Woke people are in a flap over the Union Jack – and that’s precisely why we should fly it

Right on cue, the left is claiming that our national emblem is a symbol of right-wing politics and tribalism. The irony, of course, is that these people happily wrap themselves in the flag of a tinpot bureaucracy called the EU.

Benjamin Franklin once said there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. 

And, while I wouldn’t normally question the wisdom of a Founding Father, I’d argue that there’s a third inevitability on our journey from womb to tomb: the left’s utter contempt for national pride.

More specifically, any national pride displayed by British people (and only British people), who are encouraged to feel shame, self-loathing and guilt for their cultural identity. 

After all, according to the haters, we’re a bunch of racist, imperialist bigots who – despite fending off real fascism in the 1940s – are now stealth Nazis in disguise. 

Proving my theory correct, woke liberals are now triggered by Boris Johnson’s new plan for all civic buildings to fly the Union Jack flag. 

You know, just like every other European country does with their national emblem.

Currently, this only happens in the UK on special occasions, such as the Queen’s birthday, and amounts to roughly twenty days per year. But, with Scotland cranking up pressure for a second referendum, it’ll now happen on a daily basis until 2022. 

The idea is to gently promote unity across England, Wales and Scotland, thus avoiding a messy and costly divorce (not to mention the demise of the Union Jack itself).

In a statement, culture secretary Oliver Dowden said the new move will create “a proud reminder of our history and the ties that bind us.”

Pretty inoffensive, right? Not to the perpetually outraged who, right on cue, were quick to rubbish the idea as jingoistic. 

The hashtag #flagshaggers trended on Twitter, cynical columnists churned-out crass clickbait and public figures lined-up to howl their outrage.

First up, Scottish National party MP Mhairi Black said: “This idea seems to have been inspired by Tory ministers watching an episode of The Thick Of It, rather than a serious government.”

Then, never one to let a fun bubble go unpricked, The Guardian’s John Harris wrote a piece entitled: ‘English politicians are waving the union jack, but its meaning is tattered and torn’.

Meanwhile, oddball entertainer Mike Harding claimed that “the Union Jack was known to millions as ‘The Butcher’s Apron’ because of the massacres, invasions and colonisations carried out by those carrying it”.

Blimey, I dread to think what they say about the ISIS flag.

Even Owen Jones joined the frontline with an appearance on yesterday’s Good Morning Britain. 

Unsurprisingly, he echoed the sentiments of his comrades – implying that flag-waving was yet another cheap gaffe by the mean-spirited, cartoon-villain Conservatives. 

Further proof, in case you needed it, that George Orwell was absolutely correct when he wrote: “England is perhaps the only great country whose intellectuals are ashamed of their own nationality. 

“In Left-wing circles it is always felt that there is something slightly disgraceful in being an Englishman and that it is a duty to snigger at every English institution.”

Needless to say, none of this pearl-clutching is really about flags. 

Look closely and you’ll see that those who denounce the Union Jack often have the Scottish saltire or EU banner in their Twitter bios (next to their gender pronouns for maximum virtue-signalling, OBVS). 

This is because their behaviour is a rejection of something bigger: Britain itself.

As sneering metropolitan elites, they view Britain as a stain on their progressive, borderless, pro-EU characters. 

To atone for this modern-day original sin, they distance themselves from national pride and identity – first in their own lives, then on a national level. 

Then, when there’s a vacuum, they hope it can be filled with something much more globalist. Such is their need for political peer approval.

Of course, not all leftists are bad actors with malign intent. 

Ed Miliband – who was Labour leader when Emily Thornberry tweeted the now-infamous picture of a Rochester house draped in St George’s flags – was supportive of the government’s new idea. 

When asked what he thought about the plan, he simply replied: “Fine by me.”

At a time when Britain’s left are throwing our identity out with the bathwater, we need more people like Ed. 

And, ideally, some unapologetically patriotic types like Benjamin Franklin, too.

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The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.