“And what should they know of England who only England know?”

Winds of the World, give answer!  They are whimpering to and fro—

And what should they know of England who only England know?—

The poor little street-bred people that vapour and fume and brag,

They are lifting their heads in the stillness to yelp at the English Flag!

Kipling’s verse should be seen in context.  It is his complaint about Little Englanders, those limited fellow countrymen of his who knew and cared little about England’s obligations to the wider world.  Prevalent then and now – Brexit!  Superficially, Kipling is writing about Empire while today’s Little Englanders are “whimpering” about quitting  Europe, but the same mindset of parochial ignorance, xenophobia, national self-absorption and lack of imagination is on display.  I know Britain can no longer run to an Empire, can no longer pretend with any conviction to be a great power, but surely we should be trying to create a better world. 

My late 19th century political hero is Lord Salisbury, an intellectual, deeply religious, self-critical man.  He had to keep Britain in balance between the great powers of Europe and the Middle East while trying to hold the Empire down to manageable size, for he reckoned that conflict and killing was contained by village elders or local warlords or nation states or great confederations and the bigger the unit was, the fewer the flashpoints.  The huge British Army could barely contain the little bushfires that popped up around the globe and was never strong enough to take on any one of the other Great Powers without allying itself to another.  His main ally was Germany but as it grew too ambitious so he was forced to think about courting old enemy France. 

And now I support the European project not primarily for economic reasons or to save us from falling into savage American and Chinese hands (though these motives are very valid) but because the European Project is a fine ideal and it could be strengthened and improved by Britain, and Britain outside it could do it harm.  You see, I am old enough to remember when we could be proud of Britain’s role in the world, even just old enough to remember the Second World War (my father went away for three years), and so I am also old enough to remember when Europe last forgot to pull together. 

Note, by the way, how I have segued from “England” to “Britain”, but I do know they should never be used synonymously.  Scotland, who made such a brilliant contribution to Empire, has its pragmatic head screwed on properly, and wants to remain in Europe.  Meanwhile, at a visceral level, I like going through Europe and learning from other countries’ strengths about the failings of our own.