- The Observer,
- Sunday April 8 2001
One of the least edifying features of the beginning of the twenty-first century is the death of perspective. A tiny proportion of our national herd - just two animals in a hundred - are being slaughtered to control a non-fatal disease and Britain is already depicted as swept by the Black Death. It is hardly surprising with a modern media which lurches from reporting triumph to disaster with no shade in between. Not so long ago, newspapers were hyping Cool Britannia as the global capital of hip. Now, those same newspapers tell us that we inhabit plague island, a basket case tumbling into the ranks of the Third World.
Yes, there are things wrong with Britain. But there is also much to celebrate. We have the fourth largest economy in the world. Our politicians are dazzlingly clean compared with many in Europe and America. In sport, cricketers and footballers are performing proudly. British television, radio and creative arts are in the global premier league. The world once rather envied the British for being phlegmatic. We can make them jealous again. It only requires calming down.
