I’ve been following with interest the story of Ed Miliband’sspat with the Daily Mail over the supposedly ‘evil legacy’ of his father and
how he ‘hated Britain’. It’s been
fascinating because it plays on so many levels. The way in which children honour their parents, even when public
figures. The extent to which free speech
ought to be limited in our press, especially in light of upcoming decisions on
the Leveson report. The confirmation, to me at least, of Miliband’s observation, at his recent conference, that it is so tempting, and so much easier, to be strong against the weak but weak in the face of the strong. The idea that the ‘sins of the fathers are
visited upon their sons’ (one of several occasions when the Old Testament has
been invoked in the story), both in the Miliband family and with the rather unsavoury
history of the Mail itself. Then there’s
the idea of ‘British Values’ what they are, the extent they’re linked to
national institutions and what ‘hating Britain’ might actually look like. So much to ponder.
But today the story took a different turn as Huffington post
journalist Medi Hasan has come under fire following his celebrated denouncing
of the Mail On BBC’s Question Time this week. It emerges that 3 years ago, he
wrote a sycophantic letter to the Mail asking for work, speaking of his
admiration of their ‘outspoken defence of faith and Christian culture’ etc. ‘Oh what hypocrisy’ many cry, but others have seen more nuance here. Quite apart
from the acceptance of a certain amount of toadying when asking for work and
the ethics of publishing private, job related correspondence, what might left
of centre social conservatism look like?
Is abortion scepticism and support for the ‘family’ inevitably to be allied
with ‘woman-hating’ and ‘gay-baiting’? Are some social values inevitably linked to
their darker side and do you have to take the rough with the smooth?
For me this is of more than academic interest. My faith drives my politics, like it does
everything else in my life. My left
leaning convictions about social justice, community responsibility, peace and
international relations see me firmly in the traditions of Christian Socialism.
I abhor the divisive, dehumanising and destructive politics that seem so often to
be the default fall-back position of the right.
As I watched Medi’s eloquence from the sofa I cheered along. Then, when I read his column-seeking letter,
I cringed a little at his enthusiasm but found myself nodding at the need for a
trenchant voice for personal responsibility and social conservatism. Am I a hypocrite too? More importantly, does our obsession with
left/right boxes deny genuine reflection of appropriate faith driven responses
to all the questions of our age?
I’m aware I’ve offered up more questions than answers here
but, as a positive starting point, my free church ecclesiology helps. As a Baptist I don’t regard it as the job of
the state to provide the legislative platform for the Kingdom of God, or even
to criminalise sin. At least that leaves
space for the prurient to remain private and for us all to work together for
the common good – though I still won’t be buying the Mail.
