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Labour says it is now the true party of patriotism

(28 Posts)
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M0nica Sun 05-Jun-22 11:00:56

No one, least of all a political party, has a monopoly on patriotism.

Yours, is a very thoughtful post, DaisyAnne

Patriotism is about belonging and recognising that we are at home and belong somewhere. When I see those crocheted hats on letter boxes, the architecture of the buildings around me, old and new, the ways that our communities have been celebrating the jubilee, I see something quintessentially British. We do it differently to other people, not better, not worse, just differently, the British way.

Every nation is the same, in its differences. We spend a lot of time in France and there are so many aspects of life and culture at an everyday lived level, that is quintessentially French, that we enjoy, participate in, but also think, now we do that differently in Britain.

Patriotism lies also in how we live our lives with shared ways of celebrating and living that we do not even recognise, just absorb and do.

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Galaxy Sun 05-Jun-22 10:48:55

Your last sentences are really important. It's a good idea to be sure of a country's values as there will be times when they are challenged. I think this is a sensible move for Labour.

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DaisyAnne Sun 05-Jun-22 10:41:31

Because I am a fence sitter - middle of the road political views, with a leaning to care for all, by all - I feel uncomfortable with the word patriotism. A huge believer in communities, I feel it can split them.

The Guardian ran this article in their paper taking a look at the article by Lucy Powell, in the Observer, headlined As we unite for the jubilee, let’s believe Britain’s best days are ahead, not behind.

I find I can agree with much in Lucy's article. Until now, I think I would have said I had deep allegiance to my country. Patriotism seemed to me to be divisive, loud and unthinking. This article has made me think in more detail about it. Patriotism has, to some extent, been stolen from the quiet and thoughtful. If Labour can re-align our view of "Patriotism", I will be grateful.

If it can now be shown that division and hatred are not components of patriotism I can go with that. If it is that we see being patriotic to core British beliefs with those beliefs being tolerance, openness and generosity, that sits well with me too.

But more than this, I believe patriotism takes allegiance the extra mile. Patriotism means wanting the country's best for family, workplace, school, village, town and city. Patriotism gave the NHS workers - not the amorphous "NHS" - the extra strength to go very many extra miles during covid. More than anything we can see in Ukrainian that patriotism means that for their community, and their country they are prepared to go very much more than an extra mile.

Patriotism is not just about the people in one country. However, each of us needs to believe in the values of our country. And we need to be sure that those who lead us will uphold those values.

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