We don’t half get some rubbish from the BBC.
According to Nicky Campbell Putin’s speech the other day when he was boasting of Russia’s latest missile and its abilities was in fact part of a Trump/Putin conspiracy to boost American weapons sales…..the speech was ‘very profitable for the American arms industry’ Campbell whispered in such a way as to suggest a bit of Machiavellian connivance between the two old buddies.
And of course it wouldn’t be the BBC without trying to tie Brexit into the mix as it claimed our place in the world is so reduced #duetobrexit that we have no allies and no influence to stop Russia killing people on the streets of Britain ….this was again a narrative today…apparently we are so desperate for allies in a post-Brexit world that we will cosy up to any old tyrannical regime…such as Saudi Arabia….never mind we have been joined at the hip to them for decades…for weapons and oil and politics…and that Russia has been killing people on our streets long before Brexit…still, don’t let the facts get in the way of anti-Brexit propaganda on the BBC.
We also had Tony Livesey suggest that there is no such thing as British Values….just values that are universal and which are not the result of coming from a particular place. Naturally he was talking to Jo Cox’s sister, Kim LeadBeater, who had been running round the country for the BBC asking people what they thought British values were and concluded….
For me one of the most heart-warming and inspirational conclusions that the kids came to was something I feel myself – that the things the lesson covered were not just British values – they were values that everyone should have, no matter where they live or come from.
“International values” as one child said or, as I like to think of them, ‘human values’.
Apparently primary school children’s views were more worthy and sensible than grumpy old people who griped miserably about the loss of values…
The kids also all agreed on one thing – most adults could benefit from the odd British values lesson!
It was interesting to see the differences between the three groups – to hear the disappointment there was in the older generation over the loss of values they held dear compared to the enthusiasm of the primary school children for being part of such a diverse class.
I suppose that’s why their parents fled to this country…for its lack of values…they didn’t come for the democracy, the tolerance, the freedom.
It is of course rubbish to suggest such things are not the product of a particular place, such as Britain. Such values come from unique circumstances in combination with political, social, religious and economic situations allied to a mindset of the people…they do not spring forth fully formed around the world out of some hole in the earth. There are indeed ‘British Values’ that are the result of hundreds of years of struggle, bloodshed and thought that produced the unique circumstances that bred those values.
The BBC once again tries to dismiss the importance of ‘Britain’ in its usual narrative of relativity, of a world where every culture is of equal value and no culture or society is better than any other. Just not true.