Thursday 17 May 2007

"Thou shalt not kill our sacred bull, say Hindus "Hindus across Britain are threatening to form a human chain to prevent the slaughter of a sacred bull after it tested positive for tuberculosis." Internal discohesion implies the emergence of a multitude of competing worldviews and values. To be sure, in any society at any time the dominant view is being challenged by some - cohesion is never perfect, indeed too much of it may be harmful, for example with respect to innovation. Returning to the news-story, quite a few British natives are likely to sympathise with the aim of these Hindus while others will oppose them. At any rate, there is no doubt that British society as a whole, and the notion of what constitutes Britain, are changing fundamentally. Such changes can be understood as a part of long term human history. While the Saxon invader may have appeared menacing to the Roman settler in Britannia at the time, today both have been "integrated" into what British people see as their history. A similar process may occur in the future with regards to changes we witness in our societies today.