ENGLAND DAY?
As 'Britain' - the last core of Empire - begins to unravel, 'The English' are being forced to re-discover or re-make an identity.
It is understandable that many are turning to the semi-mythical symbol and hero of St George as a rallying point. Hence the revival of interest in St George's Day. For those who know a little of the history of the English as a people, this myth is not big enough for the terrible task of re-discovery that we now face.
Before making the case for England Day (April 23rd) as a day to celebrate all English heroes and heroines, a skeleton outline of that history is given below.
This is quite deliberately selective in order to highlight the sequence of events that is relevant here - but unfortunately not false: this is our tragedy. Anyone, from whatever original ethnic or cultural background who chooses to identify as English has taken on this burden - and the challenge of overcoming it.
THE ENGLISH STORY
Britain is a name for this island as a whole - and still the correct one if you are talking natural geography or trees or wildlife. The name comes from one of the Roman names for the island.
Across the North Sea, the English (Anglii) had been a proud and respected people since well before 1,000 BC. The Roman writer Tacitus (100 AD) says of them:
" Their honour stands as high in peace as it does in war "
When the English, and their Saxon and Jutish allies, migrated from Old England (Angeln) and other parts of North Europe in large numbers, it was natural to call their new home Angle-land or England.
After the tragic events of 1066-71 the surviving English (including the Danes and Celts who had settled among them) found themselves an occupied and despised people. Their new overlords - who were not a people - didn't even speak their language.
Now any people - any individual - in this situation has three choices:
THE LONG NIGHT
Over hundreds of years the ruling elite became anglicised in language and identification - without ever losing their arrogance, their mixture of contempt for, and paranoid fear of, the common people. [The massacre at peterloo (1819) is just one of countless examples of this attitude.]
The winners - or their lackeys - always write history. The official line coming out of almost every history book is that '1066 and all that' was little more than a change of administration; that 'The English' soon welded together as one people and marched forward hand in hand into the future (picking up an empire along the way).
Don't you believe it! As John Fletcher puts it in 'The Secret People': "There is an unbroken line from the paranoid walls of a Norman keep to the Official Secrets Act of today". The dark ages didn't end in 1066 - they began.
Credit is due to the bloody-minded stubbornness of the English people that some rights - such as the right to trial by jury - did survive; that some Norman 'rights' - such as the Squire's right to the village bride's first night - did not long survive; that some taxes - such as the poll taxes of 1381 and 1981 - could not be raised; above all that the alien language could not be imposed upon us.
These are the few victories in 1,000 years of defeats. Our conquerors would go on to enclose our common land for sheep and gain; undermine the independence and dignity of our craft industries with the hated factories; destroy the village communities which handed down our understanding of the Norman yoke, as people were scattered into the towns.
To be sure, resistance arose again with the Chartist, union and labour movements, yet this time no longer armed with the historical dimension of ourselves as a people unfree. Small wonder that the struggle degraded into one for better conditions and more pay. This enabled us to be bought off with consumer goodies and a wealth creamed from unseen peoples in other lands.
Finally, with state education and the rise of the mass media, they have control of our minds as well! [A few of us are partially resistant to this all-enveloping reality distortion: see brief discussion of types on 'Local Democracy' page. For a short summary of the democratic deficit today visit the 'Democratic Devolution' page.]
OUR IDENTITY CRISIS
So we are the English who lost at Hastings - or are we?
The first task of a rising 'English' empire was the incorporation of Cymru, Kernow, Manin, Eire and Alba (Scotland) - by any combination of conquest, coercion, plantation (settlement) and trickery. Later these methods were extended to create an empire which spanned the world.
Henceforth the occupied English - along with their masters - were seen and judged by others as oppressors: the beginnings of the English identity crisis which still haunts us today.
There is some justification for the charge:
Objectively, whole sections of the community over many generations, thrown off their land or thrown out of work, have enlisted in armies and navies to do the bidding of the elite.
Subjectively, as noted above, the temptation to regain some dignity - to enjoy proxy power and reflected glory - by identifying with a winning side or a rising star ... is strong in many of us. Once our rulers started speaking English the myth of 'one people united' became plausible and was strongly propagated. Those of us who went along with this then lost our chance of reciprocal solidarity with other oppressed and conquered peoples. Most of us forgot that we were the empire's first colony.
In contrast, other cultures - such as the Welsh - have a much clearer understanding of their situation. They know the external force which physically and culturally dominated them. Thus many of all classes are able to unite in a common struggle for political and cultural emancipation.
THE CHOICE
So, once again, are we the people who lost at Hastings (and were bloodily crushed in our subsequent risings) or are we the new nation whose myth was born there?
Answer: the choice is yours.
If you choose the former you have a hard road ahead but the goal of a people who are themselves to work for. A people at ease with themselves, aware of their 3,000 year history; tolerant enough to live alongside other cultures in mutual respect, even within England; confident enough to welcome individuals from other roots into themselves without losing their integrity and values.
If you choose the latter you have a lot of blood on your hands. You have the task of continuing the forced inclusion of other cultures into 'your' nation-state. You further have the misfortune of supporting the final phase of a system which is now eating itself and all values (see below).
Your choice will possibly determine your attitude to St George.
THE BRITISH-ENGLISH PERIOD
There are a few more twists to the story.
