Great Britian has a lot to be proud of. They discovered Natural Rights, which is as important as the Greek's discovery of Democracy.

Brian Klem, Richmond, USA

As the late historian and US Librarian of Congress Daniel Boorstin said, trying to plan for the future without a sense of the past is like trying to plant cut flowers.

http://sisu.typepad.com/sisu/2005/04/who_is_michael_.html

Sissy Willis, Chelsea, MA, USA

This preposterous diatribe from the out-of-touch left, both in the US and theUK, completely flies in the face of historical truth. It was the British who led the crusade to end slavery - and who were influential in bringing it to an end in the U.S. ( the Emancipation Proclamation was written to a British audience to keep Britain from siding with the Confederacy). The social problems brought on by the industrial revolution were great indeed, but under Gladstone and Disraeli great effort was made to provide solutions. The British also were by far the most benign with regard to their colonial policy. Much of the success of Indian democracy can be credited to the British. I continue to marvel at how leftists throughout the English speaking world seem to delight in tearing away the fabric of the world's most successful democratic societies. It seems like the left has a strong death wish for civilization and is rushing to fling open the gates for the twenty-first century barbarians!

Dick, Chattanooga, TN USA

I would like to say that this is unbelievable, but it is not. Leftists are bringing about the death of the Anglosphere. The British Empire was one of the greatest forces for good in the history of the human race. I am very proud and thankful for my British inheritence. Unfortunately there are many people in Britain who are not.

Michael, Gallitzin, PA, USA

A people deracinated from their history and value systems (which is what being a "country" is all about, after all) are like dead leaves blowing in the wind, awaiting collection and disposal. Is this part of an EU campaign to build a "New EUtopian Man"? From Robespierre to Napoleon to Lenin to Mussolini and Hitler, this has happened before in European history and led to very unhappy endings. If Brittania dies, I will mourn the suicide of a glorious people and a glorious history that helped make the world a much better place.

Danny , Chicago, IL /USA

every country has a dark past- tell me of one that doesn't!

patriotism doesn't mean football hooligans. it doesn't mean endorsing slavery. it means having a certain pride in what's good about your country.

we have so much to be proud of in our free society, and our rich history, why must we lose this?

wiltshire wurzel, swindon,

Why is the focus on the bad we did alot of good things too

industrial revolution as a result the standard of liveing now is much higher

magna carta basis of modern democracy

abolition of slavery we were the first nation ever in history to ban slavery every nation prior to this had slaves

fought the nazis alone buying time for russia

and guess what the people that did these things were lived in patriotic times what have we done since the far left got some say

ed smith, birkenhead, UK

I full agree with the comments of Tristram Hunt, we need to get the students to understand the mindset and context of our forebears, and we definitely need to improve the amount of British history being taught in schools today.

There should be less focused on if we may or may not offend certain religeons / creeds, teach British history and then discuss how / why it happened, what people were thinking at the time etc, all with the benefit of hindsight.

Regards
Scott Wellcome, London

Scott Wellcome, Hornchurch, , UK

I am proud of my country for being able to teach history objectively and without colouring it with patriotism. so proud, I want to cry.

there isn't any nation that could hold its head up if its history were closely examined. not one. indeed, the concept of a nation is a bit outdated, although recognising the shared values, if those values are noble, cannot really be wrong, can it?

if the truth about slavery were taught properly, with no prejudice or patriotism, then black people (who in this country at least almost certainly aren't the descendants of slaves) would have to stop trying to make white people feel guilty. they're as likely to have slaver ancestors as slaves.

it's a bit racist, wouldn't you say, sunil, for you to try to take the moral high ground with me? I am not responsible for my nation's history - only its future. and you are not a victim. so don't expect an apology from me.

pride and nationalism are equally ridiculous. for you, as well as for me.

jem, london, uk

Britain's history is "morally ambiguous" compared to whom? What nation has been a paragon of virtue over centuries? Inquiring minds want to know.

