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Editorial
This is the third edition of Albion Magazine Online, and also marks our first anniversary. We are doing well in search engine rankings and are gaining new readers with every issue. We would like to say thank you to our staff, who give so generously of their time and talent, and also to you, the reader, for making this a worthwhile endeavour. If there is one thing we would like to see happen for the magazine, it would be a greater diversity of writers and perspectives, to truly reflect modern England. If you have any ideas for articles you would like to see in the magazine, or you would like to contribute yourself, don't hesitate to contact us.
However well our own projects may be going, we cannot ignore the fact that recent world events have been even more alarming and appalling than usual. It is to be hoped that the disasters in Asia will prompt us not only to assist in this situation, but to give more help to the developing world in general. To paraphrase the great English poet John Donne, no-one is an island. Our common humanity is diminished by the misery and want of others. --The Editor
Through My Eyes
The Right to Be English
Is it racist to ask what people are doing on St. George’s Day? Apparently so. Although the Irish, Welsh and Scots are free to observe their national days in a civilised manner, anyone who mentions the celebration of St. George’s Day is immediately tarred with the same brush as the BNP, football hooligans, and far right xenophobes in general. This stereotype is not only stupid, but deeply insulting to reasonable English people who want to be able to celebrate their diverse culture once in a while.
It seems that it is no longer a done thing in polite society to admit to being proud of your English heritage. Schools no longer teach traditional English culture, folk music is viewed as the preserve of men with beards and Arran sweaters, and Morris-dancing is derided as something stupid. The work of folk-song collectors such as Cecil Sharpe, who did a tremendous amount to preserve England’s musical heritage, is virtually ignored. The English language is being destroyed by text messaging and the intrusion of Americanisms, and nothing is being done to stop the rot.
Successive administrations have slowly but surely eroded any sense of pride we ever had in our common culture, and our current Government with their American-centric policies are pulling us one way whilst our financial ties to our European neighbours are pulling us another way. Nowhere in all of this is the struggle for English identity being addressed, nor is any attempt being made to stop the erosion and disappearance of our culture. We’ve gone from never having it so good to losing our sense of community in a period spanning only 30 years.
All I know about my own culture I investigated and found out myself. I would like people growing up who are younger than I am to feel secure in their cultural identity without having to go searching for it. As Bob Marley once said, if you don't know where you've been, how can you know where you are going?
So let’s drink to the English, a nation who don’t know where they are going and whose leaders are trying to destroy their past. Happy St. George’s Day.--James Turner
Copyright © James Turner 2005.
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