The Tyrant`s Hand

England and its people have fought and won many battles throughout history, but there is one battle where complete victory has remained elusive. This is the fight over our own soul, where competing forces have almost destroyed us. One force has constrained us into conformity and the other force draws upon our atavistic, instinctive impulse of rebellion.

However unlike continental Europe our rebellious spirit has been suppressed, as the late Jackie Mason once quipped “when an Englishman gets knocked over by a truck, he apologises to the truck”. The tolerance of tyrants, from Roman centurions to Norman barons is a remarkable feature of our history. Our inherent politeness and deference, even when our leaders harm us is inexplicable to outsiders, but as someone who has grown up embedded in the culture of this country I have a great affection for this distinct English character.

The characteristic English person is awkward, melancholic and apprehensive of change, all features that have contributed to the culture that is revered all over the world. The English imagination is unsurpassed as this is a country that is traditional and conservative on the outside but quietly and subtly eccentric on the inside.

The pervasive theme of nostalgia imbues English artistic expression, and this is often entwined in myth. Historical figures are rendered in scenes of cosy familiarity and this is another element which looks confusing for those who are not invested in England or the English. Most critics of events like The Last Night of the Proms are unaware of the theatrical tradition that underpins it. The Proms itself is renowned for its quintessentially English bathos from Benjamin Britten to Gilbert and Sullivan.

The finale of the Last Night concludes with a rendition of “Rule Britannia”, which has to be the most misunderstood hymn in the entire canon and the most misunderstood lyric since its first composition. It derives from a Thomas Arne opera which centres upon the myth of Alfred the Great. The battle between the English King and the invading Vikings provides the inspiration for this rousing hymn which was originally composed in 1740. It is essentially a paean to the rebellious spirit of our nation.

Nonetheless there is an overriding fear of difference that is instilled in the English psyche. It has always been hard to be a rebel in a country dominated by feudal lords and an overarching monarchy. The Enclosure Acts of Parliament were enacted until 1914 and made the countryside effectively the property of the elites rather than the common people.

The sentimentality for the English landscape is connected to these laws which ultimately divested the people of their inheritance. Aside from communities of travelling people and their modern descendants we are still beholden to the private landowners.

There is only one unspoiled feature of our countryside, and that is the existence of our ancient trees. England is the only European country which has preserved its old trees. Yew and Oak trees have been growing in our woods for at least 500 years. The writer and scholar J.R.R Tolkien had a powerfully mystic connection to the trees of his native Birmingham.

Tolkien witnessed how his home town changed in the years of his childhood. These changes were wrought by the Industrial Revolution, when semi-rural Birmingham mutated into a city of factories and foundries. The “Lord of the Rings” novels are allegories and lamentations of a lost world, a contrast between the “Shire” of old and the malevolent industrialised world of “Mordor”.

Tolkien`s novels influenced the “counterculture” of the 1960s, a decade when people had concerns about the environmental consequences of over industrialisation. After the social and political changes of the sixties modern art forms superseded classical music and literature.

English popular culture, especially pop music is inherently rebellious but it is in fact a modern manifestation of a traditional art form, namely musical theatre. Pop stars are essentially actors in their own dramas, but fiercely protective of their artistic legacy and how their songs are utilised.

This is especially pertinent today as John Lydon fights to own his artistic reputation. Lydon`s stage persona “Johnny Rotten” was a mischievous London miscreant which resembled a character from a Lionel Bart musical. His songs of rebellion against English conformity were not open invitations for sedition, they were demotic and crude vignettes of satire. Lydon is now a wise gentleman in his sixties but in his youth his act horrified the elites who were terrified that young “punks” could destroy the moral fabric of the nation.

In the 2020s we are stuck in a quandary. There is no appetite for rebellion and too many of us are hankering for the past of conformity and conservatism. Our country is in a state of moral failure as a consequence and the horrifying fact remains that too many people do not seem to care.

The Girl and the Devils.

On the 15th July 1942 the Westerbork internment camp in Holland became another frontier in the Nazi campaign to destroy the Jewish people of Europe. Dutch born Jews and German-Jewish refugees were sent to Westerbork before they were corralled into trucks bound for Auschwitz.

