No shortage of nonsense
If nothing else,
Brexit has provided endless opportunities for examining the concept
of True Brit.
For those with short
memories let me explain. The True Brit believers hold these truths
to be self-evident: Britain is the greatest country in the world;
the rest of the world is both envious of Britain and at the same time
plotting our downfall (Johnny Foreigner can not be trusted and WOGS
begin at Calais); the British system of Parliamentary democracy
(I'll say democracy though it is really an autocracy) is the best
form of government and the envy of the world; British justice is far
better than any other (only in the USA would the people elect their
judges and in the EU the Court of Human Rights is to be mistrusted –
if not downright dismissed as a plot to foil British ambitions); The
NHS is the nearest thing to a national religion and provides not only
universal healthcare but also the force that unifies the nation; and
Britain’ s armed forces are the envy of the world and far superior
to those of any other nation.
There’s a good
place to start. Britain does have an enviable historical record on
the military front. But, the key word here is “historical”. The
fact is: not since about 1943 has Britain been able to hold its own
against another world power. And that was chiefly because of the
finance provided by the USA. Unfortunately, no-one in Britain
believes this and politicians and population cling hysterically to
the notion of Britain’s military might. Except in the realm of
nuclear warheads, Britain is a third or fourth rate military force.
Were it not for the stubbornness of the UK establishment this fact
would be more widely accepted and some tangible benefits could be
accrued on the defence front which might go a long way to solving
some other, more pressing problems.
Take Trident for
example. Governments of all persuasions have clung dogmatically to
the idea of a British independent nuclear deterrent. This is in
spite of the fact that it is a myth. Firstly is there a scenario
where the UK could launch a nuclear strike on its own against an
aggressor? Beyond unlikely!
Secondly,
whilst the warheads may indeed be British, the submarine’s
missiles are not. They are American. Would
the US stand by and allow its missiles to be used against its wishes?
Sorry, it’s Suez all over again! Conclusion: there is
no real independent UK nuclear deterrent.
So, why persist with the myth? Simples – it just
reinforces the True Brit myth.
What about the conventional forces? Again it soothes the British
psyche to imagine that they have the best Army, Navy and Air Force.
True Brit is alive and well as long as the politicians can con the
public into believing this for it makes the public happy to cough up
billions on the wasted and useless defence mechanism that is Trident.
(Actually, more and more mainstream politicians and commentators are
beginning to see this and speak publicly about this waste of national
resources. )
Just this week we find that the Royal Marines, current size 7020, is
set to shrink by another 2000 marines.. The current size of the
Army is about 80 000. The RAF has about 35 000 personnel. The Navy
has 33 000 with 20 of the commissioned vessels being major surface
combatants (six guided missile destroyers, 13 frigates and one
aircraft carrier) and 10 are nuclear-powered submarines (four
ballistic missile submarines and six fleet submarines). The fact is
the UK has forces totally inadequate for the very small tasks they
might be expected to do.
The really interesting part of this sorry saga is that the newspapers
are full of stories like this. The one they particularly “like”
is the “plan” by the EU to form a European Army. The media,
politicians and the public are aghast and horrified! Why? True
Brit strikes again. Pointing out that the UK has been
co-operating with other EU counties in NATO for a very long time does
nothing to assuage True Brit. Equating this long-standing
co-operation with the foundation of an EU Army brings gasps of
incredulity.
Moving on to another True Brit maxim: the NHS, of course, even
causes Donald Trump to get in the news – and he doesn’t need much
of an excuse to seek news opportunities I hear you say! The Donald
jumped on the bandwagon by insisting the problems in the NHS are
caused by the ideological wedding of a socialistic healthcare system
to the failing British economy.
Notwithstanding the usual hyperbolic balderdash pedalled by the
Donald, there is no doubt that the NHS is the nearest thing the UK
has to a national religion any more (even though there is a real
national religion in the Church of England). It is a True Brit maxim
that the NHS is the envy of the world.
Then we have to add gun control to the list. The UK in general and
the media in particular are obsessed by guns and gun control. They
have no real understanding of the issues involved and the
difficulties which need to be overcome. So, when POTUS finally moves
a bit towards some rational, achievable measures to help, the outcry
barely abates. It’s the truth that everyone says they like to mind
their own business but no-one really means it. They would much
rather everyone simply adopt their prejudices. True Brit loves to
tell everyone else what to do. True Brit has all the answers. Blah.
Blah, blah!
