This article suggests that most people have criticized the tweets of a Tory member of Parliament, Aidan Burley, that the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics were too tilted to the left. Here’s the tweets and my comments:
One post from him read: “The most leftie opening ceremony I have ever seen – more than Beijing, the capital of a communist state! Welfare tribute next?”
Shortly afterwards he added: “Thank God the athletes have arrived! Now we can move on from leftie multicultural crap. Bring back red arrows (sic), Shakespeare and the Stones!”
I do agree (see here) that the paean of praise to the National Health Service and the hint that the Industrial Revolution was evil was tilted to the left. I think events like this should be politics free and this was not. I would say that it is too easy to tweet something and repent at leisure later when it is too late. But I also think too little was shown about what makes Britain great. The King James Bible. John and Charles Wesley. William Wilberforce. More on Abrahams and Liddell. Winston Churchill. Lord Nelson. The soldiers who fought in the wars.
So, I would say: Burley has a point. I still think $42 million is too much for a opening ceremony. Austerity might have been better. I do not agree that multiculturalism is bad but it can get out of hand. When it comes to Western civilization, I am am unabashed supporter! Let’s do more to celebrate it.
