled. If the
Empire was so wicked, then why did so many of its former subjects come to
Britain to settle and make their fortunes? Why was it that millions of Asian, African and West Indian subjects of George VI joined his Armed Forces in World
War II? Of
course, like all human institutions, the Empire had its bad guys and they
should not be forgotten. But history
is about human beings and anything that reminds the young that good and evil
co- exist in the world is a useful preparation for life. It is also invaluable to understand what can be accomplished by the good at all levels of human activity. I
would like to see a syllabus devised which exposes the young -to men and women
whose achievements are easily overlooked.
For
instance: William Fox Talbot who helped invent
photography in 1839 and whose genius provided a source of delight to
millions. One could add the Victorian
pioneers of cycling, who again provided pleasure for the masses. The camera and the bicycle do not loom large in today’s school room version of the Victorian Age, which negatively focuses on the miseries suffered, by workers in mines and factories during the early phases of the Industrial Revolution. Again,
Left-wing bias intrudes and capitalism is treated as the villain. It deserves better, because it did improve
the standard of living for everyone, albeit gradually and unevenly. Misery History
teaches the importance of perspective and judgment. Can long-term advantage outweigh short-term misery? There is no easy answer, but it is
important that children understand that we have to face up to such questions. Examining the dilemmas faced by their ancestors brings children in contact with human folly, often on a grand scale. People have always failed to appreciate that what seemed like a good thing at the time. Could have unforeseen and catastrophic consequences. ‘Events
have not turned out as we expected’ Emperor Hirohito told the Japanese people
in August 1945 after the atom bomb had been dropped on Nagasaki. For the young to learn the follies of
vanity and ambition is essential if they are to cultivate that strain of
scepticism which
is vital to assessing their own leaders and times. But they should also learn to recognise and dissect greatness. The new syllabus should not be shy about listing the accomplishments of individuals with extraordinary abilities and visions. William the Conqueror Robert the Bruce Elizabeth
I
CromwellNelson Wellington Churchill Deserve
their places in the school pantheon.
Lessons on great men and women must include their flaws, for many
achieved eminence by overcoming them. Stimulate Lawrence of Arabia suffered self-doubt and fear, but he somehow got the better of them. This is worth remembering in an age in which we are encouraged to surrender too easily to our emotions and accept our imperfections. Lawrence’s
life makes exciting reading. History
can stimulate the imagination of the young. ‘Print the Legend’ and not the fact
insists the newspaper editor at the end of the film The Man Who Shot Liberty
Valance. We know why; it was more
fascinating than the truth. Legend
is History -as it ought to be rather than as it was. So
to inspire the young in their classrooms, let’s have Robert the Bruce and his spider,
Elizabeth I addressing her soldiers at Tilbury and Churchill denouncing Hitler
as a ‘guttersnipe, Each
story, true or not, has become part of the national epic. Like all good epics, it is the story of
struggles. Whether embattled against
Philip of Spain. Louis XIV, Napoleon, the Kaiser or Hitler, Britain has had to defend
itself and its way of doing things. In each contest, survival has depended on the courage and tenacity of ordinary people. ‘England expects that every
man will do his duty,’ Nelson told his sailors before Trafalgar,
prompting a Scot to add that his countrymen needing no reminding! Those present at the battle and others upon which national
survival may have depended could not always articulate what they were fighting
for. None the less, their
concept of the nation embraced something of their past, landscape and values. We are inseparable from each of these things, whether our ancestors stood in the shield wall at Hastings or whether they arrived more recently. Our past is embedded in our
national consciousness. It prompts us to ask where
we came from and who we are. It opens our minds-and can even train us to
discern what, if anything, lies behind the conjuror’s patter of the modern
politician and pundit. * * * Lawrence
James’s
biography of Lawrence of Arabia, the Golden Warrior is to be re-issued in April
by Abacus. * [Font altered-bolding & underlining-comments in brackets] MARCH/05 *
*
The abolition of Britain * Veteran parliamentarian TONY BENN speaks of the absolute necessity of a REFERENDUM HEAR HIM ON http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=o0I-ZdvQz1o * 13th October,2007
So You Want Out Of The EU
THEN WHY NOT SIGN THE RENUNCIATION of EU CITIZENSHIP http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/OptoutDetails from petition creator With the signing of the Maastricht Treaty the people of Britain were given DUAL CITIZENSHIP -both EUROPEAN and BRITISH The extra tier of citizenship was thrust upon the people without their consent -and in many cases knowledge. The PEOPLE of GREAT BRITAIN should be allowed the option of opting out of the EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP if they so wish. The GOVERNMENT will then be able to provide those who have opted out with BRITISH DOCUMENTATION -only such as British (not EU) passports, driving licences and other national documents. EU laws will also NOT APPLY to those who HAVE OPTED OUT OF EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP
[PETITION OPEN UNTIL OCTOBER 08]
*
[Latest Addition-June07]
*
http://thewestminsternews.co.uk
* WHY NOT
* THE SOUL OF ENGLAND PT 1/ **** THE SOUL OF ENGLAND PT 2/ **** WHY ARE WE ENGLISH MADE TO FEEL GUILTY/**** DON'T LET THEM DESTROY OUR IDENTITY/ **** NOR SHALL MY SWORD/**** WHY CAN'T WE HAVE A RIGHT TO BE ENGLISH-PT1-/ **** WHY CAN'T WE HAVE A RIGHT TO BE ENGLISH-PT2/**** ENGLAND IS WHERE THE MAJORITY VIEWS ARE IGNORED AND MINORITIES RULE AT THEIR EXPENSE IN POLITICALLY -CORRECT BROWNDOM/**** ALFRED - CHRISTIAN KING OF THE ENGLISH-PT1- /**** ALFRED - CHRISTIAN KING OF THE ENGLISH-PT2/**** ENGLISHMEN AS OTHERS SEE US BEYOND OUR ONCE OAK WALL./**** ENGLAND ARISE! - TODAY WE CLAIM OUR RIGHT OF SELF-DETERMINATION/ **** KISS GOOD BYE TO YOUR SOVEREIGNTY AND COUNTRY / **** ST GEORGE'S DAY-ENGLAND'S DAY/**** EU WIPES ENGLAND OFF THE MAP**** THE SPIRIT OF ENGLAND BY WINSTON CHURCHILL.
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