There is a campaign in the town where I live at the moment. I am not sure of the exact details, but it appears that a historic building is under threat. I don't know how old the building is, and neither do I greatly care. This is not because I do not care at all about Britain's heritage, but rather because I have a strong sense of futility.
Many years ago I was reading a magazine which reported a survey into people's attitudes to Britain's heritage. The magazine's editor noted with regret that a black woman who was interviewed said That is the white man's - appearing to imply that she did not care about it.
I do sometimes feel a surge of pride when looking at - for example - a Victorian railway bridge. Although it is unlikely that any of my ancestors helped to build it, I know that British minds designed it, and that British hands built it. Immigrants who look at the same bridge are unlikely to feel that sense of pride, but they might nevertheless admire the achievement.
But do they? I have just looked at the websites of English Heritage and the National Trust, complete with photographs of children visiting their various properties. Just one photograph features a non-white child.
Being indifferent to our heritage is not the same as being opposed to it, but I cannot help but wonder if an ongoing policy of open door immigration to this country is really conducive to protecting our historic buildings. Also, the fact that ISIS fighters are destroying historic monuments in Iraq makes me wonder if the same thing could happen here.
But then I have to reflect that this is ultimately an issue of little importance in the great scheme of things. As I write, a Slovakian man is about to be sentenced for the particularly vicious rape of a teenage girl in Leeds. I've got a good idea. Maybe the authorities should lock him inside a historic building, and then knock it down.
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