Excellently penned, D, except for two things, the opium war was about our flogging opium to the Chinese plebeians and not about kow-tow, and that you're barking at the wrong oak here, eloquently, rationally and convincingly, but the culprits in this case (and virtually all other cases of this kind) are not the other, they know they are disliked perhaps even hated by a large part of the society, often react badly because of that knowledge, but they've done nothing wrong, they're here legally, the real culprits are those that let the other come, they are the ones you should aim your anger at, be after, call for their being taken to account for what they've done to the country with the invitation of the other.
Very kind of you to say so. Firstly I couldn’t agree more re. the true villains being our own vile leaders, a point I make myself in the conclusion of my previous article.
“Yet the rise of Political Islam in Britain is merely a symptom, not the cause of disease. An opportunistic infection in a patient whose innate immune system has completely shut down. The true pathology is the collapse of civilisational self-confidence. Once, we exported liberty and prosperity throughout the world via our Empire, but have been importing tribalism and impoverishment ever since. We are the colony now. The sad truth is there are many who rejoice at that fact, indeed, see it as our just deserts. Though I suspect their celebrations will be short lived the moment such useful idiots lose their usefulness in the eyes of their new masters.”
You should give it a read :)
Secondly, the ‘kow-tow’ analogy was more of a literary device to reflect on our current situation than anything else. However, a genuine case can, and has, been made that the main causative factor for the First Opium War was the fact Chinese Emperors saw themselves as masters of the universe, with everyone else as subservient. They were happy to sell their goods to the rest of the world, but only in exchange for pure silver bullion and nothing else, creating a massive trade deficit that literally drained Europe of silver.
So instead, the British fought them at their own game by trading a consumer good for consumer good (opium for tea), leading to increasing tension, and the rest is history. It’s for no reason that even contemporaries, including as I said, US President John Quincy Adams, who had no love for the British Empire having participated himself in the War of 1812, accepted this as the primary reason for the war.
Good points, D, in fact more than good, and if it's any comfort to you, your postings are not the best, but far above the best, you arena Baron's 'must read list', please do not give up.
I'm not going to lie Baron, I needed that. I've been posting here sporadically for the better part of a year with zero views, but it seems like I'm finally starting to get a little traction; and a little traction is all you need to climb a mountain.
I'm a 30 y.o. junior doctor from Hertfordshire with a new house and a new wife who, though I love her deeply, thinks I should just focus on my career and not worry about these matters as 'there's nothing you can do about it anyway.' She may well be right, it certainly wouldn't be the first time, but I don't want to go to by deathbed wondering what more I could have done to prevent my civilisation sliding off a cliff.
This is where my passion truly lies, and I'll need all the help and encouragement I can get to maintain any semblance of consistency. So for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Demosthenes, you are one of about four or five commentators at the Spectator whose contributions I look forward to and enjoy as much as anything by Murray or Liddle. Please keep it up if you can!
A word of caution, D, be careful, they can harm you whoever the 'they' may be, Baron has joined today, but the subscription couldn't have gone through, the card number's different now, how can it be corrected?
"the police’s DEI hiring practices is an article in its own right"
All DEI hiring practices deserve a library full of articles.
Just ask the family of David Gray. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-27518271
Or Baby B https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-44357023
Or Kara Hultgreen
Or any number of avoidable deaths due to the desire to look the other way despite obvious incompetence.
Excellently penned, D, except for two things, the opium war was about our flogging opium to the Chinese plebeians and not about kow-tow, and that you're barking at the wrong oak here, eloquently, rationally and convincingly, but the culprits in this case (and virtually all other cases of this kind) are not the other, they know they are disliked perhaps even hated by a large part of the society, often react badly because of that knowledge, but they've done nothing wrong, they're here legally, the real culprits are those that let the other come, they are the ones you should aim your anger at, be after, call for their being taken to account for what they've done to the country with the invitation of the other.
Very kind of you to say so. Firstly I couldn’t agree more re. the true villains being our own vile leaders, a point I make myself in the conclusion of my previous article.
“Yet the rise of Political Islam in Britain is merely a symptom, not the cause of disease. An opportunistic infection in a patient whose innate immune system has completely shut down. The true pathology is the collapse of civilisational self-confidence. Once, we exported liberty and prosperity throughout the world via our Empire, but have been importing tribalism and impoverishment ever since. We are the colony now. The sad truth is there are many who rejoice at that fact, indeed, see it as our just deserts. Though I suspect their celebrations will be short lived the moment such useful idiots lose their usefulness in the eyes of their new masters.”
You should give it a read :)
Secondly, the ‘kow-tow’ analogy was more of a literary device to reflect on our current situation than anything else. However, a genuine case can, and has, been made that the main causative factor for the First Opium War was the fact Chinese Emperors saw themselves as masters of the universe, with everyone else as subservient. They were happy to sell their goods to the rest of the world, but only in exchange for pure silver bullion and nothing else, creating a massive trade deficit that literally drained Europe of silver.
So instead, the British fought them at their own game by trading a consumer good for consumer good (opium for tea), leading to increasing tension, and the rest is history. It’s for no reason that even contemporaries, including as I said, US President John Quincy Adams, who had no love for the British Empire having participated himself in the War of 1812, accepted this as the primary reason for the war.
Good points, D, in fact more than good, and if it's any comfort to you, your postings are not the best, but far above the best, you arena Baron's 'must read list', please do not give up.
I'm not going to lie Baron, I needed that. I've been posting here sporadically for the better part of a year with zero views, but it seems like I'm finally starting to get a little traction; and a little traction is all you need to climb a mountain.
I'm a 30 y.o. junior doctor from Hertfordshire with a new house and a new wife who, though I love her deeply, thinks I should just focus on my career and not worry about these matters as 'there's nothing you can do about it anyway.' She may well be right, it certainly wouldn't be the first time, but I don't want to go to by deathbed wondering what more I could have done to prevent my civilisation sliding off a cliff.
This is where my passion truly lies, and I'll need all the help and encouragement I can get to maintain any semblance of consistency. So for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Demosthenes, you are one of about four or five commentators at the Spectator whose contributions I look forward to and enjoy as much as anything by Murray or Liddle. Please keep it up if you can!
A word of caution, D, be careful, they can harm you whoever the 'they' may be, Baron has joined today, but the subscription couldn't have gone through, the card number's different now, how can it be corrected?
it should ready 'you are on …', apologies.
You give an inch and they take a mile.