The weakness of Empires and the power of words

I watched part one of Jeremy Paxman's BBC series on the British Empire the other day and found I loved it. Reminded me how much of where and who we are is shaped  by where and who we came from.

Two lessons also:

1. Massive Empire's are essentially confidence tricks. They always overeach themselves and end up as massive confidence tricks - doing eveything they can to appear stronger and more untouchable than they really are to the conquered,who collectively outgun the conquerers, so they don't realise how easily they could blow them away.

They make sure they have lots of massive displays of power therefore.

Reminds me how the whole Cold War was based on the fabrication of, not only what Stalin's intentions were, but how powerful the Soviets really were (not nearly as much as the warmongers would have everyone believe).

Also reminds me of the 'Empires' in the advertising business. With notable exceptions, they're not very good mostly, just very big and very good at 'displays of power' - the amazing buildings, the great suits and the fantastic props. 

2. Great writing is timeless. Forget all the blather over to  long copy or not. Great writing cuts through. The most memorable moments of the programme to me were the recitals of Rudyard Kipling's IF..

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

And Wilfred Owen's Dulce et Decorum Este

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares(2) we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest(3) began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots(4) 
Of tired, outstripped(5) Five-Nines(6) that dropped behind.
Gas!(7) Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets(8) just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime(9) . . .
Dim, through the misty panes(10) and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering,(11) choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud(12) 
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest(13) 
To children ardent(14) for some desperate glory,
The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est
Pro patria mori.(15)

Both just skewer you straight away.

Anyway

 

Comments

[Shouvik Datta]

This programme largely stayed on familiar themes, of darkies not being allowed into colonial cricket clubs and Indian coolies building railways in Africa (and then gratefully emigrating to Britain, where they all set up Indian restaurants, or became accountants, doctors etc). The British Empire was important because of its economic aspect. The huge mining operations in Africa, Australia and Canada played a key role (and continue to play a major role) in the world's industrial economies. A programme focusing on these aspects of Empire would have said something really new.

[sean]

Cecil Rhodes was a Grammar School wannabe pyschopath. Many of the dodgy and secret organisations that exist today have Rhodes at the back of them. Look at the list of prominent Rhodes scholars and spot his fellow pyschopaths. Also the part played by the East India Co whose flag still flies in the Home of the brave and the land of the free. Is a big bully brave? I don't think so but the American way today is an exact copy of the M.O. of the Brit Empire and I don't think that's a coincidence. Old families are old families and they, as now, called the shots. The fact is we were barbaric when masquerading as Gods children. Vanity, power and greed is our heritage regardless of what the suffering of others gave the British or the British gave to the Godless. The truth is very little was put back. Whatever they did it was all window dressing to promote an effective denial of the bestial brits. Having said that it's a bloody good program and Jeremy does a first class job in what is arguably one of the most honest appraisals of the British Empire at work that an organisation like the BBC, not normally given to honesty, have ever allowed

[charlie]

The Empire is the British history and as englishman we should be proud of what those men had done, alot of the things that are about and the way people live is beacuse we introduced this into the way of life. If you like it or not the Empire was a very very very good thing that happened, yes we did it in a bad way but we recogsied this and tried to put things right. To this day proberly 80% of what the way people live, the sports, the education and many other things came from the British. We as a Nation was a great one and it is a shame that today we put what used to be the Great in Great Britain now means nothing and this counrty is now going down hill.

[Rohan Fernando]

As a Sri Lankan living in Britain, I felt that the series failed to mention many of the British Empire's positive contributions. The introduction of democracy in the colonies was not mentioned at all. The first elections took place in India and Sri Lanka about 100 years ago and both countries have had regular national elections since the 1930s.The democratic credentials of countries in the Commonwealth are significantly better than those outside. Rule of Law was mentioned in passing but the introduction of an independent judiciary and equality under law were not. A missionary school in Kenya was shown but the viewers were not told that Colonial governments founded hundreds of universities and colleges and tens of thousands of schools. There was also no mention of the thousands of hospitals and dispensaries established by the British. The British irrigated millions of acres of land and the introduction of new crops such as tea and rubber continue to be an asset to former colonies.The provision of postal and telegraphic services, modern banking and detailed maps should also be noted. Tens of thousands of miles of railways and roads were constructed which transformed the lives of ordinary people.

The first systematic and academic study in the modern age of much of Eastern cultures was initiated by the British following the founding of the Royal Asiatic Society and departments of Oriental Studies in universities in the UK and elsewhere. The contribution the Archaeological Survey of India made to further the understanding of Indian culture and heritage,was immense. About a hundred museums were opened in India and Burma. It is regrettable that these achievements are seldom acknowledged.

[Aliza Simith]

Age of Empires is a series of historical real-time strategy video games, originally developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios.https://cheatcommands.cc/age-of-empires-4-100-working/ The first game was Age of Empires, released in 1997. Nine total games within the series have been released so far as of 28 October 2021

[lily joe]

Great read! Explains how proper roofing and guttering maintenance prevent water damage, ensuring longevity and safety for your home