The ThunderDragon

Iain Dale is chairing a discussion on “how we view history in this country, how it is taught in schools and how to engage people with the subject” so I thought I’d share a few of my thoughts on the subject.

History is very important. It defines who we are and how we view the world. We should celebrate our history, from as far back as we can determine with any accuracy, right up to modern times.

British history is our history. The history of our nation. What made us who we are. We played our role in making the world what it is, and we should ensure that we pass the knowledge on to our children. Of course not all of our history is great but I think that, overall, Britain’s role in world history has been positive.

The teaching of history - British and otherwise - should be taught not from our present-day perspectives, but in context. The world situation, beliefs, economy, perceptions, politics, and community all need to be explianed when teaching about an era in history. If we just cast our own, current, perceptions and prejudices back, we get a massively distorted picture - such as how many view the brief period when the British Empire took part in the slave trade.

Our education system should teach our history poperly in this way. Children should be encouraged to understand why things happened as much - if not more - than what happened. If you don’t ask “why?” when you study history, then you’re not really studying history at all. The teaching of history in schools is essential, and must be done with the understanding that what it is taught effects perceptions on the present. They shouldn’t be spoon-fed the perception that all british history is that of an evil nation - or that Britain has always been the guiding light of civilisation. Instead, both sides should be presented. Because history is alwaays multi-sided.

Of course, there is the famous quote that “history is written by the winners”. Yes, but historians have the responsibility to be as unbiased as they can when studying and writing about it. But no-one can ever be unbiased. If you read any history book/watch any history documentary, you are seeing it through the perspectives of the historian - who are always biased.

History has happened, and cannot be changed. The past has been and gone. But we must ensure it is not forgotten, or ignored.

Iain Dale’s new political magazine, Total Politics, is to publish its first copy on June 23rd. Some of the content has already been leaked, with the Telegraph’s Three Line Whip revealing that in an interview for the magazine, Gordon Brown revealedthat:

[H]e is not a good dancer, he would rather watch the new Indiana Jones film than the upcoming Bond film Quantum of Solace, that his favourite programme from his youth was That Was The Week That Was, and the last film that made him cry was Hotel Rwanda.

Which, to be honest, are rather boring “facts”.

The question I have for Iain is, however, is: why, when this magazine will be launched very soon and the website says

UK 12 issue subscription, including online, Pre launch offer £33.52 (30% off newsstand price) OFFER CLOSES 6 JUNE 2008

is there no online subscription available?

It’s 1st June today. If Total Politics are going to be able to meet their promises they don’t have long to get the online subscription option up and running.

I was going to subscribe, but I’m not so sure now…

UPDATE: Iain has responded in the comments below.

Iain Dale is doing an article on politicians and their cars, and I came across this online quiz - so I’m asking bloggers: which car are you?

The results say that:

I’m a Ford Mustang!

You’re an American classic — fast, strong, and bold. You’re not snobby or pretentious, but you have what it takes to give anyone a run for their money.

“Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

via Sally in Norfolk

Iain said “[n]ow watch them appear on blog after blog after blog…” And who am I to disappoint? So here I am, Warholized:

Do they, really?

The penultimate sentence in a post on the new Times blog, Red Box, on Nick Clegg’s first PMQs as Lib Dem leader, reads:

Iain Dale picks up on this and asks:

Well, I’m not a Lib Dem, but I think I can answer it anyway. Ignoring the fact that this is a media report of an unattributed and non-quoted remark.

Whilst ID cards are undoubtedly an issue - one which Nick Clegg has spoken on quite a bit and even declared that he would take part in a campaign of civil disobedience against them and even go to court. What is being said here by these “Lib Dem strategists” is more that ID cards are not the most pressing issue that most people could come up with.

Yes, it is a very important issue, but for the large majority of non-political active people, it really isn’t there number 1 priority right now. When it comes closer to fruition, then yes it will be an truly important issue for all freedom-loving people in Britain, but right now, more people are likely to be interested in their winter fuel bills.

When it comes down to it, ID cards won’t be the most important issue for the majority of people until the axe is hanging right over their heads. However it is, and will remain, an important one - but just number 1. A simple fact of human nature.

Via Iain Dale and ConservativeHome, a Sunday Telegraph poll puts the Conservatives on their highest ICM poll since 1992:

Conservative: 43%
Labour: 36%
LibDems: 14%

From lows to highs, eh! Just a few weeks ago, we were trailing by eleven points, and now we’re leading by seven! Hopefully this high will last longer than Brown’s momentary lead and be able to be built on to ensure that we win the next general election - whenever Gordon Brown decides to call it.

Some thought that Brown’s eleven point lead meant an end to Cameron and the Conservatives as a whole. How wrong they were! But recent polls do show that they are pretty volatile at the moment - except for the Lib Dems who are constantly trailing in the low double figures. Thus it seems that Brown’s indecision over calling an election and his recent policy plagiarism have marred him in the electorate’s eyes.

We can but hope this this isn’t just a blip in the polls, but a sign that the Conservatives are properly back on top properly and for good.

Image: ConservativeHome

The top 500 political blogs in the UK.

54 in the Top 100 Centre-Right blogs and 135 in the top 500 Political Blogs. I’m happy with that!

There isn’t long until the 2007 edition of Iain Dale’s Guide To Political Blogging In The UK is published, of which I have just pre-ordered my copy. We were all invited to submit our top twenty blogs, and made sure that I did submit my top twenty.

Matt Wardman has designed the sidebar buttons for those who are lucky enough to get into the top lists.

In the book there will be:

• Articles by thirty leading bloggers and commentators
• Profiles of more than fifty leading blogs
• A directory of 1,200 political blogs
• The best 500 political blogs in the UK
• The top 100 Conservative blogs
• The top 100 Labour blogs
• The top 100 Lib Dem blogs
• The top 100 non-aligned blogs
• The top 30 MP blogs
• The top 60 media blogs
• The top 30 councillor blogs

And lots, lots, more…

Iain Dale says “Here’s a Green Idea: Why Not Ban Plastic Bags?“

In reply I’m just going to pretty much repeat the arguments of a post I wrote on this issue before.

Should we have to pay to use plastic bags from a supermarket? Should we bollocks. Plastic bags are the last thing made of old recycled plastic. It usually isn’t of good enough quality to be used for anything else - plastic bags is the end of the life of the plastic.

Providing incentives for re-using and/or recycling plastic bags is a good idea. But also one that is already pretty much in use in many supermarkets, though not to as large an extent as it could be. Banning them is never going to work, and really works against the green principle in the end. Plastic bags are used by many people for many things - bin-liners and the like - and thus many do get re-used. The plastic used to make plastic bags is at the end of it’s lifespan. It cannot be used for making anything else any more, so they make bags from it - and plastic bags can only be made into other plastic bags.

Rather than penalising those who want to use the plastic bags to carry their shopping, reward those who re-use and recycle them at the shop. The carrot and not the stick is far more useful in this case. It is more the other plastic waste that needs to be reduced rather than plastic bags, so that we don’t end up with so much plastic that is only fit to become plastic bags.