Sir Ricky Sbragia - A Churchillian Moment lyrics

It's the nineteen-seventies, and Britain is charmed by the Keynesian consensus British children are being brought up to believe in justice, the law, parliamentary democracy and the monarchy. The nation's working cla** are trusted and admired, and the police are above and beyond suspicion. Miners are distinguished and trustworthy and judges are just one level down from God. Britain's new Elizabethan generation is being reared to respect the hard-won freedoms that its fathers fought bravely to secure. The great institutions of this free society are trusted by the general populace, and society leaders are thought to be men of integrity and honour. Mostly, they are respected. It is a settled society, at ease with itself after the ravages of war, and it is eager to forge ahead and build a better Britain. The conflict is over: it is a new beginning. It all sounds quite idyllic, and of course the above scenario is an exaggeration, but it is not an outrageous one. It was a good time to be British: it was a good time to be English. Soon, it would seem we'd never had it so good. Those days are over now: gone for ever. It's 2012, and the harmony of post-war Britain has been replaced by distrust of authority, loathing of the political cla**, , an absence of community, a diminishing role for the traditional religion, a cynical view of both police and justice system, and a strongly-held opinion that the country's fourth estate is corrupt, dishonest, dumbed-down, contemptible and biased. The public view of SAFC probably reflects how society has changed. Where once SAFC was respected across society, even by fans of provincial clubs, now it is seen as a pariah. Unfortunately, no-one at SAFC foresaw this eventuality, and while the enemies of the club muddied the waters forSAFC in what some believe to be a concerted campaign, the club sailed on regardless; aloof, distant and completely out of touch. From the calm seas of the post-war era, suddenly, the club was surrounded by icebergs, but it never altered course. From being a pillar of society and a major sporting institution, the club slipped from immortality to vulnerability. Instead of being politically aware and active, we retained a quiet reserve and carried on swan-like towards oblivion. Yet hope came, it was football's Titanic moment. The company which had organised a sinsiter anti-mackem cartel was slain at the feet of a humble Scotsman. The mighty had fallen. Sadly their rescue mission suffered no abortion, no scissors to the icy stem of magdom intolerance. This club of ours, SAFC, has to become adept at the ways of modern Britain. Instead of inhabiting safe ground, we are in the firing line. It will have to learn to bob and weave and duck, but it will also have learn to go on the attack uncompromisingly when the time is right. It will have to be shrewd, cute, sharp and politically aggressive. No more pa**ivity in the face of hostility. We exist in a different world now, and the discredited ways of the past have no part in the future. SAFC, and SAFCsupporters, will finally have to demonstrate that we are what we keep saying we are - more than a club. After all that has happened, finally, a new Mackem era will have begun. Let's make it the best one yet.