The Last Ditch by Tom Paine

THE LAST DITCH

Nationalism is nasty stuff

Published by Tom

on

BBC News – Why Irish soldiers who fought Hitler hide their medals.

I hate the petty nationalisms of my home islands. It's why, though as Welsh as the next man if I choose, I prefer to call myself English. Hating the English is not an ideology; still less an honourable basis for nationhood. The BBC of course makes no mention of those Irishmen who went further; deserting the Irish Army to join the Waffen SS – for the opportunity to kill Englishmen. Shame on them and on all men who have nothing better to be proud of than imagined prehistoric tribal differences.

2 responses to “Nationalism is nasty stuff”

  1. Demetrius Avatar
    Demetrius

    As someone, along with very many others with Scottish, Irish, Welsh and English forebears in not very distant generations the attempt to create racial differences as well as spurious nationalisms is a nonsense in the Atlantic Islands. What does make sense is to try to have realistic working agreements. The real problem is and has been London.

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  2. TomO Avatar
    TomO

    It’s nauseating to see the BBC let DeValera off… Nicely time to stir it up a bit for the Queen’s visit….

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Tom is a retired international lawyer. He was a partner in a City of London law firm and spent almost twenty years abroad serving clients from all over the world.

Returning to London on retirement in 2011, he was dismayed to discover how much liberty had been lost in the UK while he was away.

He’s a classical liberal (libertarian, if you must) who, like his illustrious namesake, considers that

“…government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.”

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