The late, great, Dr A L Rowse, an undoubtedly deeply patriotic Cornishman with, as he put it,
"...enough atavistic sympathy with Cornish nationalism to wish that we could loosen our subjection to the mainland sufficiently to enjoy a reasonable system of taxation."confessed that he had found it necessary to become "intellectually English" in order to pursue his professional academic career. He obviously had the capacity, and strength, to focus his mind both on who he was, and, what he had to do, without the one destroying the other. This is only possible when one is acutely aware of the need for such a distinction to be made and, more importantly, having the will and the passion to maintain one's identity. The majority of Cornish people, unlike Dr Rowse, do not have this inner intellectual conflict to sharpen their wits and minds and are, consequently, gullible victims to the mind games. These are insidious mind games which seek to manipulate, by covert coercion, our perceptions of Cornwall and of ourselves - as the Cornish people! It is quite conceivable that the first awareness of any intellectual conflict - whether one is Cornish, or non-Cornish - will be a visit to this website and which, hopefully will represent the leading edge of a journey through the 'Santa Zone' to truth and enlightenment.Commitment to anything usually implies some measure of personal sacrifice whether this be measured in a consideration of the time involved or any likely financial return, or loss. The Cornish Identity cannot be measured in such short-term superficial values and it would be a sad day, indeed, if those were the deciding criteria for any identity. Whilst 'ignorance is bliss' may sum up the existence of the amoeba, we live in a world where 'knowledge is power'. It does not take the mind of a genius to give an analysis as to what 'ignorance of Cornwall' implies both in deed, and in fact. This section will focus on what can be done to maintain our Cornish Identity in the face of the, seemingly, impossible forces ranged against us.
For those who have ventured to the Cornish Nation[COE Appeal] page and read the letter contained there, it is worth reflecting upon the use of a key phrase "raising the burden of complaint!" within that letter which identifies a hitherto missing, but crucial, facet of our fight for Cornish Rights. There have been many battles for Cornish Rights over the past forty years which have been hard fought but with the predictable result that we have been dismissed and ignored by the Establishment. What have we done about such treatment? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! We fight one battle, lose, and then look for another to lose in the vain hope that somewhere out there there is a truly democratic process within which the terms of reference may have some relevance for the Cornish people.
We never resolve the resolvable by "raising the burden of complaint!". Of course, this is a two way burden in that you can only achieve success by ensuring that the effort to win is overwhelming and unyielding. The Establishment can afford to ignore us because we just do not follow-up in a way that causes anybody any real inconvenience or expense. We are - in campaigning terms - a joke! A future page will look at the many campaigns which we have played, and lost, over the years and which will identify, at least, some measure of Cornish Case Law, but the intention here is to focus on what are personally achievable actions. These will be actions which can be pursued at an individual or group level and which will establish the foundations of our desire to be Cornish and, more importantly, to be seen to be Cornish.
Being Cornish is a personal understanding of one's own identity and its relationship to what is, historically, OUR territory. We may isolate, or withdraw, ourselves from what is going on around us and we can still be Cornish within that isolated state but it does nothing for the future of the Cornish people if that selfish identity dies with us. The ability to be seen to be Cornish is a much more profound way of ensuring the continuity of the Cornish people and it is this aspect of our identity which the State is wilfully denying us. If we are not seen to exist, then there is no pressure upon the Establishment to protect, and accommodate, our Cornish existence. Please make regular visits to the 'Visibility' page.
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