Flags. A symbol of nationalism, of pride, of racism. Flags are utilised by some to unite a public, support a revolution and promote racial hatred and national superiority. Flags are not meaningless. Flags are not decorative. Flags are symbolic.
Recently, the British Government’s Culture department (if you haven’t noticed they are becoming my favourite department to rant about) has set out new guidance that government buildings across the UK will fly the Union Jack every day. Some may ask what the purpose of this is? Well, Oliver Dowden has explained the reasoning behind this is as ‘a proud reminder of our history and the ties that bind us’. Glad he’s cleared that up. Although, I do wonder why he didn’t mention how they’re co-opted to stir up views on anti-immigration, to promote of Brexit, and by extremist right-wing organisations. Must have just slipped his mind.
There are also many of you that may wonder ‘well why not? It’s just a flag’. Now this, I will clear up. My issue is not that government buildings fly the Union Jack, many countries across the world fly their flag outside of official buildings. My issue is that it is now official guidance to do so. Every. Day. Actually, scrap my point that I don’t have an issue with people flying their national flag. It was a lie. I absolutely have an issue with flag waving. It is banal nationalism which I’ll explain later. But first, the guidance. It caught me off guard. I didn’t realise that there was a massive movement for the flying of flags – I had noticed the movements like Reclaim the Streets, Black Lives Matter, and ones protesting the anti-protest bill. But ones for the flying of the flag clearly just hadn’t caught my eye. I’m glad the government has responded to it and I can’t wait for them to respond to the other movements. Although, I’m hedging my bets that, as a woman, I would have more luck having my voice heard if I was painted red, white and blue and flying from a flagpole.
This guidance has been set up, as previously mentioned, as ‘a proud reminder of our history and the ties that bind us’. It appears as a response to the independence movements in Scotland and Wales, and as a response to the calls for the decolonisation of history in the school’s curriculum and in public history. It is once more that ‘war on woke’ wrapped up in ignorant pride. There is a clear aim for flying these flags and it is propaganda. I could talk all day (my parents may argue that I do) about the decolonisation of history and the importance of this in both schools and the public sphere but I won’t right now. I have written a blog post before on my thoughts on this that you are more than welcome to read (please read it), and this official flag waving is once more a way to present that monolithic, jingoistic, national view on history that the government desires. This is my issue with it becoming guidance, it shows the flag is not just a flag, it is political.
Now, banal nationalism. Banal nationalism was a concept devised by Michael Billig (I’ll reference his book below) about the unnoticed and routine exposure to, and promotion of, national identity every day. This can be seen in street names, statues, national buildings, and flags. Basically, you’re unknowingly being spoon fed nationalism as soon as you step outside. Now, this may not seem extreme, however, nationalism works on the assumption that you are somehow different from other people. It automatically sets you against a different nation. The Scots aren’t English, and the English aren’t French. For many this nationalism stops here, isn’t it amusing that British people like a cup of tea and isn’t it weird that French people eat frogs’ legs? However, this is a platform for the extreme. With nationalism comes racism. This othering and differentiating of people allows prejudice, allows hatred, allows violence. It separates people. For those that do ask ‘well why not?’ can I ask you ‘well why now?’ Why is this guidance suddenly needed?
Once more, the argument of freedom of speech and the fear that some have of being silenced presents itself. On BBC Breakfast, Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt made light of the perfectly positioned flag that Robert Jenrick had placed during his interview. There was a mixed view in the public but the one that got me was the outrage. How. Dare. They. We are British and we should be allowed to wave our flag with pride. Woke has gone too far and is trying to silence our nationalism. And, therefore, we need to silence Munchetty and Stayt and have them apologise because their freedom of speech is not allowed. Every day the argument of freedom of speech, the war on woke, and cancel culture while silencing and cancelling people seems to become more bizarre. And the irony is lost on many.
This blog post seems to have fallen into a trap. I’ve discussed an issue of flags and haven’t talked about the systemic racism and sexism present right now. I didn’t mention the issues of poverty or how the government continually gets away with illegal activity. I haven’t even written a polemic on the importance of protesting. I have been distracted by flag waving. The flag waving of a government that expects me to be proud of their continual privatisation, their crippling underfunding of so many services beneficial to society (to be fair we don’t have much money at the moment), and their bizarre support for war and weapons (oh no wait we’ve found some surplus cash, never mind). The government expects me to be proud of the colonial past in which we slaughtered and starved copious amounts of people. This flag represents these issues and attempts to whitewash them. So, I’m sorry Dowden, it may give me a reminder of history, but it is not a proud one.
I understand that you may want to be proud. That you may want to fly a flag that represents your country. But before you do so, research Britain’s colonial exploits, take time to learn about the relationship between Britain and Ireland and evaluate the policies the government is continually pushing through. Then explain to me what about this flag makes you proud.
Further Reading:
Anderson, Benedict, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, (London: Verso, 2006)
Billig, Michael, Banal Nationalism, (London: Sage Publications Ltd, 1995)
Calhoun, Craig, ‘Nationalism Matters’, in Nationalism in the New World, ed. by Don Doyle and Marco Antonio Pamplona (London: University of Georgia Press, 2006), pp.16-40
Dénes, Iván Zoltán, ‘Liberalism and Nationalism: An Ambiguous Relationship’, in Liberty and the Search for Identity: Liberal Nationalisms and the Legacy of Empires, ed. by Iván Zoltán Dénes (New York: Central European University Press, 2006), pp.1-18
Hobsbawm, Eric, Nations and Nationalism since 1780: Programme, Myth, Reality, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990)
Kirsty's History Blog 