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Silly oath

Mar 12 2008 by Andrew Baldwin, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

THE idea that schoolchildren should swear an oath of loyalty to the Queen is very silly.

Former Attorney General Lord Goldsmith says it would stir national pride and boost the principle of citizenship.

But the thing about being British is that we wear it lightly – we don’t particularly feel the need to parade it or shout about it from the rooftops.

Far from creating a sense of belonging, many teenagers would feel coerced into the ceremony and slur the words in the way that pupils did when schools had prayers and hymns.

It would become a sing-songy mantra that no one wants to say, little more than an embarrassment.

Civic pride is nurtured, it does not come about by compelling a child to recite a few magic words.

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