The Betrayed
by Seneca III
Upon reading Paul Weston’s ‘The Multi-Layered Betrayal of Britain’ I was minded of the chapter entitled ‘Rangoon Road’ from the book Quartered Safe Out Here*. This chapter is part of George McDonald Fraser’s (he of ‘Flashman’ fame) account of his role in the Burma Campaign during WW II.
In ‘Rangoon Road’ he comments upon the results of the 1945 general election that brought the Labour Party to power. The following is an abbreviated version of those comments:
They voted with high hopes, for a better, fairer Britain, and to some extent they got it. Mostly it was a vote to get “them” out — “them” being not just the Conservatives, but all that was believed they stood for: wealth and privilege and authority as personified by civilian employers and army officers…It was a strange election for me - old enough to lead a section in war but not old enough o vote…no, it was their election, not mine. They had earned it…they were Labour to a man but not necessarily socialist as the term is understood now.
Their socialism was of a simple kind: they had known the ’thirties and they didn’t want it again: the dole queue, the street corner, the true poverty of that time. They wanted jobs and security, and a better future for their children than they had had — and they got that and they were thankful for it. It was what they had fought for, over and beyond the pressing need of ensuring that Britain did not become a Nazi slave state.
Still, the Britain they see in their old age is hardly “the land fit for heroes” that they envisaged — if that land existed in their imaginations, it was probably a place where the pre-war values co-existed with decent wages and housing. And then it changed, in the name of progress and improvement and enlightenment, which meant the destruction of much that they had fought for and held dear, and the betrayal of familiar things that they had loved…
…They did not fight for a Britain that would be dishonestly railroaded into Europe against the people’s will; they did not fight for a Britain where successive governments would, by their weakness and folly, encourage crime and violence on an unprecedented scale; they did not fight for a Britain where thugs and psychopaths could murder and maim and torture and never have a finger laid on them for it; they did not fight for a Britain whose leaders would be too cowardly to declare war on terrorism; they did not fight for a Britain whose Parliament would, time and time again, betray its trust by legislating against the wishes of the country; …they did not fight for a Britain whose Churches and Schools would be undermined by fashionable reformers; they did not fight for a Britain where free choice could be anathematised as “discrimination”; they did not fight for a Britain where to hold by truths and values which have been thought good for a thousand years would be to run the risk of being called “fascist” — that, really, is the greatest and most pitiful irony of all.
Is it possible that we the Counter Jihad, and others yet to awake, could give the dream back to their memory?
Do we have the courage and the backbone?
* Published by Harvill in 1993 and Harper-Collins in 2000 (paperback).
Previous posts by Seneca III:
| 2007 | Oct | 13 | A Letter to my People | |||
| 26 | Another Letter To My People | |||||
| 2008 | Oct | 5 | Excerpt From “Ere the Winter of Our Discontent” | |||
| 2009 | Oct | 22 | The Cultural Death of a People | |||
| 23 | Do Star Chambers Serve a Useful Purpose, Or Do They Obfuscate the Issue? | |||||
| Nov | 8 | By the Rivers of Babylon | ||||
| 2010 | Jul | 2 | The ‘Phoney War’ Is Over | |||
| Sep | 13 | Musings on the Winds of Change | ||||
| Oct | 13 | The Fourth Dimension of Warfare, Part 1 | ||||
| 2011 | Jan | 1 | The New Year Comes With Ham | |||
| Feb | 6 | My Yesterday in Luton | ||||
| Jun | 17 | The English Spring |
20 comments:
Yes, Fraser's book is excellent. I listened to this on tape many years ago now. It's well worth reading.
If you're interested in military history then I can also recommend 'Fortress Malta' by James Holland.
It should still be available on CD, read by Joss Ackland. The very thing for that long boring commute ..
And of course everyone should read Flashman. The first novel is a classic.
Flashman
Fortress Malta
The first book is just a great read, one of the best books ever written in my opinion. The audio version is fantastically well done.
The second book raises the question which is being discussed here. What was it all for?
Seneca, my dear chap
That was poweful stuff, and you are right in everything say.
You have brought tears to the eye of a grown man.
Paul.
"They did not fight for a Britain that would be dishonestly railroaded into Europe against the people’s will;"
Does that mean that there wasn't a referendum on the UK's entry into Europe and the country's potential extinction as nation-state?
Mace -
To answer your question, though I'm not from Albion: the Brits were promised a referendum (on the EU constitution) but they never got it.
We, the Dutch, got a referendum, said NO! by a vast majority - in spite of a massive YES media-campaign by leading politicians from all of our major political parties - and sure enough, our NO! vote didn't make any difference whatsoever.
Well, that's not entirely true, for our political nomenclatura and their lackeys (the MSM) vowed to "better explain" to us, the people, the inevitability of the EU. You see, we didn't get the message yet, that no matter what, the EU would be marchin' on, with or without its subjected peoples.
Kind regs from Amsterdam,
Sag.
To answer your question, though I'm not from Albion: the Brits were promised a referendum (on the EU constitution) but they never got it. --- Sang
This.
Confidence in the political system is at an all time low. Its legitimacy is caving in from all sides.
Sagunto,
Thanks for the info.
What remarkable hubris by the political elites in both countries.
Here in Australia, the Federal Government must, constitutionally, comply with the people's decision in a referendum.