The Dutch people had been living under Nazi occupation since the invasion of 1940. They endured deprivation, oppression and fear. Many witnessed and experienced the barbarism perpetrated by their occupiers.

However there were people who showed immense courage to resist the evils of the Nazi regime in spite of facing grave personal danger. Miep Gies was one individual out of numerous others who provided shelter for Jews, including Anne Frank and her family.

Anne Frank`s precocious gift as an insightful writer is well recognised, whereas the equally prodigious insights of Etty Hillesum seem barely acknowledged in comparison. Hillesum was a young Dutch Jewish woman who worked as secretary, advocate and counsel for her fellow internees at Westerbork. Her family were scholars and although they were of Jewish heritage they were mainly secular in their traditions.

However her original perception of her religion changed when she was sent to the camp, but in an unexpected way. Many people placed under such extreme duress would doubt the existence of God, but in Etty`s case it was the opposite. It lead to complete spiritual transformation.

She prayed and read holy texts to find a degree of wisdom that was absent. She also read philosophy and poetry. She was particularly enamoured and then inspired by the work of the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke.

Rilke was renowned for the profundity and mysticism of his verse. Rilke once wrote,

“Don`t take my devils away, because my angels may flee too.”

Etty`s journey towards enlightenment was captured in her diaries and exercise books. She wrote,

“There is a really deep well inside me. And in it dwells God. Sometimes I am there, too. But more often stones and grit block the well, and God is buried underneath. Then He must be dug out again. I imagine that there are people who pray with their eyes turned heavenward. They seek God outside themselves. And there are those who bow their head and bury it in their hands. I think that these seek God inside.”

It was remarkable that someone could experience so much suffering and still believe in God.

Her imagination and empathy revealed through these words contrast starkly with the inhumanity of the Nazis. Etty Hillesum would lose her life in Auschwitz in 1943. However her legacy as a thinker survives to this day.

Goodbye to Old Kowloon.

On the 6th July 1998 Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong was closed. Kai Tak was constructed close to Kowloon, a place that is steeped in history and notoriety. Kowloon used to be a Chinese military fort until the British Empire took Hong Kong in 1898.

When Kowloon experienced a population boom in the twentieth century it was transformed into a vibrant city. It became infamous for its tall skyscrapers, and the fact that it was directly on the flight path of the old airport. It also lead to an increase in international tourism.

Visitors were drawn to Kowloon to witness low approaching aircraft flying above them, however this soon became a fraught situation for the inhabitants. Some people who lived in the high rise apartments were perturbed by the rapid increase in flights. It was especially alarming that the flight path was so close that the passengers on the planes could see the residents watching television.

The authorities sought a practical solution and decided to utilise the island of Chek Lap Kok. The land was levelled, and a new international airport was constructed. However the planes and the streets of the old Kowloon city have entered a kind of folk memory, and a certain degree of nostalgia.

This nostalgia has imbued popular culture, especially within the culture of East Asia. The old Kowloon was a place that became particularly poignant in the Japanese psyche, owing to historical ties with China. The Japanese author and artist Masamune Shirow was haunted by these painful memories.

His manga novel “Ghost In The Shell” is part science fiction, part mystery thriller but mainly an elegy to a vanished world. It inspired the 1995 film adaptation, and it was a tremendous evocation of a ghostly city, which in his futuristic vision becomes overtaken by robots rather than humans.

In our contemporary world we are fixated by notions that are unique amongst humans rather than our animal counterparts. The human species has evolved intellectually and it is no longer consumed by a need to both survive, and then to reproduce. I believe that this is the reason behind these almost ultra modern notions about human biology and society. Human beings now have a precious sense about their individuality rather than as a collective and as recent events have shown, this has been a detriment to our progress.

The Ubiquity of Dust.

On the 25th June 1982 the Ridley Scott film “Blade Runner” opened in American cinemas. This was a big budget Hollywood adaptation of a novella by the American science fiction writer Philip K. Dick originally entitled “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”. Dick died shortly before the film`s premiere and at that time his writing reputation was in a state of relative obscurity. In his lifetime he endured mental illness, penury and near bankruptcy but continued to express his creative vision in spite of his numerous personal and financial struggles.

