Nicky Campbell’s phone-in today discussed ‘British values’:
The education secretary Michael Gove says he wants to put them at the heart of what every school in England delivers — but what are they, and how do we make sure our kids are learning them?
Now Nicky tries hard to be impartial but as always his inner Liberal always breaks loose and rampages around, quietly in a nice middle class way trying to be lovely and tolerant to one and all without condemning anyone for anything.
Talking about the hijacking of secular schools by hardline Muslims who wish to impose Islamic values upon those schools he tells us, as he did yesterday, that this is not a Muslim/non-Muslim issue.
But it is precisely that. British/western/democratic/secular values versus Islamic ones.
He then claims that no one knows what British values are…in fact just listened to 5Live Drive and they peddle the same line.
Of course that’s nonsense….but a simple way to deal with that vascillitude is to say what is unacceptable……here is the extremism defintion of unacceptable views: ‘The government defines extremism as “vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs”.’
You might ask if that isn’t just a definition of Islam and therefore is Islam itself ‘extreme’ in the context of a western, secular, progressive democracy? That question might be backed up with asking if it is unacceptable to promote the view that women are second class citizens, that gays should be killed, that people who want to leave a religion can be killed, that unbelievers are unclean and immoral and can also be killed.
He then tells us that the real problem is intolerance of intolerance.
So…it is people being intolerant of clerical fascism that are the problem in Nicky’s view and not those who would impose a medieval religious regime upon us?
I think the problem is too much tolerance of intolerance….Nicky Campbell and the BBC being at the forefront of that way of relativising everything and never condemning anything….except the Tories and UKIP of course.
I had it on throughout the day and they did everything they could to actually not deal with it properly. The sneering tone throughout was the most grinding. Luckily I was having a good so I coped.
It should never be necessary to even discuss ” English values”
It is part of millions of us and needs no discussion.
Typical of the floudering liberals who so are delicate of mind that they cannot understand just how simple is the notion of understanding what it is to be English.
Never were there so many useless people afflicting this land. And we have to pay them!
I you can stand it, listen to Mark Easton on Radio 4 Six o’clock news [11:30] as he uses ‘British Values’ against us.
Mark Easton said:-
Promoting something is not the same as respecting something. One can respectively disagree.
Independent schools, academies and free schools must already ensure pupils respect British values, now the Department for Education says schools must promote them; democracy, rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.
So would a teacher who drew pupils’ attention to the weakness of democracy be in breach of his duty to promote it? Would promoting the rule of law make it difficult to teach about civil disobedience? What philosophical definition of individual liberty are teachers to push? And when it comes to mutual respect and tolerance, how respectful and tolerant should one be?
The phrase ‘British values’ is used to mean contradictory things. For some it is British values as opposed to foreign ones; a traditional conservative definition. For others it’s about shared values, within a multicultural society.
Amid anxiety over Al Qaeda terrorism, a decade ago, Gordon Brown encouraged the nation to think of a Britain re-discovering the shared values that bind us together, while David Blunkett urged ethnic minorities to become more ‘British’ and to swear an oath of allegiance.
Now Michael Gove demands English schools promote British values. But is instructing schools to be propagandists for anyone’s values not a thoroughly un-British thing to do?
And that piece of agitprop is ‘news’?
Mark Easton needs to spend a little more time in the likes of Egypt, Iran and Syria.
No, make that a long, long time.
Perhaps then he’ll understand our values and even be prepared to fight to his death to uphold them.
No need to send Easton to the Middle East or Asia. If he had to survive on the average wage and live on a former LCC estate off the Whitechapel Road he might learn a thing or two.
Right now – we need the FACTS about what has been happening in Birmingham and elsewhere. FACTS that the BBC spent weeks downplaying. We do not need preaching and editorialising and word-twisting from the likes of Mark Easton, We get enough of his multi-culti and pro-immigration spin week-in week-out.
Top management of the BBC declares that it has been too biased in favour of the concept of multiculturalism. Easton takes not a blind bit of notice.
Pathetic liberal waffle. Where do they find these people?
Magna Carta , the Bill of Rights , the Common Law and the US Declaration of Independence and Constitution ( mostly written by men of English descent) will do for me.
Nothing complicated or needing agonising over like a sad little liberal fantasist. Either accept our ancient ways or go.
There is no tradition in this country of tolerating those who do not accept this. Neither should there be.
Time to assert that our way is the best way .
I am British and I know what British values are. I won’t be told by a bunch of hacks what my values are. Or worse, be told that it is impossible tor me to have such values.
British values are being black, muslim and speaking swahili, apparently !!
Hilarious!
‘but a simple way to deal with that vascillitude is to say what is unacceptable’
So, you can’t actually define it either. You can only define it by saying what it’s not.
‘The government defines extremism as “vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs”.’
So according to Alan, Britishness is defined by not being opposed ‘to fundamental British values’. Thnaks for clearing that up for us!
‘democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs”.’’
Aren’t these American values? And lots of other countries/group’s values?
I have a four fingers and a thumb on my right hand.
If you have four fingers and a thumb on your right hand is it the same hand or a similar one?
Oh, and this corker;
‘Nicky tries hard to be impartial’ but iksnt because he doesn’t condemn some caller’s view.
What’s wrong here!?
Yes, close down the BBC; dreadful organisation full of liberal-left-centre-right-fascists.
Reading this banal drivel has just wasted five minutes of my life.