Becoming British

Tomorrow I become a UK citizen. I will put my hand on the Bible I was given as an infant on the day of my baptism (into the Church of England as it happens) and swear my allegiance to the nation, its monarch and her heirs. 

I have immense admiration for the Queen. (It takes one to love one.) But it's slightly odd to think about HRH's William and Harry in this oath-making context. I just feel like I know a little too much about their nights at Boujis and Mahiki to take them seriously as living symbols of the nation.

So even as I recite the words of my oath, I will simultaneously envision another set of people -- people whose faces and stories I encountered yesterday at the Imperial War Museum. People who endured the Blitz, who fought in the trenches, planted victory gardens, lived on rations, who upheld the values and principles that indeed make Britain great. What they endured is almost unbelievable. It sure puts today's tribulations in context. It is to them, more than anyone, that I feel I owe my pledge. 

London's Imperial War Museum is an astonishing place. It's pointless to blog about it -- just go experience it for yourself. It doesn't matter how much you feel you know or don't want to know about war and life in wartime. It's life-affirming to come face-to-face with the facts, artifacts, and voices of our forebears. It's also overwhelming and moving and I left with a headache.

I feel stirred and humbled that I am to be welcomed as a participating member of this amazing project: the United Kingdom. I hope I can live up to the courage and honour and pluck and ingenuity of those who came before us.