What happened to Britain’s role in the world?
There is currently a series of letters in the Times about this. It is an obsession of the British that they must have such a role and that in Foreign Affairs "We should punch above our weight". It is at the core of our mediocrity as a people and as a Nation.
The empirical evidence is that there is no part of British life, with the possible exception of the BBC, where we can lay claim to being intrinsically better than other nations whether it be in public services, architecture, sport or any other field of human activity. There is absolutely no evidence that somehow the United Kingdom is uniquely qualified to play a special role in the World.
The problem is that whilst we continue to believe that we have and that somehow we have an entitlement to a seat at the top table we continue to dissipate our efforts to develop a decent and honest society in Britain, squander our resources in wars, independent nuclear deterrents and other follies de grandeur.
In the meantime Mr Blair gets on another aeroplane and we have the ridiculous media managed spectacle of him and Mr Bush marching purposely at a press conference and failing miserably to demonstrate that somehow Britain by definition has to be part of an alliance that has the answer to problems we in part created by our arrogance.
1 comment:
You shouldn’t be right on this Bill but due to our own government's ineptiture, you are of course.
We should have a unique and highly influential role in the world; we have so many advantages.
To risk stating the obvious, we speak English (the language used most widely across the globe for business, diplomacy and science), we are the world’s fourth largest economy and still punch above our weight with financial services centred around the city, we have some excellent Universities, we are an influential member of NATO and the EU, we have the links of Commonwealth and Empire with even our Queen as head of a few overseas states and yet…and yet…and yet…
…we have a national obsession with our role in the world which actually has been going on at least since Suez, and worse, we are seen by too many of our potential allies as underhand, self-righteous and humiliatingly in the pockets of the President of the United States.
I wonder if you agree with me that if we had a stronger Foreign secretary in the mould of a Carrington, Hurd or even a Cook, things might improve, at least at the margins?
www.MattDeanSoton.blogspot.com
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