Jimmy Porter in John Osborne's 1956 play : 'Look back in Anger' immortalised by Richard Burton in the 1959 film.
"I suppose people of our generation aren't able to die for good causes any longer. We had all that done for us, in the thirties and forties, when we were still kids.... There aren't any good, brave causes left."
Those old men, now in their seventies, who were the immediate post- Second World War baby boomers and their elder brothers, now in their eighties, who were growing up as boys in the War, were justifiably proud of what their fathers and uncles had done in the Armed Forces during the War. Britain had fought the good fight and triumphed against manifest evil in the European and Asian theatres of war. They held their heads high in the knowledge that their country had been, and still was, a force to be reckoned with in an unstable world.
The phrase 'laughing stock' first appeared in the 1533 book, 'An other boke against Rastel' by John Frith, in which the following passage can be found :
“Albeit … I be reputed a laughing stock in this world.”
The origin of the phrase is linked with the medieval practice of putting errant villagers in the stocks for a certain period of time, allowing them to be hectored and ridiculed by their fellow citizens.
For almost a year now, those proud old men of Britain, along with everybody else, have been assailed in their press by articles like these and it has made a severe dent in the pride in which they once held their country :
July 2018
December 2018
January 2019
Opinion: Brexit has made us a laughing stock around the world
March 2018
April 2019
In their sadness and to their consternation proud old men find that :
* the
New York Times commentator, Thomas Friedman, has said :
“If you can’t take a joke you shouldn’t come to London right now, because there is political farce everywhere. In truth, though, it’s not very funny. It’s actually tragic.” Here was a country
“determined to commit economic suicide but unable even to agree on how to kill itself”, led by
“a ship of fools” unwilling to
“compromise with one another and with reality”. The result was an
“epic failure of political leadership”. Scary Stuff
"but, you can’t fix stupid”.
* the
Washington Post’s Fareed Zakaria has said in a piece entitled
'Brexit will mark the end of Britain’s role as a great power' that Britain,
'famous for its prudence, propriety and punctuality, is suddenly looking like a banana republic” and its implosion might even be the beginning of the end of the west, as a political and strategic entity.'
* Susan Hattis Rolef in the
Jerusalem Post has said : Given the
'unbelievable mess that the UK has got itself into', Israelis should perhaps
'avoid wishing ourselves ‘the best of British luck’ ahead of elections this month. All in all, 'Britain seems to be short of luck at the moment.'
* even Jorge Arreaza, Venezuela's Foreign Minister, in the midst of a devastating political and socio-economic crisis, has tweeted the British Government had been
“unable to meet its obligations.” The country needed leadership that, rather than intervening abroad,
“takes care of the most felt necessities of the country and distances itself from political chaos.”
* Subir Roy in an editorial in
'The Hindu' has said :
'How could a modern, educated and open society have got it so wrong?' The answer, he said, was that Britons
'were deluded by their popular, lowbrow, chauvinistic, right wing press.'
* Sreeram Chaulia, Dean of the Jindal School of International Affairs, has said many Indians saw Brexit as the latest chapter in a
"sharp decline in the place Britain commands as a great power.” Britain
“is not a gold standard to look up to. We get a feeling of a sinking ship, and everybody wants to leave a sinking ship.”
* Nick Miller of the
'Sydney Morning Herald' and
'The Age' has written : To see a country
'deliberately throwing away a close, mutually beneficial partnership, wilfully damaging its economy and influence on a point of cultural principle was a surprise.'
* in Hong Kong, Claudia Mo, a pro-democracy MP, said she
“used to think the Brits were a very sensible people” but added,
“as a former colonial person, it’s almost like a farce. It’s sadly funny, sadly amusing. I’m baffled as to why and how things got to where they are now.”
* the
'Daily Maverick', a South African news website, has compared the Brexit saga to a Gilbert and Sullivan light opera – although perhaps
'not so likely to end the way they do, with everything nicely and tidily resolved in the last few minutes.'
* commentator J Brooks Spector, who writes for the
'Daily Maverick' has said
'Britain shrinks to a sort of economic ‘Middling Britain’, useful for some great shopping and often great theatre, but not to be seen as a serious global player any more. Even if the country is ultimately able to cobble together some kind of new economic relationship with the EU, the international reputation of its prowess as a negotiator would seem to be fatally compromised.'
* Adema Sangale in Kenya’s
'The Daily Nation' asked :
'Dear Britain, have you ever heard of project management? This discipline refers to when you set yourself a goal and clear milestones and tasks towards achieving it.'
* Nick Rowley from Australia
'ABC News' said :
"How Britain resolves, or fails to resolve Brexit and the terms of its divorce from Europe, is of more than passing interest to Australia. It is a bit like watching a loved grandparent in physical and mental decline. You care for them deeply. You appreciate all they have done for you. But each day they become more inwardly focused. Their world contracts. They seem increasingly incoherent."
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