The British have long been the innovators that the rest of the world has emulated. Indeed, this creativity had been one of their trademarks. For instance, they gave us the modern system of parliamentary democracy, we saw that it was good and we all tried to take it up ourselves. Ditto various other institutions and inventions, not least among them, the English language itself.
Another characteristic of the Brits is that, having produced these great innovations, they then proceed to suck at many of them. This is, of course, most obvious in the myriad sports that they have come up with. Cricket - great sport. Who invented it !?! - The British ! Who are going to get their arses handed to them when the Ashes roll round !?! The British !! Who invented footie !?! Brits!! Who will be going home without the World Cup in 2012 !?! ... You get the drift.
Another characteristic of the Brits is that, having produced these great innovations, they then proceed to suck at many of them. This is, of course, most obvious in the myriad sports that they have come up with. Cricket - great sport. Who invented it !?! - The British ! Who are going to get their arses handed to them when the Ashes roll round !?! The British !! Who invented footie !?! Brits!! Who will be going home without the World Cup in 2012 !?! ... You get the drift.
The reasoned response to this is perhaps 'Fair enough'. After all, sport is competitive and someone is going to win at the expense of the rest. There is no reason to believe that the country that came up with the sport should be the best at it. The best composers aren't always the best performers.
But now, to that 'invent and suck at' list, it seems we have to add something that isn't competitive. It is a right. And that is the right of free speech. If the Australian is to be believed, "The [British] Government is pushing ahead with legislation that will criminalise politically incorrect jokes, with a maximum punishment of up to seven years' prison."
Maybe this disease will remain confined to British shores. But there is a good chance that it will spread. Like I said before, the world often tends to imitate the Brits - and then outdo them. And that trailblazing nation - one which played a leading role in giving us the concept of freedom of expression - is just about to surrender that very fundamental right without a whimper of resistance.
Ill winds blow.
3 comments:
This is unfortunate as politically incorrect jokes are often the best ones. But didn't the French invent parliament?
Well, the word is French. And around the 12th-14th centuries, many European kingdoms had parliamentary variants. However, the British version was the most 'genuine' of the lot. This is especially since the Magna Carta bound the monarch to the very laws he or she passed - a rule no one else had at the time and this really set the stage for a 'power to the people' style of government.
Also, most world parliaments today are modelled on the British system.
oh cool
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