When students say they will never fight for Britain, don't believe them
In 1933, there was a famous Oxford Union debate motion, which was later called the Oxford Pledge: 'That this House will under no circumstances fight for its King and country.'
It passed: 275 people voted for the motion and 153 against it. Hitler's decision-making, Churchill later believed, was affected by the motion. This illustrates what an odious a signal of British decadence and nihilism it sent.
Six years earlier, a motion at Cambridge had been proposed: 'That lasting peace can only be secured by the people of England adopting an uncompromising attitude of pacifism,' which passed by 213 votes to 138.
Churchill's scathing words about the Oxford motion are eerily relevant: 'That abject, squalid, shameless avowal,' he called it. 'It is a very disquieting and disgusting symptom.'
But it soon became apparent that it was youthful talk. When Britain went to war with Germany, almost all eligible Oxford students reported for duty, many losing their lives, a sacrifice still commemorated on VE Day.
This year, more than most, one felt anxious on VE Day, in part due to the doubt over whether it is still the case that cometh the hour, cometh the Lefty student-turned-soldier.
A major survey this year revealed that only 11 per cent of people in their late teens and 20s would fight for their country. Gen Z is anything but tough, valorous or patriotic.
And yet. The aggressive, destructive passivism of the Oxbridge students of a century ago was just the same as it is today, albeit far more literate.
History doesn't repeat itself exactly but it gives us perspective, reminding us to temper our disapproval of the young'uns with faith.
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