August 8, 2005
The actress Joan Collins says Britain is destroying itself from within.
In a column for London's Daily Mail, Collins quoted historian Will Durant, who observed that great civilizations are not conquered from without, but rather destroy themselves.
She bemoans the use of "UK" instead of England and how its citizens must be called "Britains" and not English.
She says Britain has lost respect for itself and notes the hooligans who roam the streets, pushing wheelchairs out of their way and attacking the police if they seek to restore order.
"Why do young people consider it cool to be arrogant, swaggering and rude" she asks?
"Why do so many people in England seem so cynical and self-centered?"
She tells of observing a young, drunken mob, kicking cars, screaming insults, and pushing people and out of their way.
"Rudeness seems the rule and not the exception. A lack of manners and politeness in a society can only be a reflection of what the society thinks of itself," she says.
How right she is. And how sad.
I'm Cal Thomas in Washington.
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C. Watch his television show, After Hours with Cal Thomas, on the Fox News Channel, Saturdays at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
