How to be a Patriot: Why love of country can end our very British culture war
Book review by Graeme Kemp
Sunder Katwala leads the British Future think-tank, an organisation that develops ideas and policy suggestions around immigration, integration, identity and race in contemporary Britain. His new book ‘How to be a Patriot’ aims to deal with these political issues by focussing on how we can change culture and attitudes in the UK. The aim is to forge a better and saner future for all. Sunder claims that a revived form of patriotism can play a decisive role in creating unity out of diversity. Such an inclusive patriotism can therefore heal divisions, he argues, and genuinely take the heat out of the so-called ‘culture wars’. Also, any book that takes apart ideas of cultural appropriation is clearly going to have other ideas worth thinking about….
From the start of the book, Sunder Katwala discusses his own mixed ethnic background. He was born in Yorkshire to parents who came from Ireland and India to work in the NHS. The strength of his response to his own diverse origins is to highlight how slippery and changeable feelings of ethnic identity can be. He cites the example of his eldest daughter discussing ethnic identity with her brother - including which ethnic group they would fit into. This followed a discussion about the death of Mandela and the racial divisions in apartheid South Africa during her school’s assembly:
“Obviously, any attempt to work out whether they might find themselves in the white, black or mixed-race classroom certainly reinforced the assembly’s message that racial apartheid was a very bad idea … Yet the children could tell that the boundaries were blurred and so they could, they decided, choose which group they were a part of. Lots of people might think they didn’t have that choice … They might feel their ethnicity was something that was decided for them” (Page 147).
And it is here that Katwala develops what I think is an important concept, the idea that individual agency and choice can be part of any discussion about ethnic identity and sense of belonging.
The example above follows on from issues about completing the UK census form in March 2021, compared to just over a decade before. His three children, that he had previously classified as mixed race in the census, were now old enough to choose their own identity category – and chose ‘white British’ – his 16-year-old adding ‘Irish’ to the list.
Katwala notes that increasing numbers of mixed-ethnic households have often been cited as evidence that Britain is moving in a more tolerant, progressive direction. Indeed, he describes (somewhat wryly) how fashionable mixed-ethnic couples and families have become – a development that apparently can heal racial divisions in the UK, he adds. At least some people are integrating, is the cry! Yet importantly, he notes how even his own family have moved beyond such maybe simplistic ideas about identity, re-thinking who they are for themselves and what it means to be a part of UK society.
As Sunder Katwala points out: the so-called culture and history ‘wars’ that have broken out usually create turmoil rather than rational discussion. When it comes to pulling down controversial statues linked to Empire or colonialism, he suggests an arguably more reasonable and moderate attitude might help. This includes remembering not to always judge controversial figures from the past by contemporary standards of morality. We should focus more on who needs to be remembered, rather than forgotten, when discussing this area.
Indeed, in the context of Empire, Katwala argues that … “It is indisputable that ethnic minority Britons are the product of Empire. Does that make us essentially its victims? Perceptions and experiences will differ.” (Page 43).
There is a need, he argues, to move beyond pointing out that ethnic minorities are only in Britain because Britain colonised the nations that ethnic minorities came from. We need to avoid this ‘them’ and ‘us’ way of thinking and forge a more positive narrative. Too often debates today fail to develop the kind of anti-racism we need to make further progress; he warns:
“… we should be wary of the risks of the new anti-racism re-essentialising race.” (Page 158).
This kind of mentality has threatened progress in the USA: “Anti-racism in America, especially white liberal progressive anti-racism, risks an essentially segregationist turn that British anti-racism should actively reject” (Page 159).
Anyone familiar with ideas like Critical Race Theory will instantly recognise the truth of the above statements. CRT is divisive.
And that is where Sunder Katwala’s concept of a patriotism that unites comes in to play – and offers a new way to re-frame culture war debates. Given that he is on the centre-left of UK politics (having previously led the Fabian Society). Katwala proposes a potentially surprising vision to unite people in the UK, regardless of their background – one centred around a common love of country. This includes the monarchy as well as support for our armed forces, NHS and sport. He argues that the BBC, as a national institution and broadcaster, can also forge this sense of common identity and bring people together. Some, of course, may question whether the BBC can do that today – but it’s still a positive claim.
“This patriotism is a love of what our country could truly be,” Katwala says. It should be a positive, attractive vision of unity and purpose. It is important that those who migrate to the UK should also feel this sense of belonging, the story of a “new us” (page 225) not a narrative of division or exclusion. Divides between different groups in the UK should involve building common bridges between them, based on a future we would all want to share.
Key to the above unity is recognising that avoidance doesn’t work – we can’t hope that the culture wars which threaten division will just go away. They won’t – so we actively need to engage in honest debates about identity – taking responsibly for change ourselves, actively getting involved in political and social discussions.
However, I don’t think Sunder Katwala gets it completely right every time in his book. The section in ‘How to be a Patriot’ on free speech needs further discussion and refining, I think. Many would claim that there also needs to be more of a debate on current levels of UK immigration; I’m not sure he always recognises this in the book.
However, this is an interesting, vital book for our current political situation, particularly in the UK.
Graeme Kemp is a former teacher and civil servant who currently lives in the Midlands. He is an English and Cultural Studies graduate of several universities in England and Scotland. He has also contributed book reviews to the Don't Divide Us website and 'Bournbrook' Magazine.