Like It Is

In England, there’s a suggestion to teach British values in schools. Needless to say this has generated a lot of debate. The question of course has to be asked “Can British values be taught in a classroom? Shouldn’t parents be teaching children values? Mine did, without reference to “British values”. And what example are the government as far as values are concerned, particularly given the happenings over the past couple of weeks. As I perused the comments on the Have Your Say section of bbc.co.uk I was interested to see what indeed people did think British values are. Not a lot it seems. So what do I see as Britishness and British values?

First off, having lived in Toronto for a few years, I have to say I feel more British here now that I am living abroad than I ever did in Britain.  Which is nothing against Toronto, because I love it here. 

The values I associate with being British and hope that we are still known for are fair play, respect (for law and others), reserve, hard work and tolerance. But these are values my parents taught me.  Some might say British values have been eroded or no longer exist, and certainly a cursory reading of the bbc.co.uk might give that impression. I disagree. I think of countries like Kenya, like Zimbabwe, like DR Congo. Living in countries like England, like Canada we don’t realize how lucky we are or how much we take for granted. We can still pretty much say what we like and go where we want to.

What I miss most about England though, is our unique ability to laugh at ourselves, the quick- witted and dry humour and the irony. Our sense of humour binds us more than we realize. Like cricket and going to the Pub for a (sensible) pint,  that is just British.