The original novels and stories reveal a deeper insight into the human condition than the films that were created afterwards. “Blade Runner” is ostensibly about androids ruling over a country after the devastation of a nuclear war. However the original story delves into unsettling notions that are increasingly pertinent to us today.

The book posits a scenario in which androids supersede all humanoid cultures. The result of such a situation means that it is a highly functioning society but devoid of any imagination or feeling. In an empty and emotionally barren world like this, all animals are sacrificed without any regard for their sentient feelings as they are either commodities to be exploited or sources of food.

The remaining humans have been coerced into accepting the rule of their android colonisers, as they helped to rebuild the society after the war ended. This is a situation that prevails until one courageous individual human decides that the android empire is immoral and contrary to his own ethics. He devises his own “empathy test” to discern whether a citizen is an android or not. He realises that the androids are exceptionally intelligent but sadly lacking in any compassion for any biological life form including intelligent creatures like dogs.

Dick`s dystopian vision does not seem so frightening or far fetched in the light of recent political and societal events. Lockdown has lead to greater human isolation and an increasing dependence upon technology. The results have been toxic.

The relations between people have coarsened, especially on-line. There used to be a semblance of empathy, now that has vanished. It is becoming more difficult for some of us to acquire enough imagination to perceive that other people are different. A society that becomes largely insensitive and focused entirely upon functionality rather than artistic innovation is doomed to failure. Human values need to return if we are to thrive as a society.

Ill-Starred Dogs.

According to ancient legend, Europe was a princess who fell under the spell of the God Zeus who disguised himself as a bull. Their coupling created the minotaur, and this fearsome and mighty creature is a central part of the European story. Modern European civilisation derives meaning from the myth and legend of Ancient Greece and Rome. It imbues European sensibility and culture, it helps us to understand our unique history and place in the wider world.

Jose Saramago was a Portuguese writer who lived and worked through a tempestuous period in his country`s history. He was fiercely critical of the country and was forced to live his latter years in exile in Lanzarote after his work was banned by the authorities. Saramago recalled the dark days of the fascist dictator Salazar, and the brutal regime that was perpetuated in his name.

Portuguese people are still scarred by his legacy and this is an inherent part of the culture. The music of Portugal-Fado, means “fate”. Fate derives from an ancient Greek legend that goddesses assign the destinies of mortals as soon as they are born. Fado songs are long, melancholic reflections upon human experience. Saramago`s 1986 novel “The Stone Raft” is written in the style of a Fado song, long and ponderous sentences are constructed without punctuation to enhance the effect.

It is a book that introduces philosophical themes in an artistic and imaginative way. The initial premise of the book is fantastical-a lone dog barks by an elm tree and causes the Iberian land mass to break away and float out into the sea. However the purpose of the book is to highlight how much fate controls our mortal lives. Saramago did not espouse any overt political belief, even though some critics attribute left-wing ideology to his writing. His fundamental philosophy was humanist, he had a tremendous insight into the collective experience of humans but infused with a distinctive Portuguese voice.

A World of Lead.

Twelve centuries ago a fearless and formidable political force swept into power. This was the singular Charlemagne, who in the space of forty years conquered most of Europe. His success depended upon his military might and vision, and an uncompromising religious zeal. He remained utterly committed to his cause, which was to bring Christianity to the heathen hordes of Northern Europe. His methods were not peaceful, in the process entire villages were either starved or murdered. The Pagans who converted only did so by the sword.

Europe in the late eighth century was primitive and fractious. A figure like Charlemagne was admired as well as feared. He helped to forge the Holy Roman Empire but his actions were horrifying. His political achievements were impressive but an affront to our modern sensibilities.

However the familiar adage that humanity learns from historical atrocity is clearly untrue when we look at the world today. The heirs of Charlemagne have risen among us. National and global demoralisation has enabled figures like Donald Trump to ascend to power, even though he has only succeeded to alienate. Jair Bolsonaro`s regime in Brazil is driven by a similar sentiment, as his appointment owed much to the corruption and scandal of his predecessor.

