London School of Errors should give us all a break
From 'Christmas break' to "Winter break', JN historian Derek Taylor asks the London School of Economics why it's reached the adaft decision to change academic term names
Have you got a bit of time to join me on the barricades? They are being set up at the London School of Economics (LSE) in protest at a daft decision by their academics to change the names of their terms.
From October, the year at the LSE will begin with the ‘Autumn Term’. The Christmas break will become the ‘Winter Break’, the Lent term becomes the ‘Winter Term’ and the Easter Break becomes the ‘Spring Break’.
The LSE academics say the new names will better reflect the international nature of our community and our broader global engagement.
What tosh!
This is a Christian country, the King is head of the church and while every religion is fully tolerated, they are all minorities compared to the Church of England.
Admittedly, the C of E falls over backwards to try to keep all their flock happy, by changing many of their traditions, but at the end of the day the democracy we enjoy is firmly based on Christian principles.
Frankly I don’t want to globally engage with most of the United Nations. Too many of them periodically engage in massacres of defenceless parts of their people, have rigged elections, ignore the rule of law and human rights, and have Amnesty regularly fuming at their behaviour. By contrast we make a a fuss over the decoration of the prime minister’s flat and the tax returns of the former chancellor of the exchequer.
Our nation is not international. It may have been born abroad but it now eats fish and chips, mourns at the Cenotaph and troops the colour on the king’s birthday.
If the LSE terms have their names changed, where does it stop? Are we to call Passover The Egyptian Defeat? Do the LSE academics want the King to be given a certificate instead of a coronation?
I am sure we are flattered that so many students from overseas come to study at the LSE. They will go home having experienced the British way of life. Which is not to look down on the beloved festival of Christmas. I don’t think you’re going to get the Hindus to call Diwali the Festival of Light, even if that is an alternative.
The traditional names bring back happy memories of family gatherings, old relatives, fun and laughter. What joy will come from Winter Breaks?
If the LSE terms have their names changed, where does it stop? Are we to call Passover The Egyptian Defeat? Do the LSE academics want the King to be given a certificate instead of a coronation?
The trouble comes when nutters gain power. I don’t think for a moment that a democratic vote would have resulted in the proposed change at the LSE but atheists and agnostics know they are always going to be in a minority and that is not the setting in which democratic voting is popular.
We, of course, have the gold medal for avoiding broader global engagement. We kept Hebrew going for 2,000 years and we’re still around when so many ancient rulers of the globe have disappeared. The attractions of a secular society have not appealed to us. The synagogue is more important than the lecture room, much as we admire study.
Can anything change the minds of the LSE academics? There must be some way of firing them. It’s high time those who follow religions make a stand. They still outnumber the secularists.
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