The government, in its infinite wisdom and characteristic lack of subtlety, has announced a surge in defence-sector hiring. The recruitment chief, practically bursting with pride, tells us this is a sign of national strength and renewed commitment to security. What drivel.
This is not a triumph; it is a white flag. A confession. A desperate admission that we have let our guard down for so long that we now scramble, like a bankrupt gentleman suddenly realising his creditors are at the door.
The Victorians, who understood empire and its burdens, never would have celebrated such a thing. They would have seen it as failure: a failure to maintain a steady, professional force, a failure to anticipate threats, a failure to manage the kingdom. We have become a nation of crisis managers, not strategists.
This hiring blitz is the twentieth century’s equivalent of mustering the local militia after the barbarians have already breached the gates. Do not mistake panic for prudence. Do not applaud the scaffolding when the building is already crumbling.