However Bolsonaro`s unapologetic style and right-wing policies are not unique to the Brazilian nation or its culture. He is just one demagogue out of many on the world`s stage. In Turkey Recep Erdogan has initiated an aggressive de-secularisation campaign in the manner of an ancient Ottoman sultan. His bullishness and pride appeals to an element of Turkish society that feels that its culture is in decline.

Narendra Modi in India has a similar level of appeal to an older, more traditional populace that rejects Western influences. However he has created many problems that are starting to affect the rest of the world. Again this isn`t a uniquely Eastern problem, as Vladimir Putin and his Belarus ally are behaving in a manner that is suggestive of an unhinged Emperor.

These men are very dangerous forces that threaten our already fragile peace and security. It is patently obvious that their arrogance and insensitivity to wider international concerns would almost put Charlemagne to shame.

In the Asphalt City.

The Weimar Republic was regarded as the apex of German artistic endeavour, the last expression of freedom before barbarism descended. However as soon as the Nazis were defeated in Europe another extreme political movement began to emerge. Communism threatened artistic integrity once more. The East German playwright Bertolt Brecht opined this philosophy in aptly sinister tones,

“Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it”.

Brecht did not live long enough to witness the horrendous privation that was endured by generations of his country men and women, nor long enough to see the system eventually fail and ultimately collapse.

Nevertheless the Millennial fashion seems to romanticise art that is supposedly strident, iconoclastic and militantly left-wing. In reality this kind of artistic expression is merely dull and lifeless, particularly in the sphere of popular music. Anyone who dares to hold up a mirror to reality faces a “purge” in the manner enacted by Stasi guards in those dark days.

In two days time Morrissey will turn 62, but this event will not be met with celebration. His loyal fans will mark this day, but the media will predictably churn out the usual falsehoods and cast out aspersions.

In the permanently dull, humourless and unimaginative minds of left-wing journalists Morrissey is the epitome of reactionary politics. It is especially galling to them that the world has changed and his musical output has reflected that simple fact. The most entrenched socialists cannot bear to look at how much the world has been altered for better and for worse since the 1980s. In spite of the obvious flaws in their idealised philosophies they maintain stubbornly attached to them.

These ideals have inhibited musical innovation to the extent that pop music is now rendered sterile when it used to be a truly radical art form. After all a broken mirror is a completely redundant object if you follow the analogy logically. However a raw, vulnerable and lone voice in the wilderness is not only powerful but also dangerous.

The East German regime tried to control the population through fear and intimidation. Uniformity and conformity stifled creativity. It is a familiar pattern which is being replicated by the Internet and social media. This has left many people feeling more remote. It is heartening that there is a singular individual prepared to hold a mirror to the often ugly reality of the world.

Unchained.

40 years ago Bob Marley died. His passing was met with an outpouring of grief. He touched the lives of many people, in Jamaica, in the Jamaican diaspora, and all over the world. His music had a great deal of significance. He used his music to describe his country`s history, culture and people but he also spoke about a wider struggle for racial justice internationally.

The songs had an unsettling undertone that perturbed the more conservative elements in Jamaican society. However he did not desire insurrection or revolution the primary sentiment was one of reconciliation.

Marley sang for freedom, love and peace whilst acknowledging oppression, racism and war. But in the fevered political atmosphere of the 1970s the message for “one love” seemed to remain unheeded, and it was frequently drowned out by violent subversives.

When Marley attempted to reach out into politics it almost cost him his life. In December 1976 he survived an assassination attempt. Some have suggested that the CIA were responsible, however this is just a rumour.

Marley died after a protracted battle with cancer. He was awarded a state funeral in Jamaica and today he is revered as one of the greatest Jamaicans. His courage and musical legacy continue to resound in our contemporary world. Activists continue to quote his lyrics, even British government advisors use his words to promote social harmony. He is one of the very few people in music to achieve the status of “legend” and this must never be forgotten.

On A Silent Plain.

In 1542 King Henry VIII declared himself the King of Ireland. He was the first English Monarch to appoint himself ruler over the country. At the same time he was engaged in a ferocious campaign to divest English Catholicism entirely from the populace. Many ordinary English Catholics were forced under duress to submit to the new religion while wealthier and more influential co-religionists had the luxury to maintain their faith.

