A Cultural Piece by Matthew Hill
In the gym at the weekend, a dynamic and positive US coach and trainer asked us how we’re all doing. I was alone in whooping out a sound of joy. The rest of the British crowd remained resolutely…silent.
She went on to subtly hint that a positive mental attitude could lead to better outcomes and wondered why the UK masses persist in sending out low energy, negatively phrased language, and adopting an outlook lying somewhere between caution and pessimism!
Today, let us look at some of the factors that result in our less than enthusiastic linguistic approach to life.
Tough Life
200 years ago, 90% of Brits were the equivalent of surfs. They were hired, “at will” unprotected by trade unions and social laws, working in the worst of conditions in agriculture and industry, that is, until one day, they became injured or too old to create value for the owners of assets and capital. They were then removed to be transferred to the workhouse or chucked out onto the street. An in-between stage could be the debtor’s prison as suffered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s father and Charles Dickens’ father also.
White privilege had not been invented at that stage.
History
Those who we think of as British were invaded and dominated by French Catholics, German Anglo Saxons, Scandinavian Vikings, Danish soldiers, and the Romans before that. The average working person was dominated by religious leaders, the nobility, or soldiers from the Continent. There wasn’t a lot to laugh about, every single day.
Life
Living quarters were often basic and tide to employment, typified by a tithe cottage, provided shelter for the family, as long as the family members could provide value to the nobles who owned the land. Open fires sound cosy but all that smoke cut lives short and due to illness, injury and starvation, dreams were for dreamers. Someone reaching 35 or 40 summers was considered exceptionally old.
Call of Duty
And the King gave the Nobles land and allowed them to profit from that land and their semi-indentured labour that worked it, on a very specific condition. That when he called, they would provide the best of the men from their land, to populate the King’s army, to be used as fodder in their never-ending beef with, and the resulting meat-grinding wars against the French and the Spanish.
Religion
As if all of this was not bad enough, the illiterate and superstitious peasants of England were dominated by priests, who were just about the only ones who could read, and therefore were entrusted to interpret the holy text and spell out what would lead the congregation to end up in either heaven or hell, something that everyone used to believe in. Thus, social control was a stressful mechanism with real perceived extreme consequences.
Cultural Modesty
Leading directly on from this, the Brits certainly signed up to the idea that standing out, speaking up and being different were highly risky activities and not to be encouraged. Look at all the phrases used within families, even today. “Ooh la di da, who do you think you are – Little Lord Fauntleroy?” “Mind your airs and graces.” “Keep your feet on the ground” “Don’t get above your station.” “Don’t become too big headed.” “Shut up and only speak when you are spoken to.” The legacy of this suppressive homeschooling ran deep and continues to this day.
The Equality of Disaster
Known as the Blitz Spirit, this phenomenon is still prevalent. I remember on 7/7, when Islamic extremists blew up tube trains and buses in London in 2005. Everyone mustered together and got back on the tubes which were themselves up and running the very next day. There is a camaraderie, unity and equality, that Brits feel in the very worst of times. Another way of seeing this is that they expect and even, to a small extent, relish collective disasters, as these horrible moments represent an opportunity to bring people together in an almost spiritual state. The origins of the phrase refer to the bombing of London, where 30% of the capital was destroyed, and people huddled together in large underground air raid shelters attached to tube stations. Everyone was equal, lying in their bunk bed or between the train tracks as the bombers flew overhead. There were no egos, and no excessive statements of positivity to be heard, simply a silent hope for continuation of life. To live another day.
Jealous of Success
The flip side of that extraordinary group belief and behaviour can be a little unattractive. We quite like it when sports people, business people or talent in general, catch a break, are recognised and these chosen few make their way up the ladder of success. But the dark side of British culture, takes glee and pleasure from seeing those at the top, being found out, or encountering disaster and being, “taken down a peg or two.” Again, the social force is downwards not upwards, negative not positive.
It could be worse
Whilst the Brits are more neutral than positive in tone and language, they could be worse! My time in the Czech Republic was educational. There, children during the Soviet era were told never to laugh in public, for fear of the secret police making a home visit, never to volunteer at work as exposure could lead to imprisonment, and, to take the general approach that a risk not taken, was another day lived.
And even more extreme, I love a Romanian phrase that translates as the equivalent of, “However bad things are today… they could still get worse tomorrow.” Now THAT is pessimistic!
Conclusion
Neutral language, silent and limited participation and the absence of expressed optimism, act as a cultural insurance policy against disappointment, and experiencing too large a fall from the heady heights of believing in exciting possibilities, only to plummet onto the damaging concrete of reality and misfortune below. Risk aversion will save a Pound, whilst risk taking by the many, over much time, produces, 3 Pounds (or $3 Trillion) – so much more! The Brits have chosen the former as their mantra and they, “Mustn’t grumble”, as they “Keep Calm and have another cup of tea”.
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