A warped dogma that poisons British values
IN a powerful and defiant speech in Washington a fortnight ago, Suella Braverman bravely took aim at a shibboleth of the progressive elite.
Multiculturalism, the Home Secretary bluntly said, was not just a failed ideology; it threatened our safety and security.
Too many migrant communities, she argued, had been allowed – indeed, encouraged – to pursue parallel existences, with no obligation to integrate into wider British society.
This provided a climate in which people living here felt no duty to embrace the values of tolerance and decency upon which our country is built – with all the strain to social cohesion that entails.
For daring to challenge this corrosive dogma, Mrs Braverman was excoriated by the Left. But she was right. And this week, we have seen prima facie evidence.
With growing incomprehension, we have witnessed the grotesque spectacle of people rejoicing on the streets of London and other British cities over the Hamas atrocities against innocent Israelis.
How truly nauseating that this country, so proud of being welcoming and safe, is home to rabid racists who are comfortable publicly celebrating terrorists who raped, tortured and murdered.
Of course, the pro-Palestine mob who spewed bile insisted they were defending human rights in Gaza. But their hatred of Jewish people was there for all to see.
To take one example: A young woman, face adorned with a sticker of a Palestinian flag, taunted a Jewish man sheltering in a restaurant by screaming: ‘Are your people dead? Yes… aww, good.’ This is the ugly, twisted face of anti-Semitism in the UK.
Why do police stand impotently by and not arrest these degenerates? It is a crime to encourage terrorism by glorifying it.
No right-thinking person can condone, for instance, the actions of the imbecilic football supporter who wore a disgusting shirt at the FA Cup final mocking the Hillsborough disaster.
But if that person can be prosecuted for a hate crime, then surely those revelling in the racially motivated murder of Jews by genocidal savages should be brought to book with far more vigour.
It seems our politicians and institutions are too often cowed by political correctness to act against minorities who flout the laws and cultural norms of this country.
This is causing deep- seated concern among the wider British public.
It is natural for a person to be proud of their heritage. The people of this country have taken migrants from across the world – and their cultures – to our hearts. Diwali and Ramadan, for instance, are respected and enjoyed by people of all faiths.
But if those who come here want to enjoy our freedoms and tolerance, they must observe them too. Without shared values, a shared understanding of acceptable behaviour and a shared purpose, a country can never be at ease with itself.
We should unapologetically set out our stall on what we collectively want the UK to be – then expect those who wish to be part of it to help deliver that future.