This nonsense is the Left's current project of undermining the nation-state to be replaced by an imaginary hate-free globe of glorious one-worldism.

Yeah, that'll happen.

Brenda Walker, Berkeley California, USA

Patriotism is a way for a state to get its population to carry out its dirty work and in doing so risk ruin or loss of their lives. If national pride was not aroused how else would they convince people to join the army? this is why patriotism is nonsense. The government and the media use it to get us to do their killing and collect their money. All the dead in Iraq for what? business, thats what.

benjamin, kent, UK

Mr Hand and his colleauges have got it wrong. Let us teach our children MORE about patriotism rather then less so that the next generation can say we love our country and are proud to be British. Sadly our way of life in this country has been eroded enough already. Rule Brittainia!

Robert, welwyn, UK

Well, I guess there will not "always be an England" after all.

When are you English going to get up on your hind legs and put an end to this kind of national suicide?

"Muddling through" workied during the Blitz. It is not going to save you now, or so I think. The threats are totally different and insidious.

Harry Schell, Pasadena , CA, USA

I sense some double standards. Wasn't it a couple of years ago that the teaching establishment state that merely learning facts dispassionately had led to a failure to really appreciate the true impact of historical events? We were told that we should empathize with the slave looking for emancipation, the trade unionist fighting for union recognition; the suffergette striving for voting rights. There was no mention of moral ambiguity at that time. Empathy and moral ambiguity must be in the eye of the beholder, I guess

paul reed, Cincinnati, USA

It seems insane that they are so unselfconscious as to not realize that the values which permit their retroactive disgust at their antecedant's behaviour were developed by that very civilization that they so despise and nowhere else!

"Fairplay" is an English invention.

It really seems as though there is no sense of proportion or context- those very concepts which a study of history should most promote.

I think that the modern multi-culturalists are practicing a sort of weird Christianity without Christ. They really seem as violently insistant in their rectitude as the Inquisitors and witch burners of the past. The damage they do with their burocracy is enough- imagine if they were armed!

Hugh Brennan, Princeton, NJ/USA

This is more disturbing than I can say. You know, my mom has done some not so great things and holds beliefs I find less than admirable about some things, but I still unequivocally love her. I am a descendant of the enslaved and the genocided, but I am also a citizen and admirer of a culture and region that stopped doing those things and recognized that they were, you know, pretty bad! And I'm rather happy to be here. Acknowledge the wrong and try not to repeat it, learn from the past, sure, but this self-hate trend in Western countries is seriously frightening me. It's a recipe for suicide. All this "white guilt" serves no one, and certainly not me and mine -- people who are not allowed to love themselves grow resentful (usually of me and mine!) and dangerous, or passive and stepped on. Please, Britain... just... no.

N., New York, NY

Flags only survive for as long as there are those who are willing to fight & die for them. That's a plainly stated fact of history & not a rally call to join the army, just think of all the countries that used to be in Africa for example.

If this is the course a nation takes, how many generations are there left before there's no more UK?

This kind of cultural self loathing is only going to pave the way for a culture that doesn't loath itself to take over.

Why is relativism so absolute?

Wes, San Diego, CA

Britain has adopted this "holier than thou" attitude amongst rampant anti-Americanism. Perhaps they could use some refresher courses in the more ambiguous facets of the history of the British Empire.

Jeff, Sacramento / CA, USA

First, to the French Gentlemen:

Americans love their country -- and you have no love for yours --for preciesly the same histoical facts. Just because you wrapped your car around a tree do no expect me to drive mine over a cliff in solidarity.

But to hear such things about Britain...from the British themselves! Mon dieu!

Brutality and carnage have been a part of history since the first cells divided. Great Britain, more than any other nation, brought civility, decency, a genius for organization and a committment to fairness to a world without any of these things.