We would call the Dutch vote on the EU a 'plebiscite',ie an expression of opinion only.
Like most Australians I know little about the EU,however after visiting GofV and other sites,I have to say how anti-democratic(and fiscally incompetent) it appears.
Regards,
Mace.
Still, the Britain they see in their old age is hardly “the land fit for heroes” that they envisaged — if that land existed in their imaginations, it was probably a place where the pre-war values co-existed with decent wages and housing. And then it changed, in the name of progress and improvement and enlightenment, which meant the destruction of much that they had fought for and held dear, and the betrayal of familiar things that they had loved…
The post-war consensus is a name given by historians to an era in British political history which lasted from the end of World War II in 1945 to the election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1979. -Sourced.
Just for the record, there was a referendum on the UK's continued membership in the EEC in 1975. The Yes side won overwhelmingly with 67.2% of the vote.
link
@jeppo,
That was long before it became clear what the EU was all about.
OT but, @mace:
In Canada a plebiscite is a binding popular vote tied to money, whereas a referendum is merely a record of opinion for politicians.
Voting for Labor in 1945 is one thing.
Its the Baby Boom generation that turned to Gramsci, Marcuse, and Mao.
Jeppo,
Interesting,I wonder what would have happened if the UK's citizens had voted to leave the EU. More 'referendums/plebiscites' until they reached the "correct" decision?
QSOH is one of the most enjoyable books I ever read in my life. I loved every word of it and Fraser's mission to demonstrate the new anti-tank launcher to the captain out in the boonies is simply hysterical.
Another great read is John Master's Bugle and a Tiger.
See Fraser's "last testament" discussed here.
As a young boy on summer evenings and stormy days I would sit down by the harbour with the war veterans that had went from harvesting the sea to harvesting the battlefields.
There was nothing that was not said, I miss their words with every political connotation punctuated by a rye smile, the life politics of benevolence and brutal reality.
Growing up in the vision of “the land fit for heroes” shaped a mind that could comprehend and temper the benevolence and brutal reality of human nature.
1389 - 'long before it became clear what the EU was all about'...quite agree. At the time it was sold to us on opportunities for freer trading conditions. There was NO mention of a European Parliament, European courts, EU defence forces, open borders, etc. Our Prime Minister Edward Heath wrote in his memoirs that this was kept from us deliberately as he did not believe we would vote yes if we had any idea of what was long term planned. Too true. I do hope he is watching the resulting mess from 'down below'.
Yes - in 1945 you voted for Labour out of your envy of the fellow who had a few Quid more than you. By 1950 you might have been deployed to Korea watching your lads and yanks getting shot out of the sky by Mig-15's sporting copies of a Rolls Royce Aero Engine given to Russia by that Government you helped elect.Catch a clue in 2011 about who your real ENEMY is.
Dr. Shalit
I’ve just finished reading: The Germanic Isle, Nazi Perceptions of Britain, by Gerwin Strobl.
Fascinating!
‘ This highly original book explains Hitler’s view of Britain as both Nordic ally and role model, and shows that there was a surprising level of affection for Britain and British culture among ordinary Germans, from the discourses of the 1920s to the vigorous anti- British propaganda of the war years.
Despite Hitler’s tactical duplicity at Munich, there is overwhelming evidence that one of he Nazis’ fundamental objectives was to forge an alliance with Britain and to emulate the ‘ruthlessness’ of the British Empire in dealing with eastern Europe. For the German public, admiration of Britain and the enjoyment of its culture were enduring factors, even through Goebbels’ frequent attacks. But both the Nazi leadership and ordinary Germans lacked first-hand knowledge of Britain, while independent sources were suppressed.
Instinctively, Hitler predicted that American pre-eminence would deprive the British Empire of great-power status, and calculated that Britain would do anything to avoid this. This led in turn to an over-estimation of Britain’s willingness to fall in with Germany and an under-estimation of Britain’s determination to fight.’
I suppose I am a ‘baby boomer’ being born in 1943. I was too busy looking for a way of making a living and getting an education. My working class generation was deceived by a succession of governments that sold the heritage of my father in wars and promises of good times tomorrow that never came. Today my children and grandchildren are even worse off with added foreign immigration and constant debt and still the governments give hollow promises to hide their true agendas.
The influence of Germany in controlling the EU is too close to the one party state of Herr Hitler but with Bilderberg, the Euro, and a centralised all powerful government in Brussels—political union of all European countries, what a perfect tool for a dystopian nightmare. Still who am I to wish that Britain ought leave the EU but the alternative is just too uncertain and there again if we had joined Germany in 1938 would things look any different for us both now ? Just a thought!
There is always Air Strip One under the Anglo Oceania Alliance.
@St. Bruno,
I have read something like that before too. I think it was in Laurence Rees' book. That was also made into a multi-part documentary for the BBC. Don't hold me to that mind you, it was ages ago that I read that book & I've read plenty more since.
Post a Comment
All comments are subject to pre-approval by blog admins.
Gates of Vienna's rules about comments require that they be civil, temperate, on-topic, and show decorum. For more information, click here.
Users are asked to limit each comment to about 500 words. If you need to say more, leave a link to your own blog.
Also: long or off-topic comments may be posted on news feed threads.
To add a link in a comment, use this format:
<a href="http://mywebsite.com">My Title</a>
Please do not paste long URLs!
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.