However religious faith means much more than wealth and power, for many people it has a greater significance both culturally and spiritually. Only tiny fragments of English Catholic culture endure, in classical music and in English literature. Thomas Tallis was Henry VIII`s court composer who, in spite of his patron`s religion remained a loyal follower of Catholicism. His devotional music include a set of antiphons dedicated to the Virgin Mary which were traditionally sung at the end of the Church evening service. These were composed during the religious strife of the 1540s but they remain in the repertoire.

Many centuries after the Reformation poet-priests and Catholic reverts John Henry Newman and Gerard Manley Hopkins attempted to revive the old religion. Newman`s “Dream of Gerontius” is a vivid prayer of a dying man contemplating his fate before God. It is written in the style of a confessional with the penitent accepting the path that awaits him. Newman then inspired Hopkins to return to the original faith of the country and to write about the experience. In one poem Hopkins honoured the Blessed Virgin Mary in elemental verse that began,

“Wild air, world-mothering air,

Nestling me everywhere.”

Hopkins and Newman were poets and theologians of the Victorian era, a period of overt anti-Catholicism. Religious prejudice dominated the culture, and this was combined with a distinct attitude of xenophobia directed against the Irish. English society then and to some extent now is conformist and underpinned with a rigid class system.

There were very few dissenting voices, at least publicly. Many ordinary Victorians would have privately expressed concern about the scale of religious and xenophobic bigotry and the often violent attempts to re-colonise Ireland. However there was one dissenter in the shape of the writer William Hope Hodgson. Hodgson was the son of an Anglican clergyman who was posted to Galway in 1887. The Bishop had sent him there in a vain attempt to evangelise and ultimately convert the local people to Protestantism.

(Picture-William Hope Hodgson)

His tenure lasted a mere three years. Hodgson Jr. was thirteen when the family were forced to return to England. One year later he joined the Merchant Navy as an apprentice cabin boy. He served as a mariner until 1898 but was appalled by the conditions he experienced at sea. His youthful experiences made him averse to both organised religion and authority. In 1904 he retreated to Wales to write. Four years later his horror novel “The House On The Borderland” was published.

The novel draws heavily on childhood memories of Galway and reads like a fever dream infused with suspicion and chaos. Confusion reigns throughout the novel as everyone speaks Gaelic and is hostile and belligerent to any perceived interloper. It is a book that is often cited as a horror classic. Hodgson died at the Battle of Ypres aged just 40, however his legacy lives on.

Tenderness For The Living

On a cold winter afternoon in 1797 two rabbit hunters were busy trailing their quarry on the Mendip Hills when they made a macabre discovery. They found the remains of Mesolithic hunters in a ravine. This is now known as Aveline`s hole. The bodies were buried with relics which suggested that they were laid to rest with full ceremonial rites. Votive objects like shells and ammonites were interred alongside them. There were also animal remains, mostly bears, deer and wolves.

Forensic examinations later revealed that they died from the effects of chronic malnutrition. This was a major archaeological event in British history and a poignant reminder of the harsh existence faced by our ancestors. The author Robert MacFarlane observed,

“We are often more tender to the dead than the living, though it is the living who need our tenderness the most”.

However in contemporary British society there is very little tenderness shown towards the living descendants of these ancient warriors, especially on the Left. A malign sentiment has imbued the culture. Also a blatant attempt has been made to erase the history of the people of this island who have existed since the end of the Ice Age when the European continent broke away from our shores.

Such sneering contempt is often excused as a progressive viewpoint but this is not a valid excuse because from the Left`s perspective every other country is allowed to celebrate its unique culture and history. The people of this island were subjected to armed invasions that began with the Romans and ended with the Normans. The Norman elites suppressed the vernacular language but the people who were placed under the colonial yoke preserved the folk tales which have been subject to reinvention.

Tomorrow we celebrate St George`s Day which is ostensibly a Roman Christian legend. However stories about heroes and dragons are a fundamental part of Celtic myth. We should feel proud of our history and rich cultural heritage and never feel ashamed of our identity.