Last Refuge of a Scoundrel...

So, did you have a good St George's Day yesterday? Waved a flag? Attended a parade? Painted your face to look like a twat? This country's sudden apparent obsession with displays of 'Englishness' are something I just don't understand.. I'm afraid that I'm always very wary of these displays of so-called 'patriotism'. Loving your country has nothing to do with conspicuous displays of national symbols and uniform fetishes. It has more to do with trying to preserve those things about our national culture which are great - justice, freedom of speech, civil liberties, democracy. All of which seem to be under ever-increasing threat from the very people who are fuelling these calls for 'patriotism'. When it comes to the latter, I find that I tend to agree with Johnson, that it is "the last refuge of a scoundrel". Beware the politicians who seek to hide behind nationalism.

Part of why I don't understand this new English nationalism is that I've never felt the need to identify myself purely in terms of my nationality. Like so many of the other factors used to define us - race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, to name a few - nationality is simply an accident of birth. Something over which we have no control - so why make it so significant when building a sense of identity? Personally, I've always felt secure enough in my own identity not to feel the need to submerge myself in some greater identity, whether it be racial, national or whatever. But then, I'm one of those dangerous loners who doesn't have some overriding desire to 'belong'. You know, exactly the sort of person the authorities and media in this country increasingly seem to try and characterise as 'dangerous', 'weird' even 'unpatriotic'...