A fascinating quote about the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics from Neil MacGregor (‘The rest of the world sees the EU as a positive force’, 29 December): he tells us (my italics) “we had constructed a national story that really was for everyone, and that everyone delighted in”. He goes on to say, “it was about … what kind of society we wanted to be, and where we wanted to be in the world”. Finally he ends up saying that “we [now] have a very different myth of hostility, exceptionalism and aggression to the rest of the world”. So on this basis, is MacGregor acknowledging that the “inclusive” narrative is as much a myth as this malevolent one?
No matter. The truth is that the clever and rather beautiful seamless historical narrative created by Danny Boyle was, in retrospect, a case of wishful thinking rather than an accurate reflection of the body politic, which Brexit has brutally exposed in all its divisive clarity.
I am still shocked that even after the tumultuous watershed of the Brexit vote, the privileged, wealthy and globally mobile class that Neil MacGregor surely represents, remain oblivious to their own well-meaning complicity in proceedings, and that they still seem unable to genuinely fathom why such a large percentage of the British people voted in the way they did. If this wasn’t the case then MacGregor would not trot out such a naive and misplaced sense of the national mood, which everyone clearly did not delight in.
Perhaps as an eminent historian, MacGregor would do well to reflect on who the “we” actually were that constructed “the national story”. After all, he will be very well versed in Churchill’s maxim that history is written by the victors and not the vanquished.
Christopher Coppock
Cardiff
• Matthew d’Ancona (Brexit will bring a new ‘blitz spirit’? This is toxic nostalgia, 31 December) refers to a tweet by former special forces soldier, Ant Middleton, in which he says a no-deal Brexit would be a blessing in disguise as it would “force us into hardship and suffering which would unite & bring us together”.
Yes, it would force us into hardship and suffering. No, it would not unite and bring us together.
A nation unites and comes together to repel a common external foe, the threat from which threatens the very fabric of its society. Brexit is not about facing an external foe; it is about differences within our nation that need to be reconciled. Let’s forget Brexit and deal with these.
Susan Hunter
Brockenhurst, Hampshire
• In the Observer in August 2010, the excellent Duncan Campbell reminded us how the black market, looting and prostitution all thrived during the blitz; crime went up by 57%. Perhaps advocates of a no-deal Brexit are right about the revival of a blitz spirit.
Philip Kerridge
Bodmin, Cornwall
• Gavin Williamson says the UK could set up new military bases around the world after Brexit. He might be wiser to garrison places like Sunderland and Ebbw Vale to deal with the backlash when leave voters discover who will really pay the price for their disaster capitalists’ Brexit.
Chris Webster
Gümligen, Switzerland
• If Seaborne Freight are recruiting narrow vehicles for their fleet (No-deal Brexit ferry firm does not have any ships, 31 December), I’ve not yet got anything booked after the February half term, and armed with my CSE grade 3 in geography I’m pretty confident of finding Belgium.
Ian Grieve
Gordon Bennett, Llangollen canal
• Nothing ventured, nothing gained: “Woman with pedalo seeks lucrative no-deal Brexit ferry contract. No previous experience.”
Christine Bainbridge
Saffron Walden, Essex
• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
• Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters
• Do you have a photo you’d like to share with Guardian readers? Click here to upload it and we’ll publish the best submissions in the letters spread of our print edition
