National celebration: But could Christmas soon be 'downgraded'?
Posted on 10/31/2007 3:00:51 PM PDT by Stoat
National celebration: But could Christmas soon be 'downgraded'?
Britain is no longer a Christian nation and Christmas should be downgraded in favour of festivals from other religions to improve race relations, according to an explosive new report.
Labour's favourite think tank says that because it would be hard to 'expunge' Christmas from the national calendar, 'even-handedness' means public organisations must start giving other religions equal footing.
The leaked findings of its investigation into identity, citizenship and community cohesion, seen by the Daily Mail, triggered a storm of protest.
Other controversial measures it proposes include:
• New 'birth ceremonies', at which the state and parents agree to 'work in partnership' to bring up newborns
• Action to 'ensure access' for ethnic minorities to the 'largely white' British countryside
• An overhaul of Britain's 'imperial' honours system
• Bishops being thrown out of the House of Lords
• An end to 'sectarian' religious education in schools
• Encouraging people to fly flags other than the Union Jack
The report has been prepared by the Institute for Public Policy Research, which has close ties to Labour and has shaped many of its key policies, including ID cards, bin taxes and road pricing.
It was commissioned when Nick Pearce, now head of public policy at Downing Street, was its director, and its publication delayed several times.
The report robustly defends the doctrine of multiculturalism - the idea that different communities should not be forced to integrate but should be allowed to maintain their own culture and identities - which has been widely criticised in recent months.
It insists there is no 'evidence to support the claim that multiculturalist policies lead to fragmented communities'.
It says immigrants should be required to acquire some proficiency in the English language and other aspects of British culture 'if - but only if - the settled population is willing to open up national institutions and practices to newcomers and give a more inclusive cast to national narratives and symbols'.
'Even-handedness dictates that we provide public recognition to minority cultures and traditions,' the report goes on.
'If we are going to continue as a nation to mark Christmas - and it would be very hard to expunge it from our national life even if we wanted to - then public organisations should mark other religious festivals too.
'We can no longer define ourselves as a Christian nation, nor an especially religious one in any sense. The empire is gone, church attendance is at historically low levels, and the Second World War is inexorably slipping from memory.'
The report, written by IPPR advisers Ben Rogers and Rick Muir, calls on ministers to launch an 'urgent and upfront campaign' promoting a 'multicultural understanding of Britishness'.
'Multiculturalism can be shown to provide for a fairer and more liberal society and does not necessarily lead to social division and community conflict, as its critics have claimed,' it says.
Local education authorities must act to 'ensure children mix and are able to form friendships with pupils from different backgrounds'.
The report adds: 'Any liberal state should recast the civic oaths and national ceremonies, or institutions like Parliament and the monarchy, in a more multi-religious or secular form and make religious education less sectarian.'
The presence of Bishops in the House of Lords, for instance, is condemned as a 'historical anachronism' that should be removed.
The system in which parents are required to register a new-born child at their local registry office is dismissed as 'purely bureaucratic'.
The occasion should be transformed into a 'public rite', using citizenship ceremonies for immigrants as a model, the report says.
'Parents, their friends and family and the state (would) agree to work in partnership to support and bring up their child.'
Rural Britain, the report complains, 'remains a largely white place' and the 'least culturally diverse part of the country'.
Much more needs to be done to 'ensure access' to the countryside for black and ethnic minority groups, disabled people and children from inner-city areas.
The move is necessary 'if our natural heritage is to provide a common source of identity'.
A new national 'civic day' should be held on the Monday following Remembrance Sunday, the report says, on which citizens would be thanked for and encouraged to take part in voluntary service.
The day would provide a 'unique moment, which we arguably lack at present, to reflect on our common history, fate and values'.
Large numbers of 'citizenship ceremonies' for new arrivals would also be held around the country. And people should be encouraged to 'fly many flags, not just one'.
The honours system is condemned as 'too complex, poorly understood and mixed up with outdated notions of hierarchy, patronage and empire'.
A smaller number of honours should be awarded on the new 'civic day', should no longer confer social titles and should make no reference to 'empire or the military'.
The Government should also explore the idea of making voting in elections a compulsory 'civic act'.
And national galleries and museums are also told they must do more to promote multi-cultural Britain.
'The kind of conservative nation-building projects that led to the establishment of many of these old institutions is finished,' it insists.
'The role of our national galleries and museums should instead be to provide a distinctively national space in which we can reflect on the multiplicity of identities, stories and cultures that make up modern Britain.'
Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion Sayeeda Warsi said: 'Gordon Brown's favoured think tank's advisers have clearly lost the plot.
'Their comments betray a breathtaking misunderstanding of what it is to be British. These proposals could actually damage community cohesion.'
But an IPPR spokesman insisted: 'Sayeeda Warsi clearly doesn't understand the point we are making. IPPR's report recommends that Christmas should be celebrated by all who want to but that society should respect the religious festivals of all faiths in Britain.'
Strange, I keep hearing about how it's the 'evil white people' who "oppress, dominate, and subjugate" other cultures around the world
The staff seems overwhelmingly white. Shouldn't they be offering to step down from Mt. Olympus in the interest of diversity and multi-culturism?
Zimbabwe.
***********
Zimbabwe.
That seems an extreme comparison... at first. Ultimately, it could certainly go in that direction.
The U.N. and legislation which partners with U.N. initiatives is largely to blame for the changing face of the U.K. The following is from a Q&A webpage on the Kirklees, West Yorkshire website. Note the evasive answer to the "Illegal Immigrants" question... evidently the U.K. has adopted the term "asylum seeker" to cover all such "immigrants".
It's interesting, nonetheless, that "Why can't we just get rid of the lot of them" made it to an online Q&A list.
**************
Q: Why do we allow asylum seekers into Kirklees?
A: Under the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 newly arrived asylum seekers are dispersed across the UK away from the hard pressed local authorities in London and the South East. Kirklees Council is part of the Yorkshire & Humberside Consortium who contracts with the Home Office to provide accommodation.
Q: Where do the asylum seekers who arrive in Kirklees come from?
A: They are mainly Kurds from Iraq, Farsi speakers from Iran and Afghanistan and French and English speaking Africans. A smaller number come from Bosnia and Pakistan.
Q: Why should asylum seekers be allowed to receive benefits and free services?
A: Asylum seekers are not allowed to claim mainstream welfare benefits. They receive 70% of regular income support - so asylum seekers are forced to live 30% below the poverty line. The UK gives asylum seekers less financial support than some other European countries such as Belgium, Ireland and Denmark.
Q: Why don't we just send all illegal immigrants back to where they came from?
A: Refugees are people who have been forced to flee their homes. It is often impossible for them to apply in their home countries, leaving them no choice in where they claim asylum. Often governments refuse to issue passports to known political dissidents and they may risk imprisonment if they apply. The UK has specific legal obligations towards asylum seekers on British territory.
Sending asylum seekers back to persecution violates international human rights standards. Article 33 of the 1951 UN Convention for Refugees prohibits the UK expelling or returning a refugee until their case is heard. Many asylum seekers are well-educated professionals who may have left behind good jobs and a decent standard of living.
*****
“The Government should also explore the idea of making voting in elections a compulsory ‘civic act’.”
This little gem stands out quite a bit. Mandatory voting would ensure Labour a stranglehold on the government for generations.
Yes, and they're counting on the "don't be ridiculous!" factor. It's been hugely successful so far.
Re the "illegal immigrants" question, who wouldn't want to welcome self-described "asylum seekers" with no authentic proof of identity with open arms?
It's like watching a slow-motion train wreck.
At your service!
AMEN!
Liberals should be banished off the planet.
I'm working toward that goal, and I know that MANY others here are as well........
 |
|
||||||||
That looks like quite an interesting movie....sadly, I am only seeing that as being available from an eBay seller as a German-language version with Japanese subtitles.
Being a stoat that doesn't speak either German or Japanese, it appears that I will not be able to see the movie.
((((((sad)))))
I think not.
The Soviets had no ideological misgivings about their chosen path.....they would still be engaged in a combination of bloody takeovers of weaker countries, internal gulags and endless bread lines to this day had it not been for their economic collapse (Thank You Ronald Reagan)..
One thing that the Left never does is say "I'm sorry, I was wrong". They will continue on their path only until they are forcibly prevented from proceeding by an unstoppable force.
Hopefully our British Friends will do just that before it's too late.
The exception will be made based upon the (darkly) shining principles of Diversity and Reaching Out to Other Cultures.
If such hogwash as these Orwellian / Hitlerian recommendations are allowed to gain a foothold and are accepted into Law, then all of the sacrifices of the countless Patriots who have Ever given their lives for Great Britain will have been for naught.
Look no further my friend we train them in our Universities.
As Pogo once said "we have found the enemy and he is us.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.