A controversial opinion

Apparently it's VE Day on Friday. The 75th anniversary of VE Day no less. And this is worthy of moving our May Day bank holiday from its traditional slot on a Monday. Why?

I can recall little in the way of celebration 25 years ago, when we passed the 50th anniversary of VE Day. So why is the 75th anniversary suddenly so special?

I can hazard a guess, and it's not one that I think everyone will like.

We are being governed by a right-wing, jingoistic, nationalistic cabal of man-babies who hanker after nanny and Empire. Men who truly, and terrifyingly, believe in British exceptionalism. Men who wish us to all follow them in believing that we are better than those nasty foreigners. Men who fervently want to lead us out of Europe and into the hallowed uplands of Making Britain Great Again. What better way to remind us how great we are, and how exceptional we are, than to ram our Victory in Europe down the population's throat?

This isn't about remembering the war dead -  we have a calm and contemplative Sunday in November for doing that.

This isn't about cherishing peace, or supporting our veterans, or celebrating the ties that bind us to Europe.

This is about the kind of knuckle-dragging "two World Wars and one World Cup" chanting that makes the rest of Europe loathe us so much. This is fuelling nationalism, triumphalism and a tragically misguided believe that we're better than them.

This is about us and them. It's about how we beat them.

This is about manipulating history, distorting the past, and using it to persuade the people that we're somehow special. It is the grotesque lie of British exceptionalism writ large. We are not exceptional. We are no braver or brighter, no more honourable or honest, no more stoic or stalwart, no more courageous, calm or clever than any of our continental neighbours. We are all just people. We have a rich, varied and fascinating history with an expansive literary and artistic heritage. As do other countries. We need to get over ourselves.

If VE Day should mean anything, it should serve to remind us of the ties that bind, of how hard so many nations fought together to bring a lasting peace to Europe. As the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Europe from Nazism dawns, Britain instead sets herself apart, convinced that she is better than the rest of Europe. She is not. She never was, and she never will be. She is just another country.

At a time when that belief in our own innate superiority has seen us refuse to bulk buy PPE with the rest of the EU; fail to initiate a lockdown in a timely manner; fail to test adequately; fail to track infections; fail to protect our front-line workers; and subsequently witness the worst death rates from the pandemic in Europe, now is hardly the time to be beating a drum for ourselves.

It is nothing short of grotesque to persuade the population to "celebrate" Victory in Europe when we are choosing to sever our ties with Europe. What is the message there? Is it that Britain stands alone, always ready to fight the filthy Hun? Is it to not-so-subtly continue to build the comparison of Johnson to Churchill? It is a disgusting display of arrogance and self-delusion at a time when more people have died from COVID-19 than died in the Blitz. Johnson is no Churchill. He has provided only vacuum and vacuity where leadership was needed.

I have never "celebrated" VE Day in the past, and I have no particular desire to do so now. I continue to mourn the fact that we are choosing to leave the Europe that we helped to form from the ashes of the second World War. I will always honour the war dead on Remembrance Day; I will always make sure that my son knows the evils of war and the need to fight for peace; but I will not participate in manufactured national back-slapping, bolstered to foster support for the petty, bigoted Little-Englanders currently leading this country.