Are We At The Crossroads?
#nationalservice #patriotism #falseideology #youthwork #youthworker #change #YWCR #creatorsnotconsumers #weareeducators
Patriotism encompasses a deep love and loyalty to one's country. It is evident in various forms, from civic engagement to cultural pride. However, the Conservative announcement of an introduction of national service to address community cohesion based upon a principle of enhanced patriotism could be aligned to the philosophical notion of false ideologies that distort its true meaning. This article aims to open up and explore the distinctions between genuine patriotism and the potential challenges posed by false ideologies that act as a subterfuge for ideological patriotism under a principled idea that arguable no longer exists other than to serve the powerful. The attempt to draw a specific voter demographic as we near a general election is concerning for young people and youth work, as has been demonstrated by the voices of the powerful on a range of issues.
Understanding Patriotism
Patriotism, is an emotional attachment to one's place and space. It is characterised by a sense of pride in national achievements, a commitment to the well-being of fellow citizens, and a willingness to contribute to the country's prosperity. True patriotism is inclusive, uniting people from diverse backgrounds under a common national identity. It encourages constructive criticism, fosters civic responsibility, and upholds democratic values. Determining how we step into discussion as youth and community workers is therefore important; with every intention of focusing on the key principles and navigating a starting place in practice around the ‘British Values’ and ‘Citizenship’ agendas that if delivered ineffectively promotes exclusion and distances from the nature of collective democracy.
The Nature of False Ideology
False ideology, therefore, refers to beliefs or doctrines that distort reality and often serve specific (political) agendas. We should be cautious of the traction that these ideas carry and how communities understand false ideology. Unlike genuine patriotism, which seeks the common good, false ideologies often divide societies, promote exclusion, and justify unethical actions. It is at this point, that the informal educator, youth worker or community worker should consider how the equality, diversity and inclusion messaging remain prominent and clear to retain positive practice.
The Intersection of Patriotism and False Ideology
There is a historic pattern of misunderstanding the brief overview presented and the actual policy intervention and the role of the youth and community worker to distil policy to practice should be undertaken with care and with a rigour the does not impede youth work values and principles.
Nationalism vs. Patriotism: Nationalism is a form of false ideology that often gets tied to patriotism. While patriotism is about love for one's country, nationalism can involve an aggressive assertion of national superiority and a disdain for other nations. Nationalism tends to promote an "us versus them" mentality, which can lead to discrimination, racism, and conflict. Our work around diversity and inclusion carries much value in this space and no doubt we each have examples of how individuals connect or disconnect with ideas and how the dominant voices (often connected closer to the ideology) find safety in the umbrella of political rhetoric.
Propaganda and Manipulation: Governments and political groups may use propaganda to manipulate patriotic feelings for their own purposes. By framing their agenda as being in the national interest as in this case with National Service, they can garner public support even for unethical or harmful policies. Historical examples include totalitarian regimes that used patriotic rhetoric to justify oppression and war. The notion of national service is again not new, a rebrand of the National Citizen Service, Millenium Volunteers as focus activities to benefit young people initiate with large financial set up and are gradually subject to ongoing decreases in funding and therefore change to the initial framework that aimed to benefit young people.
Mythologising History: False ideologies often rely on a selective or distorted view of history to create a narrative of national greatness. This mythologising can obscure historical truths, ignore past injustices, and prevent a society from learning from its mistakes. True patriotism, in contrast, embraces an honest and critical understanding of history. Generationally, there is value seen in the efforts of older generations commitment and we should not detract from this, it is however important to recognise that the social, economic, political, global terrain is now different and that even our own practice has gone through various educative shifts to align to contemporary youth work with young people.
The issues with presenting false ideologies as a benefit are the underlying impacts post headline showboating;
Social Division: By promoting exclusionary views, false ideologies can fracture societies along ethnic, racial, or religious lines. This undermines social cohesion rather than develops it as ‘advertised’ at present, and can lead to conflict and violence. The opposition to national service by young people has the potential to create a them and us based upon social categorisation.
Erosion of Democratic Values: When patriotic rhetoric is used as a form of social control or to justify change, democratic principles are at risk. Key questions around what young people are learning or not learning as they develop through adolescence is a worthy discussion.
International Tensions: Nationalistic ideologies can exacerbate international tensions, leading to conflicts and wars. True patriotism, however, recognises the importance of international cooperation and peaceful coexistence. The world is at present in various conflicts and important conversations with young people around positive outcomes and aspirations can be insightful to establish the extent to which young people voice concerns and empathy to international issues.
The role of youth work in this discussion leads me to consider that our involvement in national service (however it is packaged) is to engage further in the informal education, choice, rights based agenda and active social participation, this in turn establishes a level of asset based thinking and leads to a choice regarding patriotism and critical appraisal of false ideologies.
Enabling dialogue with young people around civic understanding to recognise false ideologies and challenge views alongside critical thinking skills are valuable in the youth worker toolkit. Creating spaces where young people can discuss rhetoric raised in relation to issues that affect young people’s lives is a valuable cornerstone in our work. Profiling this voice with communications to MP’s, hotseating council leaders to be part of the developing interventions can support the intention of manipulative practice.
Working with young people to identify how the pluralistic inclusive work undertaken and the positive value that already exist in youth work by young people, celebrating the diversity and inclusion that young people contribute and how improvements in social cohesion are evident in youth work and community work practice.
One of the most pressing issues young people face with national service is the psychological and emotional strain through lack of choice in direction and scope for learning. For many, national service coincides with a pivotal developmental stage of adolescence. The transition/journey from adolescence to adulthood involves significant identity formation, and being uprooted from familiar environments can disrupt this process.
Additionally, for some young people the distraction from academic life or early career experiences to national service duties can lead to a sense of lost direction and purpose. Young people may struggle to reconcile their personal aspirations with the obligations of national service.
National service also imposes significant socio-economic challenges. Many young people are in the early stages of their careers or education when they are called to volunteer or serve. Interruptions in academic progression can lead to delays in personal achievement and, consequently, delays in entering the job market. This interruption can be particularly detrimental in competitive fields where experience and continuous education are paramount.
Beyond individual challenges, there are broader societal and structural issues at play. The effectiveness of national service programs depends heavily on the structure and support systems in place. Inadequate planning and resource allocation can lead to inefficient activities that fail to meet their objectives, thereby wasting both the time and potential of young people.
For any potential Government, the funding to support this idea of national service and forced participation could and should be provided to ensure that youth work has a funding base that can support both statutory obligations (that arguable are not being met) alongside voluntary sector support to ensure that all young people have access to provision that can already work with the agenda in a much more effective and valid way. Should this go ahead, the drip funding that will be available for projects for the youth sector will be a complicated ethical consideration! It is sad that again dissolving the challenges young people face with a challenge to young people as a problem to be fixed – deficit culture thinking ultimately and it is important the we recognise our value as a professions and showcase the brilliance of young people.
What are your thoughts? Should we be part of this idea should it come through? Do you oppose the idea? How would you align your practice to include this agenda? I am really interested in what the field thinks on this, post a comment below and share your thoughts or pop into The Youth Work Common Room Forum spaces and add your thoughts on what you think in relation to key areas of youth work… detached and outreach, centre based youth work, schools work as this could be an impact for a few years in relation to our work.
#nationalservice #patriotism #falseideology #youthwork #youthworker #change #YWCR #creatorsnotconsumers #weareeducators
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