The May issue of The World Today, the monthly magazine published by Chatham House, includes an article by Leader of the House, Jack Straw MP on identity and democracy.
Straw writes that changes to the UK’s heterogeneity are having a ‘profound effect’ on British society and that ‘the core democratic values of freedom, fairness, tolerance and plurality’ that define what it is to be British should be set out in a ‘non-negotiable’ contract. But to what extent are freedom, fairness, tolerance and plurality distinctly British? Are they not values that many share? What is uniquely ‘British’ about them?
He also argues that the United States is one of the countries that successfully defines its sense of citizenship by telling ‘heroic stories’ of, for instance, how America came to be America. This is a somewhat curious observation given the testimony of Jessica Lynch (the Iraq war veteran) to a U.S Congressional hearing last week, during which she complained of being turned into a heroine for PR purposes by the Pentagon – Lynch said ”I am still confused as to why they chose to lie and tried to make me a legend when the real heroics of my fellow soldiers that day were, in fact, legendary.”
You can read Straws musings on this topic here.
May 2nd, 2007 on 8:15
Heroic stories too make us feel what. Does Mr Straw really think stories is the right word to use. 200 of our soldiers are dead because of a story Mr Blair and his Ministers told about WMD.
Oh I know what he means, sadly you have to trust the story teller, and I do not right now.
May 2nd, 2007 on 9:35
It is quite clear where you are coming from Robert, but to engage with what Straw is actually saying (rather than continually whingeing), I just do not understand how he thinks he can label these values as British – there is something almost offensive about holding them up as such.