These transcendental values were manifested from the slime by a self-confident and fundamentally decent people whose philosophical, linguistic and commercial children are, almost alone, the shining success stories of the world. Where there is freedom, prosperity, security and law, there you will find the English language.

To throw that heritage away will be the only crime Britain needs to feel guilty of.

Bill Whittle, Los Angeles, United States of America

my grandpapa, god bless his soul, grew up in london, and immigrated to canada at the turn of the 20th century. he was always, and i mean always, sure in the belief and knowledge that right is right and wrong is wrong and i am thankful to this very day for his conviction and faith. this is not to say that improvement should be excluded; nor is it an excuse to denigrate the best efforts of exceptional individuals over many centuries. teach hard cold truths in history and give everyone the opportunity to choose their path.

the most important lesson received from my grandfather, cyril patrick nolan, was that everyone has choice - it is that choice which distinguishes us from animals.

john, montreal, canada

Be afraid. Be very afraid....

Lu Powell
Jacksonville, FL
Us Coast Guard Retired

L. A. Powell, Jacksonville, FL, USA

This is why England is a dying country with its industry crippled, Prisons full and Massive drug problems.
If you could restore some pride in this country rather than worrying about morality i'm sure it won't do any harm.

Paul, Wolverhampton, England

Can we not just teach a decent base of history and let people decide for themselves? Of course the history of this country is ambiguous. There have been good things, and bad things. What matters is how that has left us today, and this is what we can take pride in. Or is that just too reasonable?

Jen, London,

What Britain did to those Nazis was nothing short of shocking. How dare they teach children that the country stood alone against the architects of the holocaust.

David Masu, Zürich,

Perhaps love for your country should be about loving the beauty of your surroundings and the people who dwell there, not historical actions that normal people had very little say in. I see nothing wrong in promoting patriotism, however care must be taken to blame the people in power at the time these moraly ambiguous times occured, not the country itself.

Emma, London, England

This paragraph should read...."The slave trade, imperialism and 20th century wars, the idea that patriotism should be avoided in school lessons because British history is “morally ambiguous”, should be taught as controversial issues..."

How sad that Great Britain is desintegrating right before the eyes of the whole world.

Nikki, NC, US

When the sword of Allah swings down on England, will anyone be surprised?

Armando, Tampa, FLA

I doubt that students in Belgium hear about the abuses in the Belgian Congo, or the Japanese students about The Rape of Nanking.

Had the Nazis (Godwin!) survived the war, I'm sure their history books would have omitted the unfortunate details.

I think history will show that England and the USA did more good than harm.

jayessell, Chester, New York, USA

On both sides of the Atlantic, there appears to be, at least in the more "intellectual classes" -- by which I mean educators, philosophers, entertainers, historians -- a growing need to express ambivalence (at best) or revulsion (most likely) when contemplating the history of Western Europe or the Western Hemisphere. A focus on the undoubtedly awful events that checker that history should not come at the expense of deserved admiration of the great improvements in the overall condition of mankind, due largely to the efforts of those same two Western cultures. If "patriotism" captures that admiration, it should be presented in education no less than imputed guilt of modern Western societies for the failures in their pasts.

Dennis Eagan, Colorado Springs, CO, USA

You would hope a leading educational body might have the foresight to realise that if more young people grew up with a healthy sense of pride in their country, they would also be more likely to have respect for law and order, the elderly, where they live, and how lucky they are to have a good education. So instead of having a nation of airy fairy sponging whingers, we can continue to live in a country that will stand up and fight for what it believes in!

Richard Munro, Glossop, Great Britain

One more nail in the coffin. Welcome to the future Islamic state of England.

ben, nyc, USA

We must not feel proud and patriotic that we were the first nation to have a democracy, we stood against the Nazi's, we gave women the vote, we were the first country with a national health system, etc....
Of course we have skelentons, what nation doesnt, but these pathetic academics make me vomit, they just want a world of nobody's!
I really see no future for my country whilst pillocks like these wish to undermine my culture.

