The Abolition of Britain: From Winston Churchill to Princess Diana

Rating:
Summary: A Sweeping Indictment of Tony Blair's "Cool Britannia
Review: ~The Abolition of Britain: From Winston Churchill to Princess Diana~ goes to show that Britain has become a shadow of its former self. This is a hard hitting, no holds barred social criticism from journalist Peter Hitchens. Hitchens is quite a wordsmith and has taken to the task of putting Tony Blair's "Cool Britannia" under a microscope. The UK just like my beloved America is in the midst of a culture war. Britain's traditions, culture and cherished national institutions are being demonized and eroded from within by cultural Marxism... Hitchens is quite frank in admitting the British national spirit has lost its dynamo, because of the assent of the Americans on the world stage, which has become a political, cultural and economic superpower. Though, he tacitly admits Britain can't blame all of its woes on Hollywood and Yankees. It appears Gramsci's "long march through the institutions" has taken its toll, particularly in Britain. Frankly, Britain seems to be in a worst boat than the US now with its embrace of multiculturalism. Britain has been browbeaten into an imperial guilt complex where its cherished cultural contribution to the world is ridiculed as "racist" and "jingoistic." Even Shakespeare is under attack which Hitchens makes light of. Hitchens also chronicles the attack on traditional morality and Christendom by liberal relativists. Britain's sexual revolution has dealt a harsh blow to the traditional family while a state hijacked by leftists has aided and abetted in the attack on the family. Take a walk on a London street, as I have, and you'll see phone booths littered with pornographic solicitations for prostitutes. And the societal stigmatism against immorality seems to have faded. The book really doesn't touch much on the immigration issue though... which might be worth addressing since London increasingly looks like one of its former colonies in terms of demographic make-up. Sadly, this book though reads like a eulogy. Hitchens never offers a prescription for reversing the perilous course Britain has taken. For non-British readers, the book may get boring at times when Hitchens speaks of people, places and things that they aren't all familiar with and/or have trouble relating to. This diagnosis of a culture in chaos may be just for Britain, but a cultural war is being waged throughout the West. I give Abolition of Britain a (3.5/5.0 stars.)