Questions for Analysing a Text by Hannah Lili Böttcher

Questions for analysing a text by Hannah Lili Böttcher

Patriotism needn’t be negative (800 words)

World and Press • 1st March issue 2020 • page 2 page 1 of 3

Questions (text analysis)

Pre-reading

1. What do you associate with patriotism?

2. Do you know who Stormzy is?

Questions

1. Does the author, Gary Younge, condemn patriotism? Explain his take on it.

2. The article is bracketed by the story of Stormzy. Summarise why the author discusses this artist to illustrate his view of patriotism as discussed in question 1.

3. Analysing counterstatements A counterstatement can be used to create a contrast between two ideas. Read paragraphs 11 and 12. Take a closer look at the two counterstatements in these paragraphs given below and explain them. Why do you think Younge makes use of them?

• Para. 11: “Refusing to cede the ground to the right on patriotism is a fine idea so long as you have tilled the soil first. But that has not been done.” • Para. 12: “We need a story that is hopeful. But it must also be honest.”

4. Analyse the Danish finance minister’s statement: “There are small nations, and there are countries that have not yet realised they are small nations.” (para. 7) What do you think he means by “small”?

World and Press • March 1 / 2020 • page 2 page 2 of 3

Sample answers

Pre-reading

1. Individual student answers. Possible keywords could include: • pride in one’s country • love of one’s country • identity • flags and anthems • military parades • conservativeness • culture • football • national loyalty • …

2. Points on Stormzy • Michael Omari, British rapper, singer, and songwriter • born in Croydon, London, in 1993 to Ghanaian parents • first came to fame with his “Wicked Skengman” series (2014) • first album, Gang Signs & Prayers (2017): number one album in the UK, British Album of the Year (2018) • second album, Heavy Is the Head (2019) • Stormzy is also known for being politically active and sometimes even provocative, (e.g., against Boris Johnson at the Glastonbury Festival in 2019 and in his song “Vossi Bop”).

Questions

1. The author, Gary Younge, does not condemn patriotism as such. He says that patriotism “needn’t be negative” (headline) or “reactionary” (para. 8). It also doesn’t need to come with national symbols (flags, anthems), or military parades, which is what patriotism is often associated with (para. 10). He thinks that it is fine if people are proud of their origins and their country’s achievements (para. 8–10). For him, patriotism is a very fluid concept that is not easily pinned down to one general meaning: It is subjective (“in the eye of the beholder”, para. 5) and made up of “arbitrary values” that are easy to distort (para. 5). What is essential about Younge’s view of patriotism is that he thinks that it needs to be honest and allow critique (subhead, 4, 12, 13). Patriotism also requires a unified nation, which Britain is not at the moment (para. 6).

2. The author uses the story of the black British artist Stormzy as a structuring device in order to discuss how multifaceted patriotism is today. As discussed in question 1, his idea of patriotism includes subjectivity, pride, and honest critique. Stormzy’s story is used to show how subjective patriotism can be – the artist himself would probably not describe himself as patriotic (para. 4), but Younge sees aspects in Stormzy’s story that touch on his own idea of patriotism. The young artist takes pride in his black British roots and shows appreciation and affection for Britain (1, 4). At the same time, Stormzy gives his honest critique about the nation’s ills. He is very outspoken about the situation of other black people and publicly calls attention to the injustices in Britain today – here in the form of racism existing in British society.

3. In both cases, Younge uses counterstatements to highlight the points that he thinks British patriotism is still missing. He describes the state of British patriotism and contrasts it to the aspects that he thinks need to be included in it.

• Para. 11 (“Refusing to cede the ground to the right on patriotism is a fine idea so long as you have tilled the soil first. But that has not been done.”) © 2020 Carl Ed. Schünemann KG Bremen. All rights reserved. Copies of this material may only be produced by subscribers for use in their own lessons. Patriotism needn’t be negative

World and Press • March 1 / 2020 • page 2 page 3 of 3

Younge’s point in paragraph 11 is that rightwing nationalism needs to be addressed. The boundary between nationalism and patriotism can be hazy. Nationalists are proud of their countries but they are so in ways that are counterproductive, which is hinted at in Younge’s examples of Trump, Brexit, and mainstream fascism. The counterstatement shows that Younge supports the idea that patriotism should not be allowed to be taken over by nationalists – but in order to prevent this from happening patriotism needs to be based on productive grounds. His counterstatement is attached to a metaphor: “Refusing to cede the ground to the right on patriotism is a fine idea so long as you have tilled the soil first. But that has not been done” (para. 11). The author’s use of the metaphor “till the soil” (para. 11) is fitting because tilled soil is productive soil, and if the British manage to “till the soil” of patriotism, they could cultivate it rather than letting nationalism grow wild. As Younge points out, it is good not to give in to right-wingers; however, until the British understand what patriotism is, they will not be able to stop rightwing nationalists from taking the reins.

• Para. 12 (“We need a story that is hopeful. But it must also be honest.”) The tilled soil metaphor leads in to the author’s following counterstatement: “We need a story that is hopeful. But it also must be honest” (para. 12). A positive story that gives people hope is good, but honesty and self-critique need to be included in British patriotism according to the author. When soil is tilled, everything that was hidden under the surface comes up. So the British need to “till the soil” of their history and take an honest look at what lies beneath the surface. As a specific example, Younge uses colonialism. It is problematic that 59% of the British are proud of the British empire but fail to acknowledge the role of colonialism. As the author points out, celebrating the workers’ struggles is fine, but it won’t erase the “stench of colonialism” (para. 12). Brits ignore their nation’s colonial history, which makes their “story” dishonest and therefore their patriotism incomplete and vulnerable to be taken over by nationalists.

4. Kristian Jensen’s statement works on multiple levels. The first part of his statement (“There are small nations”) refers to size. For example, Denmark, his home country, only has a population of approximately 5 million people, but as a member country of the EU, it has additional political and economic strength. The second half of his statement, that some countries “haven’t realised that they are small nations”, is a direct critique of Great Britain (para. 7). He accuses Britain of not having realised that it is a “small nation”, too. Here, “small” also means being less politically and economically influential. Jensen’s statement implies that the British may have been too confident about themselves and their political and economic power. They are not as powerful – or “big” – as they think they are, and leaving the EU will make them realise how “small” their power actually is. The author’s following comment (“We may well be about to get smaller”, para 7) refers then to both size and influence: Britain is a nation about to get smaller because Scotland wants to become independent (para. 6). The British people as a nation are about to fall apart (para. 6) and as a result the country will become less influential.

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