It was recently recommended by the former Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, that UK schoolchildren perform an American-style Pledge of Allegiance in school. The pledge would be made to the royal family, its intention to solidify children's hazy sense of 'Britishness', a nationwide mission that Gordon Brown has for some reason developed into one of the mainstays of his time as Prime Minister. Goldsmith's recommendation came after research showed that 'there has been a diminution in national pride in the sense of belonging and it is a particularly generational thing.'
And who wouldn't want to pledge allegiance to the royals, and particularly the 'heroic' Prince ('War Is Hello') Harry? Surely there is much to admire and re-affirm our sense of national belonging in his massively over-hyped PR excursion to Afghanistan, in the war against (in his words) 'Terry Taliban'? John Blake Publishers are certainly doing their bit, and are displaying the patriotic verve so lacking in our nation's children by putting out the forthcoming Harry's War: The True Story of Prince Harry's Heroism in Afghanistan. The book will tell 'the full story of how Harry killed dozens of enemy insurgents' driven by his (you've guessed it) 'childhood sense of adventure and duty'. A school set text if ever there was one. And just in case you doubt the credentials of the author Robert Jobson, he has previously written William's Princess, 'the definitive account of Prince William's relationship with Kate Middleton'.
National identity is at the forefront of the BBC's thoughtful and provocative WHITE season, which is interrogating the idea that the white working class has been usurped by immigration in the past fifty years, particularly the more recent influx of Eastern European workers. Further stoking the fire, Harriet Harman, Minister for Women, has launched a consultation into proposals to scrap current laws that ban employers from taking race or sex into consideration when interviewing job candidates. This has raised fears that white men could be stopped from getting jobs where employers are keen to boost numbers of women and ethnic minorities.
It's debatable that white working class is at risk of being obviated, but it's a sorry day when you pledge your allegiance to the royal family PR team out of a desperate bid to find your national identity.
