The Craven British

Once a proud society on so many counts, not the least of which was its upstanding dedication to the democratic ideal, Britain has gone all soft and mushy and hardly knows which end is up anymore. How can a nation swing so far from the path of knowing itself and its cherished values to one in which its politicians, its news sources, its intelligentsia has become so befuddled with the toxic reality of its demographics that it now treads, like France, on eggshards, carefully, and painfully.

From a once-elitist society with strict demarcations between the nobility and commonfolk and everyone accepting their place albeit grudgingly, to the current correctness which seeks to even the playing field for everyone, making everyone equally entitled, and no one universally responsible - either to the state or to the commonweal, or to the robust future of the country itself. There may be economic poverty in the country, a condition deplored by all those who live well, and who groan themselves under the burden of taxation. But it's the psychic poverty that will destroy the country.

All the virtues that were once respected: honour, selflessness, gratitude, courtesy, courage of conviction, devotion to the Crown, state and country have been diminished to the point of disappearance. Everyone is equally entitled and equally loud in proclaiming their rights. There seems no longer to be a recognized obligation of the individual to the collective, but rather the majority now pays obeisance to the concept of the rights of minorities.

All to the good, really, as long as minority rights don't obscure entirely the rights of the majority. That very same majority which, to some socially livable extent should absorb the minority in its midst for social cohesion. Differences observed and perhaps celebrated, but subsumed to the greater good of recognizing the majority values and social mores. Including a respect for the country's heritage and history.

Yet a recent study emanating from the British government's Department for Education and Skills indicates that teachers in some of its schools refuse to offer history lessons on the Holocaust or on the Crusades for the rather simplistic reason that they're unwilling to 'upset' their students who are Muslim. "Some teachers are reluctant to cover the atrocity for fear of upsetting students whose beliefs include Holocaust denial", according to the report. In Britain, an EU country where the EU has just declared Holocaust denial unlawful.

And the Crusades are side-stepped as a topic of education in history as they would have a tendency to "contradict what is taught in local mosques". Incredible, as an admission of a country's failure to represent itself to all of its citizens, as historically accurate as possible, to imbue all of its citizens with a universal knowledge, inflicting the truth of history on students. That it is seen as acceptable to abrogate the necessity to teach truth and history in an education system whose purpose is to stimulate thought and discussion is mind boggling.

That it is seen as an acceptable device of tolerance to deny to young Muslim children the opportunity to learn the truth about human interactions, tragedies and past tragedies the better to prepare them for life in their adopted country is appalling. That it is seen as acceptable to practise 'non-interference' in a culture whose interpretation of world events so belie truth and accuracy is beyond belief.

To censor and side-step history in favour of cossetting a mendaciously ill-informed sub-group in society for fear of offending them is quite simply intolerable. The education system, through the dissimulation of these craven educators is setting the entire society up for a divisive and antagonistic future, simply because those who have the responsibility to teach would prefer not to challenge a religious group that prefers its history diluted to present its preference, not reality.

"Such behaviour constitutes a reinforcement of racism, intolerance and hatred in the name of a philosophy - political correctness - which is supposed to combat these things," according to one commentator. Rationality, responsibility has been completely abandoned in favour of cowardly prevaricators who have retreated to the barricades of surrender of reason. The liberal education system of the West, where instructors in reason are critical to the formation of healthy, enquiring minds has surrendered to mindless sanctimony.

When a society finds it expedient to tolerate those who espouse intolerance, they sign the death knell for their own future; they are prepared to collapse under the onslaught of delusional fundamental theism.