What does it mean to accuse someone of being 'wet'?
This is what the UK Prime Minister accused the BBC of, when it decided not to have people singing lyrics to a patriotic song at the 'Last Night of the Proms':
I think it’s time we stopped our cringing embarrassment about our history, about our traditions and about our culture, and we stopped this general bout of self-recrimination and wetness,” Boris Johnson said on Tuesday.
‘Stop this wetness!’: the roots of Boris Johnson’s watery contempt | Language | The Guardian
At the other end of the political spectrum to the Guardian, the Telegraph was as horrified as the Prime Minister:
More than half of Britons say BBC is wrong to silence Rule, Britannia!
'Are the BBC trying to erase history?' - Telegraph readers on Rule, Britannia!
However, if you look at most renditions of this song at the Proms, you can see that both performers and audience have never taken it seriously - and with it being sung by... foreigners!
Rule Britannia - Last Night of the Proms 2009 - YouTube
Rule, Britannia! - BBC Last Night of the Proms 2012 - YouTube
"Rule, Britannia" (Bryn Terfel) Last night of the Proms 1994 - YouTube
Renée Fleming sings Rule Britannia - Last Night of the Proms 2010 - YouTube
Rule Britannia - Last Night of The Proms 2015 - YouTube
Rule, Britannia! - Jonas Kaufmann | Last Night of the Proms 2015 - YouTube
But after Brexit, this song and the evening it is sung on had already become part of the 'culture wars', when everyone takes it very seriously.
Story: “Rule, Britannia!” and “Land of Hope and Glory” were performed orchestrally at BBC’s Last Night of the Proms. The decision was in compliance with government guidelines to stop the spread of Covid-19, which clearly state that “people should avoid singing, shouting and raising voices.”
This week, and probably for the first time in modern history, everyone was talking about Last Night of the Proms. Conductor Dalia Stasevska found herself in the crossfires of the culture wars after the BBC’s decision for “Rule Britannia” and “Land of Hope and Glory” to be performed orchestrally – in line with government guidelines to stop the spread of COVID-19 – was reported as a “politically motivated” decision.
Worst Opinion of the Week: The 'Woke Left' Are Banning 'Rule Britannia!'
The surprising history of “Rule, Britannia!” and Last Night of the Proms | Prospect Magazine (a history of the song being sung at the Proms)
Rule Britannia Row Is Nonsense Designed To Keep The Nation Polarised | HuffPost UK (a liberal take)
Last fight of the Proms - Britons never, never, never shall be free of the culture wars | Britain | The Economist (a neo-liberal take)
Video: Land of Hope and Glory and Rule Britannia are 'racist propaganda' | Daily Mail Online (a different take in a conservative newspaper)
Culture wars: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson urges Rule Britannia rethink (from Australia)
The Brexit vote may be the first shot fired in a British culture war (from the Telegraph, 2018)
Culture wars: even the arts are a Brexit battleground (from Ireland, 2018)
See also:
Jay Doubleyou: inglorious empire - what the british did to india
Jay Doubleyou: music from the uk
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