Pete, St Albans, England

Patriotism is loving one's country because it is one's country, one's home. It doesn't mean thinking it is perfect or better or worse than any other country. If one is taught English history and literature one cannot but help becoming patriotic. There is much to be proud of and a great heritage to live up to as well as episodes which make one wince and feel ashamed. The problem is that the curriculum is full of foreign history and literature so that British children, unlike children from other countries, are ignorant and don't know who they are. So they end up mouthing empty nationalistic slogans and behaving very boorishly.

william, Northwood, UK

It is obligatory for a potential American presidential candidate to say 'I love my country'. I don't understand how you can love a chunk of soil and rock. So it is just rhetoric, like saying they believe in god when they know fine well that god does not exist.

m wilson, bidache, france

More attempts at cultural suicide.

To Sunil, we might add that British academics rediscovered ancient Indian history and languages. We might add the aboloition of suti and the establishment of good government.
And why should we not be proud of our country? Since when was it a crime to be patriotic, or is this another liberal-left attempt to brand all non liberal-leftists as "intellectually" or "morally" defective?

Richard, Norwich,

The purpose of history is to understand events in the context of the times they happened, why they happened and their consequences. It's not about teaching patriotism or denigrating our history, but about how we arrived at the world we live in.

It is unfortunate that people should choose to manipulate the teaching of history for their own political purposes.

HL, London, UK

"The slave trade, imperialism and 20th century wars should be taught as controversial issues..."
Is that "the slave trade" per se, or only that historically small part in it played by the British?

And putting the words "immigration", and "the popular vote" in the same sentence raises a whole host of questions about the meaning of democracy, doesn't it?

Brian Clacey, Croydon, UK

Right lads...
what are you on about? Mr Jones, you cant even spell, shocking that your from liverpool. Sunil, there has to be some cost to bring civilisation to the world (yeah Roy!!). BEATS ON JT! Patty, nice point but your name reminds me of burgers. Sid, I'm not gonna lie i didn't read your comment. GO SURREY!!!

Brown Bear, North Piddle, England

Sure Britain did a lot of terrible things in building the British Empire but they also gave a lot back to the world in terms of education, healthcare, democracy etc. Incidentally Sunil the coloured peoples of the world were happliy killing and mutilating each other long before the Btitish arrived on the scene. I always find it amazing that the West is considered the leaders of the slave trade when the Arabs were the main benefactors for hundreds of years - not just one century.

George, Glasgow, UK

When can we get rid of these idiots why o why doi have suffer them?

When can i have my country back?

Mr Jones, Liverpool,

"Historians said last night, however, that it was impossible to teach the subject without patriotism or a recognition that British values were rooted in the past. "

Yes yes, such values built on the blood of the coloured peoples of the world from the Americas to Africa to Asia and the Far East. The roots you planted in the past were thrust right through the mutilated bodies of the native peoples of foreign lands far away from Britain and the West/Europe.

Sunil, Kandy,

Watching your country commit suicide is really quite sad .

jt, Dallas, TX

It's the human element to practice self-hatred. Sad to see that element becomes in control of public policy and our children. Compared to so many countries on the face of this earth, England has so much to be proud of . . . . . sad.

Patty, Baltimore, MD, USA

As historians, they must surely realize that they are tearing apart the fabric of the society that fostered them. The process is nibbling, cumulative, like a thousand rats gnawing at the base of the building. Eventually the entire structure crumbles. How long before you Brits wake up and realize the stupidity of such a philosophical viewpoint as these rats are espousing? Great Britain used to be great, because its people believed they were the vanguard of civilization, as indeed they were. Your quibbling and moral equivalencies have turned you to wet spaghetti in a blender.

Sid Davis, Orlando, Florida USA

As historians surely they must realise that in the final analysis countries don't have morals- just interests based on a common heritage and a shared future.

Arnold Ward, Weybridge, Surrey, UK