True Brit Part Two

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!

Facebook

How the internet gets it way wrong sometimes

A letter to a friend:

People (including me) sometimes sit at their computers and merrily type comments which seem innocuous or possibly humorous to them – but to other people they may be very thoughtless, offensive or downright silly. For that reason, I almost never use Facebook to express opinions on controversial topics – especially politics.

I was telling you about those two characters in my family, my nephew Brent (Ruthanne’s boy) and my nephew Rusty (son of my cousin Virginia). They are from the same general gene pool - but Brent is a bit to the right of Adolf Hitler, Barry Goldwater (remember both you and I supported him in 64!) and Attila the Hun. Rusty, on the other hand, makes Bernie Sanders, Che Guevara and Karl Marx look like arch-conservatives. Needless to say when these two nutters get to arguing (and I use the term “arguing” very loosely) on Facebook it is very ugly – but at the same time entertaining – if you like watching train wrecks that is. Me, I just watch what they age doing and occasionally chip in with something like – “hey, the answers are not usually to be found in black and white – it’s the shades of grey where you are more likely to find some sense”.

Needless to say, they ignore me, mostly.

I think it’s a product of age. When you get old youngsters just think you have lost it and should shuffle off the mortal coil quietly and shut up. (Perhaps, they are right)

My tactic is to use Facebook to look at photos of friends, family (particularly grandchildren) and keep track of the Chiefs and the Royals. (Interestingly, you can have a good, quality discussion with both Brent and Rusty about sport, Chiefs and Royals style – a topic we all agree on!!)

If I find the urge to spout off I use my blog. That way if anyone is actually interested in my opinion they have to navigate to the blog – i.e. it’s not on Facebook where almost anyone can see it. Seems sensible to me.

Regarding our President. I absolutely agree that every President belongs to the whole country, not just those who voted for him or only to those who share his opinions. We are all free to agree with him on matters of policy or to take another stance. Therefore the office of President deserves respect – not the actual office-holder.

Take “fake news”. This seems to be a favourite of the President. And, he is in many ways correct to point out that not everything has equal value out in cyberspace. The problem is many folks now-a-days are getting their “news” from Facebook and other non-verifiable sources.

The fact is there are some facts!

For example you can find people who believe Kennedy was shot by someone other than Lee Harvey Oswald. (Polls often show that a majority of American people support this idea) Most of the conspiracy theories are wrong, but entertaining. So, should we stop folks from blogging about the Kennedy assassination? No, of course not, everyone is entitled to take a view and express an opinion.

A better example: did the Russians try to influence the election of President Trump? There seems to be some evidence, but is it conclusive. No, not yet. And if they did, so what? Is it likely that significant numbers of voters could be swayed by Russian propaganda? Not likely. But and this is the important point – just like the Kennedy assassination, if you think they did you are perfectly entitled to do so and it is un-American to insist that those who hold that view are stupid, vile, or trying to subvert the electoral process. What opponents should be doing is finding facts to support their position, Same for the other side. Here’s where “fake news” comes in – it seems that a number of folks are not able to differentiate between some old bovine faeces on Facebook and even the semblance of a reliable fact.

This is a big problem.

I remember having an argument not long ago with James (you know, tall guy – father of Noam and Maya) about the Dutch Tulip Bulb speculation in the 17^th century. Most people think they know vaguely about this and use it as an example of how things can get out of hand by speculation (particularly in stocks and shares). To my chagrin, James turned out to be more right than I. A classic example of “the problem ain’t that folks are ignorant, it’s just that they know so damn much that ain’t true”.

(By the way this is another classic – most folks think it was Mark Twain who came up with this – no it was Josh Billings – you can look it up its a FACT)

Back to the bulbs. It turns out that the speculation in tulips was greatly over-estimated and many other factors led to the collapse of this particular market, Again, there is a lot of stuff on Facebook and the internet about Tulips – but you have to wade through the Bull dust to find out any real facts.

Most folks seem to have lost either the time or inclination to do this.

Likewise, folks can easily find information which reinforces their crazy, mistaken ideas. That don’t make it so!

Over this side of the pond we have the Brexiteers and the Remoaners. They argue, bicker and threaten each other with relish. They muster facts or pseudo-facts with abandon. But, of course, they never get any closer to agreement or understanding. Perhaps this penchant for self-centred preoccupation is just in our genes?