In 1707 the Scots were betrayed by their parliament into a union with 'England' (which meant England, Wales, Cornwall and the dependencies). The English empire adopted the old island name of Britain, and creating the new identity of 'Britishness' became a major propaganda exercise.
The identity confusion arising from this was postponed for a few centuries as the establishment and its followers in England simply used the words 'English' and 'British' as interchangeable - a further insult to other supposed partners in the union.
At that time the sun was still rising on the Great British Empire, which rached its zenith in the 19th century.
The events of the 20th century are not yet fully understood by British-English patriots.
At one level, the collapse of the physical British Empire from the edges outwards cannot and will not stop short of the earliest colonies. Some argue that the 'United Kingdom' can be revamped as a genuine partnership of equals - but a whole range of demographic, political and cultural factors argues against it: not least the English question.
The anguished search for a new English identity, the question of other cultures now here to stay, the regional debate in England, the dis-enchantment with top-down democracy, the economic powerlessness of local communities: these are all aspects of this crisis of opportunity. [This is why the tenets of Devolve! have to be understood as a whole, not as separate unrelated issues.]
THE NEW EMPIRE
At another level, the Empire has not vanished but transformed itself.
Firstly, its centre of gravity has moved from London to Washington (more accurately to a worldwide network of the powerful using U.S. muscle as its instrument). The explicit American aim of "full spectrum global dominance" would have warmed William's heart. This has reduced Westminster to a satellite role, its statesmen to poodles and Britain to a grounded aircraft carrier - all with hardly a mention from the official media or the 'free' press.
Given this reality, the hysteria over possible loss of 'British' sovereignty to a (con)federal Europe would be funny if it wasn't so obviously promoted by U.S. interests.
Secondly, the Empire's method of governing (in between military interventions!) has changed from a legal-colonial style to fixing the financial and terms of trade rules. This is now changing again to the promotion of universal values: a universal culture of compliance which is an immediate threat to all the world's cultures, all the world's peoples.
The values of this culture are individual freedom (meaning an economic free-for-all which only a few can win); property rights (meaning ownership by the powerful of most of the world, including intellectual and scientific property, human DNA and even space); growth (meaning exponential supply and consumption of whatever can circulate money faster); and pleasure (meaning the creation of world-wide least effort pleasures, dumbed down tastes, status symbol brands, trivial trash). [The ecological implications for our life support system, the planet, are outside the scope of this report.]
All this is especially seductive to the young, who are always in a natural phase of rebellion against structure, traditional values and responsibility.
The anti-values of this so called C*ca-C*la/McD*n*lds culture are anything which stands in its way, including the values and loyalties of real peoples everywhere.
At some point the new Empire may decide that legal nation-states have become an impediment to its progress and stop seeing them as useful tools to ensure compliance with the rules of the game. This will put natural peoples - less easily discarded - directly in the firing line.
The England Day/St George's Day debate is directly relevant to the task ahead: the rebuilding of English culture in its modern form ready to face this uncertain future.
WHY NOT ST GEORGE?
The first thing to say is that this is no argument to 'ban' St George. This popular icon will continue to be chosen by many people as a symbol of their sense of Englishness - and respecting choices is central to what Devolve! is about.
However, we see the re-discovery of English identity and the popular wish to celebrate England's day (April 23rd) as a tremendous opportunity to recover much more of our real heritage. To know our history, our heroes and heroines from both Angeln and Anglo-Saxon England ... to teach our children about those who resisted the Norman occupation, the crushing exploitation that followed, the later waves of imposition ... to honour people from all walks of life who have contributed to some dimension of our culture, or to human understanding.
By saying 'England Day' rather than 'St George's Day' we give ouselves permission to celebrate all our English heroes and heroines.
It is worth noting some of the groups of people for whom St George is at best problematical, at worst unacceptable:-
This adds up to very many people who would feel more included by the broader idea of England Day argued for here!
PICK YOUR OWN
Why not have some fun drawing up a list of your top ten (or six or twenty) heroes/heroines? Better still if you do it with friends or at a family gathering - you'll learn from each other and perhaps be inspired to find out more about them. Here is a selection to set you thinking.
From Angeln, our original England:-
From Anglo-Saxon England:-
From our resistance to conquest and imposition:-
From the cultural flowering of England:-
From the social critics of imperial Britain:-
Other lists could include locally honoured heroes or cultural contributors; English sportsmen and women; icons from the English regional folk music traditions. (Note: most recent music either (a) properly belongs to the world, or (b) has been co-opted as a tool of the anti-culture.)
The above lists are only suggestive, certainly not exhaustive. They do include some unquestionable giants, as well as heroes/heroines we were never told about ...
CALLING STOUT HEARTS
So shall we only celebrate St George, and leave all these unsung? The case for an inclusive England Day is strong.
Although cultures today - even ancient ones - are about chosen commitment as much as natural roots, they are still vital. Vital to any prospect of disciplined stewardship of the planet. Vital to human wellbeing and wholeness.
Devolve! has a permanent working group committed to the renewal of English culture, and to supporting all cultures, all peoples, against the global anti-culture. We would appreciate supportive messages, constructive ideas and critical feedback on the above - which we look to improve over time. To contact us visit the 'Getting Involved' page.
Forward plans include England Day cards and merchandise available by 2006/7; some events and pageants by 2007/8 - help very welcome!