The Olympics and the queen’s diamond jubilee mean that union
jack flags are everywhere in Britain. More than 140 have been
hung along Oxford Street in central London in preparation for
the jubilee in June. Many people say that flying the flag is
just harmless fun. But the flag is a symbol that our rulers use
to try and make us feel proud of Britain’s bloody past. They fly
the flag to try and encourage nationalism and to emphasise
national distinctions instead of class ones. And royal occasions
or sporting events are a perfect opportunity to push these
ideas. So, jubilees were introduced in the 1870s as a conscious
marketing ploy to make the monarchy popular and make people
identify with the British Empire. The “historic” pageantry of
the British monarchy dates back to this period. The first modern
Olympics took place in 1896. It wasn’t based on competing
national teams. Yet by 1908 rulers sought to whip up national
feeling in the run-up to the First World War by imposing
national teams on the games. Historian