Tuesday 29 July 2008
DOUG R. (England)
Why we are like this?
Living in Britain is different.
Have you noticed how often our way of doing things is different?
Let me offer some ideas. These are all personal opinions.
I do not write on behalf of anyone but myself.
I have picked out some quirks and suggest reasons.
Hopefully you will now.
Presented with a problem requiring a decision, before making it our first
reaction is to ask ‘ what happened last time?’
We have had to. To survive, we needed each other.
If trying to assess a person, we look at their personal track record.
We expect people behave as they did last time. They usually do.
Accepting people for who and what they are, we still expect them to behave
as human beings, applying common sense.
Our attitudes assume they will.
Beware, because we allow everyone ‘enough rope to hang themselves’.
We take longer than others to react to a crisis or other alarming situation.
We make our decisions slowly. We almost have to ‘decide to panic’, so to
speak. We rarely do.
Nor do we give up on a situation. Having, eventually, decided on a course of
action, we normally carry it through. Whatever deterrents appear, we keep
going until our chosen objective is reached.
We have always been very slow to react to threats or hostility, whether on a
personal or national level.
This has so often been mistaken for weakness.
Ask Napoleon, Hitler, Gautieri.
Have you noticed?
In most official organisations the real boss is never in uniform.
Your dealings with authority may have been with the police or customs or
some other officials. Almost certainly your first contact was with someone
in uniform. They carried out the ‘Letter of the Law’ meaning whatever the
regulations laid down.
Any decision needing management input was made by someone dressed in
ordinary clothes, not uniform.
Why?
We mistrust people in uniform. It is one of our characteristics.
This attitude probably goes back to the days of our vicious Civil War.
Oliver Cromwell seized control of Parliament and redeveloped a strong
military dictatorship structure. He ruled the country for many years,
becoming ever more unpopular, and doing ever more damage in the process.
When Monarchy with Parliament was reinstated, an early decision was that all
future Heads of Military (The Army in those days) would be a civilian.
Political and financial control of any future military structure would be
only through and by Parliament.
Furthermore all military actions must yield to over-riding civilian
requirements.
This still applies today. The military have to make their arrangements
within civilian structures.
One modern example is a simple comparison with France.
If the French Air Force decide to hold military manoeuvres, all airspace and
flight control is controlled by and devoted to the Air Force.
Civil air traffic must reorganise their routes to suit the Air Force.
The Royal Air Force have to fit their flights within normal civil flight
restrictions.
Having experienced unpleasant aspects of dictatorship, we have ever since
avoided having a ‘standing army’ based within the country.
In response to some external threat an Army has been raised, or expanded.
It was always disbanded when the crisis was over.
The basic structure of our regular military has been professionally led.
The bulk has traditionally been stationed abroad in one of our colonies.
Officials must convince us to justify their actions, or we do not respond
with obedience.
We wonder if such people need to disguise an inner weakness. We look for and
respect subtle inner strengths.
Have you noticed?
The locals all speak and behave differently in different areas, not just
dialects but different languages.
Why?
Wales, Scotland and Ireland are countries with their own language and
culture, including, and in some cases, separate Laws.
This can vary according to where you are within that country.
Obvious outward examples are road-signs.
People in everyday speech. TV, newspapers and radio programmes will be in
their language.
Why?
These were separate countries before political union with England was
established, centuries ago.
Some other regional differences originate in several waves of immigrations
from Scandinavia, soon after the Romans departed.
North of it, the place names of town and villages remind you of their Viking
days. Speech differences are so noticeable that people from Newcastle have
problems making themselves understood in London.
Why?
The Vikings lived and settled in that area.
The sense of humour, speech patterns and day to day customs, are noticeably
different north and south of that line.
Have you noticed trains and bus services are different companies.
Why?
After the last war, a political decision was made that the nation should own
its assets. Coal, transport, steel, medical services, were nationalised. All
companies involved in these activities were taken over by the State.
When the political tide turned, nationalised industry was no longer
considered viable.
Prime Minister Mrs Thatcher promoted a substantial programme of de-nationalisation.
This included transport.
Train and bus services were de-regulated.
Several local transport companies set up, competing with each other in the
classic entrepreneurial way.
Successful ones took over, amalgamated with or forced into extinction, their
weaker competitors. What you see today is the result.
If you have any particular queries why not ask?
DOUG R.
(England)
Recent articles of Doug R.:
Published in Woman's Magazine Russian Woman Journal www.russianwomanjournal.com - 29 July 2008
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Doug R (England)
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