I’ve just returned home from walking Forest on what is a beautiful Bank Holiday Monday morning – almost too beautiful, actually. The powers that be at the Met Office are forecasting highs of 26 degrees later today, which, in my opinion, is about 10 degrees above the perfect temperature. Nonetheless, I am determined to make use of my mandatory day off, so to that end, Carl and I are planning a road trip to the Belton Estate, a National Trust property near Grantham. I’ve recently added Carl to my membership, meaning both that we are now joint members of the National Trust, and that my mission to assimilate him into the Middle Class continues apace.
Whilst out on my walk this morning, I noticed that the now infamous ’Operation Raise the Colours’ has even spread to Hilton – almost every lamppost on The Mease now has the flag of St George flying at half mast. I assume, and hope, that those behind the unfurling of our national colours on the streets of our quiet village have opted for half mast because they couldn’t reach the top of the lampposts, and not because somebody important has died, which is the usual protocol.
I’m not quite sure how I feel about this flag flying business. I’m as patriotic as they come, but I am strongly of the belief that we Brits are best at quiet patriotism. Flying flags and singing the national anthem on protest marches all seems a bit too American for my liking, and there’s surely nothing worse than being comparable to the Yankee Doodles. Similarly, I think the painting of the St George’s cross onto local mini-roundabouts is very funny and very English, but also absurd and unnecessary.
Now, in all seriousness, I recognise that this is an emotive topic, and I don’t mean to diminish the patriotism (or racism – it appears to be a very fine line, since the main organiser of the campaign is reportedly a former member of several far-right organisations) of those behind the campaign, but there are surely better ways to go about it. I’ve been a firm believer for a while now that our flag should be more prominent in day-to-day life, but it should be displayed properly, in the appropriate places. When I visit Turkey, for example, their national flag is everywhere, and the Turks clearly love their country, but it is positioned, rightly, at the top of flag poles, or on public buildings, or in prominent positions in shops or bars – it isn’t glued to lampposts or painted onto roundabouts.
Even so, I am willing to concede that there is a general sense of hopelessness and fatalism that appears to be feeding this campaign. It seems to me that the vast majority of the people hanging these flags are doing so not for hateful reasons, but because they feel that their voices are being ignored and their country is falling apart before their very eyes. I sympathise with this view, and agree to a certain extent that the current Government is paralysed in the face of existential threats (economic and geopolitical, as well as illegal immigration) to our current way of life, but I’m not sure that ubiquitous flag displays are the right way to improve the situation. The problem is, I’m no longer sure what is the right way.
I shall likely expand on this further in future pieces, as it is a topic that has been occupying my thoughts for a while now, like many of us, and it also links in with wider areas of discussion. For now though, as I head off shortly to Belton House, I shall choose to reflect on the fact that whilst we appear to be at a crossroads when it comes to the direction that our Government, and therefore our country, ought to take, the United Kingdom remains a mighty and proud nation, with much to offer both its citizens and the wider world, and we should not forget this so easily.
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