What patriotism means to me

The news today that the English Defence League had scaled the headquarters of football’s governing body, FIFA, in Zurich over the dispute regarding whether or not the England football team can have poppies on their shirts in the game against Spain this weekend got me thinking about patriotism and what it means to me to be both English and British.

Firstly, that the EDL, a group that is based on anti-immigration and anti-Islamism, should associate itself with the Poppy campaign is both horrific and illogical. The Poppy campaign, as part of Remembrance Day, is designed to honour those who fought in wars for their country, particularly World Wars 1 and 2.

Lest we forget, people from across the British Empire fought in those wars, from the West Indies to African colonies to the Indian Raj. It seems illogical to me to be able to reconcile a firm anti-Islamism and anti-immigration ideology with a full commitment to the idea of Remembrance. But, hey ho, whoever said you needed to have logic to make a statement.

Anyway, this led me on to thinking what my problem is with the way English patriotism is displayed. By extension, this can also mean British patriotism due to the way England dominates Britain as an idea.

To me, English/British patriotism is displayed in an aggressive manner through something of a superiority complex. In my opinion, much of what constitutes this type of patriotism is a “we’re better than you” expression such as continual references to the various wars with Germany and France, for example. Perhaps this comes from the fallout of having an Empire and Britain as a whole needing to find a new place in the world.

It is probably for this reason why English people are so in need of sporting success to justify this superiority complex idea of patriotism; winning a World Cup in any sport means we are better than everyone else at something and therefore makes the approach correct to an extent.

This almost jingoistic approach is a source of danger in my opinion as it is a slippery slope from thinking your group of people is better than another to forcibly imposing it, particularly when the power to do the latter gets granted to the former group.

I should probably explain at this point that I am fully aware that being proud of the country where one was born is a little bit ridiculous as it is pure luck that one is born on one particular piece of soil that belongs to the fictional notion that is the state and then growing a love for that fictional notion.

However, that said, as a human being, I enjoy the idea of being connected to other people I don’t know in a group in which we have a shared history and culture. I also believe that this culture is constantly evolving with new people adding their own values and beliefs into the system we all share.

In relation to this, I do quite like being British due to the contribution Britain has made to the world in the form of ideas and art and science and so on. I like the idea of having a connection to the people that developed these ideas, however a tenuous connection being born in the same geo-political borders is.

I find it harder to be proud of being English as to my mind there is nothing truly English aside from sporting teams. The dominance of Britain by England has left a dearth of genuinely English concepts.

I’ve a great love of the type of patriotism that seems to be widespread in countries such as Scotland and Wales where patriotism is expressed through a devotion and love of one’s country rather than gaining pride through comparison to another country.

The Welsh and Scottish pride (as I perceive it) in their landscape, their language, their appreciation of their past and contemporary contribution to the arts and to science and so on is something I genuinely envy.

But, there is no reason why the newly forming English patriotism cannot be like that. The loudness of the campaigns by a small group like the EDL (lest we forget, they have very few members who are coached to rallies in different cities to present the illusion of being a larger group) needs to be silenced to allow a true patriotic voice to shine through over the current jingoistic rhetoric.

There is no reason why an English patriotism cannot develop in the form of its Scottish and Welsh counterparts with a focus on the beauty of the English countryside, the wonder of the English language, the contribution of people like Chaucer, Shakespeare, Byron, Wordsworth, Austen, Newton, Wren and so on. Obviously, Welsh and Scottish patriotism is so strong due to their historical suppression from which well the English cannot also draw from but the point remains that it can happen.

Furthermore, the culture that England, in particular of the British nations, has evolved over the last half century in particular is my favourite achievement.

Of all the nations in the world, it has most successfully bred multi-culturalism. I adore the fact that there are a multitude of languages being spoken on English streets, a smorgasbord of international cuisine available everywhere you go and all the other cultural entities that immigrants have added to the culture melting pot of England and Britain.

This is what I am thankful to those who laid down their lives in wars, whatever their ethnicity or religion, for England and Britain; the chance to live in a society that’s brought the world to your doorstep.