Why Do We Need Britishness?
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Why do we need Britishness?
The article “Why do we need Britishness” was written by Sunny Hundal and published on 26th April 2007 by The Guardian.
Outline
Sunny Hundal tries to explain why the British people need Britishness and why it is so important to keep this national identity.
The subject is countered by various reactions. This debate of the importance of Britishness is also essential to immigrants because they need to feel welcome and feel as a part of the country – they need to be more integrated. Therefore the question needs to be defined in such a way that it encourages most non-white Britons. We need to give them a reason to feel patriotic so they can take part of the debate.
In the end of the article he offers three main points of why he thinks that it is important to have this national identity. The first point is that the scale of immigration makes it hard for British people to communicate. Secondly this is about developing a national feeling among the non-white Britons that they are welcome and a part of the society – on an equal footing with everyone else. Thirdly the Britishness can help to empower second and third generation ethnic minorities to play a bigger part in political and civic organisations. – This can help to decrease “home-grown” terrorism.
Comment
What is Britishness and what values are tied to the word? Does it change along with the increasingly globalized world or is there a sharp line that distinguishes whether you are British or not? During the last couple of years the growing diversity of people has made it more difficult to keep a national identity.
Sunny Hundal refers to many important problems about the question of national identity. I agree with him when he mentions his three broader points. Many non-white Britons do not feel like a part of this “Britishness” and therefore it must be hard to feel welcome in the country even though you were born there. This may result in ostracized ethnic minorities and in worst scenario ultimately leads to “home-grown” terrorism.
Therefore we have to remind the British people why they need Britishness. It is vital to feel deeply rooted and accountable to the community you live in and not just feel like a “guest”.
My intuition of Britishness is that it has changed through the ages. When England was a big colonial power, most Britains probably took pride in being British and believed that their way of life was the right one – Britishness. Britains self-esteem and Britishness was reinforced after World War II where they had helped to save Europe from Nazism. But in the following years until today there have been major changes. The Britains