What the fuck is Gordon Brown up to? He wants to establish cadet forces in schools across the UK. He wants to have a flag waving 'national day' so we can take the Union Jack back from the National Front. And he wants us to have, in addition to Remembrance Sunday, a Veterans' Day, as another way of enforcing our support of our troops, and to celebrate our "symbols of Britishness". I just don't get it. How is it that Gordon Brown is starting to look more like a Thatcherite Tory than a radical, modern, liberal Labour politician?I have no argument with supporting our troops, either active or veterans, but do we really need another day especially for this? Or is it just another way for the government to persuade us how vulnerable we are in these increasingly nervous times, in order for them to secure their policy agenda while sidelining real debate on public security. Things must be bad, look at how many police/soldiers we need on the street - end of discussion.
Cadet forces in schools? Now I really don't get that at all. Is that what our schools are for? To raise the next generation of soldiers? I beg to differ. Schools are for the liberal education of our children. They should not be hijacked by any politician for any purpose. He's got a fucking nerve even suggesting such a thing. And that's the mystery. How did Gordon Brown, brought up in the Labour movement, a man who said recently, regarding fatherhood:
"It is incredible to watch a young child develop and change every day. It does make you think all the time what parents need - they feel under pressure because they want to do the right thing, and as a father I understand that."
how does he come to the conclusion that forcing our kids to become army cadets, and march across school playgrounds with wooden rifles at the slope, is doing the right thing?
10 comments:
He's got a fucking nerve even suggesting such a thing,
I agree 100% and if he thinks he would be involving my son in any such scheme he's got another bloody thing coming!
He can suggest all he wants because he knows fuckin' well HIS son or daughter will never serve on the front line.
I'll leave the value judgements up to you - it's your culture and your country. But...
Is Gordon Brown an American? In the US, we have ALL these things:
Memorial Day AND Veterans Day
Flag Day (in an already flag-obsessed country)
We're a bit short on the cadet forces thing, but we do have ROTC and other organizations that are similar.
Odd what happens to parties when they've been in power for a long time.
AG, thank you. Our culture is one of tolerance and a lack of jingoism, for the most part. What got my dander up was the bland assumption by Mr. Brown that he would find support for this hi-jacking, as I call it, of our children's schools for political purposes.
My theory about politicians is that they tend to advocate what they think people want. Sometimes what they think people want coincides with what the public does actually want. In this situation though, I think he's missed the point repeatedly(flag day etc)and is simply digging himself a hole that he can't climb out of.
see what I don't really understand, and anyone with a smidgen of scottish/uk politics will know what i mean, is how did gordon brown, a man who in his early days admired the radical, very left wing early fathers of the labour movement, like James Maxton http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Maxton
how did he go from that to trying to appeal to the colonel and mrs. blimps of the tory heartland? he used to be a man i respected and i guess i feel a bit let down. i thought he was an alternative to tony blair, i thought he offered some hope. i was wrong.
I'm sorry?
Cadet Forces?!
This is beginning to sound like a certain movement with the word "Socialist" in it's title that made it big in the 30's round where I live.
I agree WC. Is Brown so worried about Cameron's 'everyman' approach that he is championing himself along patriotism lines? Or is it that he's trying to prove that he's British, rather than just Scots?
In Sinless City, and around much of South East Asia, many of these things also exist. I think the UK is in the minority in not having National days, etc... but at least over here they also have International Culture days too, where difference is celebrated.
As far as the Union Flag is concerned... it should be reclaimed from the clutches of the BNP and other racist organisations, but that should not be done by creating a day that encourages xenophobia - always a possibility...
Seriously, none of you have any idea why he is doing this? Oh come on. He wants to keep England down and the way to try and do that is to spout on about "britishness". Well brown, it's too late for that. You should have thought about sending all that English tax payer money to scotland and wales and what it was going to do to the mentality of the English. The people who along with the vast majority of the northern irish have kept britishness going. Dont anyone try to tell me that the welsh and scots have kept britishness alive because apart from a few rangers f.c. fans they are all out and out nationalists. They arent british they are scottish and welsh. Now due to being fleeced by brown the English have had it with the union to.
so well done brown and stick your fucking britishness up your fucking thieving scotch arse you bastard!
There now Anonymous, get it all up, it'll do you good.
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