Pride 1 Patriotism 0

Pride Day has just passed in my hometown of Hull. Pride flags were publicly displayed, replacing Union flags; countless posters were plastered on shop windows, and adverts invaded social media feeds. One could not miss that the event was approaching. Fortunately, away in Stockport watching football, I escaped the parade of men in dresses; their giveaway cock and balls openly dangling between their legs. This came weeks into Pride Month, a fleeting four weeks dedicated to the LGBTQwerty community. Pride awareness however, does not stop there. There are more upcoming events in a local town around Hull: the Pride of Beverley, which is also hosting a Dog Walk of Pride – hold me back. It is evident this community is always in the limelight. What for though? Scaring children, exploiting women, and playing fancy dress?

In other news, people took to the streets in Birmingham on 14 August to celebrate Pakistan Independence Day. The council put on big parades, turned their library into a giant Pakistani flag, and lit up the building in green and white. Around the city streets, they were taking Union and St George’s flags down, which locals had attached to lampposts in preparation for VJ Day the following day.

While the virtue-signalling is rammed down our throats, scant attention is actually paid to celebrations which recognise Britain’s success as a country. With a lack of prior advertising, I only found out about the 80th anniversary of VJ Day on the day of the event while reading The Telegraph. Street parades were not organised, Union flags were sparse, and there were no public displays. Shops, cafés, restaurants, and pubs did not have an armed forces’ theme. It was just like a normal day.

VJ Day (Victory over Japan) is the annual commemoration of Imperial Japan’s surrender in the Second World War. After the US (accidentally) dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 9 August 1945, it caused a devastating effect on the country, killing many and destroying thousands of homes and buildings. During the Potsdam Conference, the Allies offered Emperor Hirohito an opportunity to sign a peace deal or they would continue their attacks. He signed the deal on 15 August, effectively bringing the war to an end. However, VJ Day does not just signify peace: it honours the legacy of the soldiers who put their lives on the line to fight for the UK – a nation they would now be ashamed to fight for.

It is vexing to witness British heritage and history erode away, becoming overshadowed and neglected by its own people. To quote Tennyson: we should honour the armed forces, “Honour the charge they made!” They sacrificed everything, enabling us to still have a country to work, eat, sleep, and survive in. Instead of honouring the memory of our ancestors, woke policies sidetrack Britain with DEI box-ticking exercises. I do not oppose Pride or non-British events in my country, but surely it is right for national events to get the same, if not more, traction – especially when they are as important as VJ Day?

Why do we have a problem with patriotism? I have just spent a week in Istanbul, and there were many Turkish flags proudly looking over the streets and rivers. No other flag was flown. Their countless mosques stood tall, all broadcasting the call to prayer five times a day. Families gathered in public spaces, radiating joy and pride. This is seldom seen in British culture. Secularisation is rising, the most common name is Muhammad, and Union flags are ripped down. When it is time to feel proud of our culture, we are damned and punished.

As I grow up, everything my ancestors worked for will be meaningless. My education will be pointless, and my country will no longer be mine. These are worrying times for my generation. One wonders what happens to a nation’s identity, if its defining historical moments are forgotten and condemned? I really don’t want to know.

Jack Watson is a 16 year-old schoolboy in Year 11. You can read his Substack about following Hull City FC here. Follow him on X here.

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