When Winston Churchill called the British people to their Finest Hour in 1940 he got a response that surprised no one except perhaps Hitler and his friends. The Brits supported by thousands of British Commonwealth comrades stood against the Nazis and those who supported a soft approach to Nazi domination. In the end with many lives lost and the help of our American friends the Brits won through. The sacrifice and bravery of that generation should be compared with Blairs Britain today.

When George Best wasted 30 years on self-indulgence and personal destruction leading to his premature death the response of the British people surprised no one except perhaps those of us who are concerned with our reaction to these two quite different events. But does it really matter?

More than half a century on the Brits have come a long way from the people who willingly laid themselves down to avoid future tyranny in the 1940s to the weepies who gathered on mass for the funerals of the likes of Princes Dianna and George Best.

The passing of any human being is sad the death of a famous person is also sad, but not sadder. Perhaps those Brits of a previous generation new what real sadness was? Whatever the reasons are we really healthier emotionally for such outbursts at famous peoples funerals?

When Churchill passed away in the 60s the funeral was a state event and many thousands of people paid tribute and respect for the great warrior by standing straight and bowing their heads in his honour. This changed when Princess Diana died, a great gush of public emotion led by Mr Blairs declaration She was the peoples princess and thats how she will stay, how she will remain in our hearts and in our memories forever. He had set the tone for what followed. The media traumatised the nation through their wall to wall 24/7 coverage and excessive emotion of the sad event. The great British public followed by wailing and crying their hearts out. But was this a new story or something else? Was this informing the public or leading them?

I met Princess Diana very briefly on two occassions I was saddened by her premature death, she told me off once for smoking a rather enjoyable cigar and on another occasion we shared our combined fondness and amusement for elderly peoples sometimes irksome behaviour.

Is it possible that the media exploit these sad events for their own ends? Is it possible that by spreading the emotion they get to determine demand?

Brits these days expose themselves to all manner of media manipulation TV channels now openly recruit the willing public to comment on major events like this years July terrorist attacks in London or the Hemel Hemstead Oil Depot fire. Most of the comments are almost worthless and certainly not newsworthy. However by involving the public the media tries to gauge how popular the story may be. Ordinary Brits are now seen on TV more than reporters or actors. Try and watch a news program without seeing the latest citizen commenting on this or that issue. The other day a young lady offered the following comment on the UK Pension crisis. Retirement, I cant think that far ahead, I mean I am thinking oh, I need to go to the cash machine and get some money, I think about the next hour and thats difficult enough Well then that sorts out the UK Pension crisis!

The public softening to the Iraq war is another example of media leading Brits rather than covering whats happening. Most of us would rather have Saddam out, but today we also apperantly want a softer option to war a nice way out would be fine. So most media, led by the BBC spend a huge amount of air time saying how bad things are, how many soldiers and civilians are killed and delight in any set backs to the coalition forces or democratic progress made by the Iraqis thenselves. Better to wish that badness doesnt exist, maybe it will go away if we think soft? Lets just walk away from the Iraqis and keep our soldiers in their barracks where they can learn needlecraft.

Like the greetings card industry who create demand by creating emotion fathers day, grandparents day, secretarys day its not only the grandparents who benefit! An industry arises by creating demand and what better to sell than emotion? The volume of flowers and teddy bears placed on the sites of fatal accidents whilst British graveyards lie in disorder says something about who the sympathy maybe for rather than about. Are these flowers and teddy bears really a tribute or simply a trend to be followed?

There is nothing wrong with feeling sad when sadness occurs, but there is something wrong when so-called news media simply generate emotional responses through their coverage style.

The British generation that fought 20th century wars had enough sadness in their lives and more. The quiet dignity and integrity they showed in the face of personal loss speaks volumes for a return to values that were not based on following a trend or set by people who have motives beyond bringing you the news.

Alex Walker