I was recently reading an article by somebody I often mention who is no longer with us; Christopher Hitchens. He mentioned a term that I think has long been forgotten and very seldom learned in our education and social circles. I shall cite a paragraph from the article in-which he discusses this phrase.
'We owe the term “Anglosphere” in large part to the historian and poet Robert Conquest, who this summer celebrated his 90th year of invincible common sense and courage in the fight against totalitarian thinking. In an appendix to his marvelous 2005 book The Dragons of Expectation: Reality and Delusion in the Course of History, he offers a detailed proposal for a broad Anglosphere alliance among the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, and the Caribbean....
The shape of the world since September 11 has, in fact, shown the outline of such an alliance in practice. Everybody knows of Tony Blair’s solidarity with the United States, but when the chips were down, Australian forces also went to Iraq. Attacked domestically for being “all the way with the USA,” Australian prime minister John Howard made the imperishable observation that in times of crisis, there wasn’t much point in being 75 percent a friend. Howard won reelection in 2004. Even in relatively neutralist Canada, an openly pro-U.S. government headed by Stephen Harper was elected in 2006, surprising pundits who predicted that a tide of anti-Americanism made such an outcome impossible.'
I shall just add to this phrase in terms of shared endeavors. The Anglosphere, which includes the countries Hitchens cited above, have through history since the early 20th Century has on many occasions come together to defeat the terrors of tyrannical and totalitarianism and fascism across the globe. From our shared mistakes during the First World War, the salient fight against international fascism during the Second World War, to the controversial conflicts we shared to take part in during the Cold War. These countries and their shared cultures, values, principles and language, in my opinion, will always stand together to make sure the world is safer against international terrorism in the 21st century and helps to prevent and defeat totalitarianism in all its forms. I completely endorse and support this alliance, and believe in the Anglosphere and fully encourage the use of this phrase.
I firmly believe in the success of multiculturalism across the globe, and I also firmly believe that the biggest threat to the success of it, is Islamic sectarianism. This style of conflict is not only relevant to the Middle-East, but in Europe under the current so-called 'Migrant Crisis'. I believe that the Anglosphere must continue to stand together in its shared alliance to make sure that an extremely chaotic and uncertain post-9/11 world is given some kind of security against the threat of Islamism. What needs to be done, and I apologize for sounding too political, is for the countries of the Anglosphere to identify and endorse the phrase and the ideas behind such an identity through our shared histories and conflicts which we fought and won together. Humanitarian efforts via the United Nations and NATO may help to stimulate our global outreach against international terrorism, but the Anglosphere in-particular, I think, is the only alliance in the world that can unanimously agree on which is the current and greatest threat to world peace and stability. Granted, some of the leading politicians in our countries are certainly having difficulty in publicly acknowledging the specific threats we face, but at least we agree on the broad narrative. Let us also not forget the fundamental facts which I think have also strengthened the alliance: shared democratic principles, courts of law and justice, institutions which grant human rights and the rights to vote, equal rights for both women and men, economic stability, habeas corpus and so on.
Yes, we also share our own controversies in the form of cyber-warfare and the issue of international law and counter-terrorist surveillance. However, we must not let these scandals ruin the integrity of this alliance. I have a lot more I could say on this topic, but I fear I will begin a political discussion, whereas my original intention is to simply emphasize a shared alliance between these great countries and encourage open discussion on these countries' cultures and histories. I believe in the Anglosphere and fully support it in all its principles and challenges.
'We owe the term “Anglosphere” in large part to the historian and poet Robert Conquest, who this summer celebrated his 90th year of invincible common sense and courage in the fight against totalitarian thinking. In an appendix to his marvelous 2005 book The Dragons of Expectation: Reality and Delusion in the Course of History, he offers a detailed proposal for a broad Anglosphere alliance among the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, and the Caribbean....
The shape of the world since September 11 has, in fact, shown the outline of such an alliance in practice. Everybody knows of Tony Blair’s solidarity with the United States, but when the chips were down, Australian forces also went to Iraq. Attacked domestically for being “all the way with the USA,” Australian prime minister John Howard made the imperishable observation that in times of crisis, there wasn’t much point in being 75 percent a friend. Howard won reelection in 2004. Even in relatively neutralist Canada, an openly pro-U.S. government headed by Stephen Harper was elected in 2006, surprising pundits who predicted that a tide of anti-Americanism made such an outcome impossible.'
I shall just add to this phrase in terms of shared endeavors. The Anglosphere, which includes the countries Hitchens cited above, have through history since the early 20th Century has on many occasions come together to defeat the terrors of tyrannical and totalitarianism and fascism across the globe. From our shared mistakes during the First World War, the salient fight against international fascism during the Second World War, to the controversial conflicts we shared to take part in during the Cold War. These countries and their shared cultures, values, principles and language, in my opinion, will always stand together to make sure the world is safer against international terrorism in the 21st century and helps to prevent and defeat totalitarianism in all its forms. I completely endorse and support this alliance, and believe in the Anglosphere and fully encourage the use of this phrase.
I firmly believe in the success of multiculturalism across the globe, and I also firmly believe that the biggest threat to the success of it, is Islamic sectarianism. This style of conflict is not only relevant to the Middle-East, but in Europe under the current so-called 'Migrant Crisis'. I believe that the Anglosphere must continue to stand together in its shared alliance to make sure that an extremely chaotic and uncertain post-9/11 world is given some kind of security against the threat of Islamism. What needs to be done, and I apologize for sounding too political, is for the countries of the Anglosphere to identify and endorse the phrase and the ideas behind such an identity through our shared histories and conflicts which we fought and won together. Humanitarian efforts via the United Nations and NATO may help to stimulate our global outreach against international terrorism, but the Anglosphere in-particular, I think, is the only alliance in the world that can unanimously agree on which is the current and greatest threat to world peace and stability. Granted, some of the leading politicians in our countries are certainly having difficulty in publicly acknowledging the specific threats we face, but at least we agree on the broad narrative. Let us also not forget the fundamental facts which I think have also strengthened the alliance: shared democratic principles, courts of law and justice, institutions which grant human rights and the rights to vote, equal rights for both women and men, economic stability, habeas corpus and so on.
Yes, we also share our own controversies in the form of cyber-warfare and the issue of international law and counter-terrorist surveillance. However, we must not let these scandals ruin the integrity of this alliance. I have a lot more I could say on this topic, but I fear I will begin a political discussion, whereas my original intention is to simply emphasize a shared alliance between these great countries and encourage open discussion on these countries' cultures and histories. I believe in the Anglosphere and fully support it in all its principles and challenges.
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