May I be indulged by the readers (and of course, the editor) of CentreRight in some shameless self-promotion? My new book, LOOK AT ME: Celebrating the Self in Modern Britain, is about to be published by the Social Affairs Unit,and I'm sure would be of interest to many people here. And at just over 100 pages, it's a nice short read.
LOOK AT ME explores the demoralization and division which comes with the modern need to claim uniqueness, regardless of talent or deed. By shouting the loudest, by being the most visible, or simply by thumping people the hardest, the attention-seekers destroy the privacy of others and contribute to the fragmentation of public life.
Meanwhile real achievement and genuine talent are devalued. With no genuine claim to uniqueness, some wannabes ride their emotions. They self-dramatise. They show off. They demand our attention.
Others glorify themselves by rejecting others. Paradoxically, despite all the talk in the media of 'community', there has been a repudiation of our collective identity - whether expressed in nationhood, neighbourliness or even personal roots. Such concepts are seen by the single, soaring self as constricting and confining. And in the breakdown of civic behaviour, in the growth of self-centred, often yobbish posturing, 'respect' has come to acquire an altogether new, rather sinister meaning.
The book looks at Britain's runaway obsession with the need to be extraordinary, special or visible. It considers the many ways in which this obsession manifests itself, across different age groups and
economic classes, and goes on to consider how we have come to be in this situation, and finally, what the future holds.
