There’s no point denying it. I’m worried. And I don’t mean about the fate of the Caramac, which always was an abomination spawned from confectionary hell. No, it’s the government’s plans to shackle/outlaw/debag anybody who would “put down the country” that have raised the alarm, especially among those of us who take a certain pride in our ability to put down the country.
Not that “putting down the country” means the same thing to all people. I’m sure we could argue with Michael Gove long into the night about each of those words, not least “country” which descends quickly into mythologies ancient and modern. According to reports, the government wants to tackle what they call “non-violent extremism” and that begins with a blanket descriptor which states that “Extremism is the promotion or advancement of any ideology which aims to overturn or undermine the UK’s system of parliamentary democracy, its institutions and values”.
