Elegy

The England that we cherished has disappeared. We can only raise our glasses to the memory of a once great country whose spirit has been broken by her own rulers, its fabric torn apart by social revolution.

The words of that stirring wartime song ‘There’ll Always Be An England’ have acquired a tragic poignancy. For there is no longer a real England – not the England that was once renowned for its gentleness and humour, its decency and sense of history, its rich language and inspiring landscape.

The relics of our past are still around us – such as the mon­archy or the village green – but they have been robbed of all meaning and vitality, becoming little more than heritage landmarks in a place without a soul.   

The land of Elgar is held hostage by the thud of the rapper’s boom-box. The stiff upper lip has been replaced by the wail of victimhood. A land that used to be known for its lack of crime is now scourged by gang violence, shootings and stabbings.

The English traits of modesty and moderation have been lost to a tidal wave of extremism, terrorism, obscenity and cruelty. Our political system, once the least corrupt in the world, is riddled with ballot-box fraud. A national sense of belonging has given way to mutual distrust.

Rather like the difference between the Anglicanism I’m just old enough to have grown up with and what’s replaced it in many/most places.

From an Express article with a racial and anti-immigrant message so I didn’t link to it.