Lost and Found—Our National Identity!
A commentary by Peter Hawkins
Pastoral co-ordinator, the British Isles
The Archbishop of Canterbury could hardly have expected such a
negative response from so many quarters when he suggested the need
for aspects of Sharia Law to be allowed in Britain. The British
legal system absorbing part of Islamic law?
The country overall is pretty accommodating towards immigrants.
Perhaps to a fault. But now we see an identity crisis as we British
seem to be lost—not knowing what really makes us British.
Our culture and our people are changing. The most popular dish in
the UK is no longer roast beef and Yorkshire pudding but curry!
There is also a type of anger growing, as explained recently by
Maurice Saatchi in The Financial Times 6th February 2008.
Saatchi suggests that this anger could be caused by Freud's
Law of Ambivalence which proposes that "it is possible to
love and hate the same object at the same time; and that these contradictory
feelings lead to frustration, which leads to anger."
The English love the flag of the United Kingdom—the Union
Jack. Yet many are sympathetic with the Scots and Welsh who want
more say over their own affairs. So, our country now has two flags.
For the Olympic Games, it's the UK flag. For World Cup soccer,
it's the cross of St George.
Europe has been peaceful for 50 years. Co-operation and a legal
presence across borders are enabling more protection for the environment.
Mergers are making companies more efficient and competitive.
But now we see mega-mergers across country borders portending
what could happen under the unification of Europe. These events
issue warnings of the total loss of sovereignty and lack of control
of our own affairs. Europe, the scene of our finest hour in 1945,
is now heavily influenced by Germany. With its population of 100
million, Germany has greater democratic weight in Europe than the
United Kingdom (60 million). What was not accomplished in warfare
is taking place through democracy!
Just as occurred in Rome towards the end of the Roman Empire, the
inhabitants of our capital city of London are increasingly foreign
immigrants. And Britons are moving out of the UK. Five million British
passport holders live abroad, citing cheaper living conditions,
lower taxes, a better lifestyle and better weather.
Headlines state: "Thousands more Britons join the exodus
to live and work abroad," and "Uneasy rich planning
exit from high-cost Britain." On the other side of the coin, "One
in five primary children is foreign" and "One in ten
of the British population was born overseas." One bank has
posters in Polish reflecting the desire to capitalise on just one
of the new groups of inhabitants.
In his article Maurice Saatchi describes how Britons see the effects
of pressure put on more than just their public services, housing
and health service. "Naturally, the Englishman also worries
about his language, his culture and so on ... he also sees the other
point of view. Immigrants bring wealth; immigrants do lowly jobs;
immigrants built America; and against all odds, immigrants often
rise to great heights—a feat much admired by all good Englishmen."
Perhaps all this is symptomatic of the "lost identity" many
Britons are feeling.
At the beginning of the twentieth century the British navy ruled
the seas and its empire stretched around the world. Then, at the
end of World War II, the United States assumed the role of the dominant
world power. Since that time Britain and the U.S. have been staunch
allies.
But Britain today is also a member of the European Union. And the
EU is now striving to transform its economic power into global political
power. To accomplish this, it wants to establish a federal government
that can speak and act for all of Europe. This could mean further
loss of sovereignty for the British people. So it is little wonder
that throughout the British Isles people are feeling a loss of identity.
Actually, even centuries before the ancient Roman legions invaded
their land, the Britons already had lost their true identity.
Yet they retained knowledge of their earlier migrations north-west
from the Caucasus mountain range near the Black Sea, resulting in
the identity term Caucasians being applied to them in past
centuries.
Near the Black Sea is where the northern ten tribes of the House
of Israel were taken by the Assyrians in 721-718 B.C. Then, supposedly,
they simply disappeared from history. But did they? Or is there
a connection between their disappearance and the migration
of Caucasians at about the same time to northwestern Europe?
 Read
the whole story, with its implications for today! Simply request,
download or read online our free booklet: The
United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy.
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