When the Isms Became Wasms ; Suddenly It Was Easy to Believe in Nothing

Summary

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It was the year when all the 'isms' became 'wasms'; when Britain's ruling class lost their nerve and any idea that America was a selfless ally or a reliable friend of freedom crumbled. It was the year Communism finally discredited itself and the European Union hardened from an outline into a definite and anti-American plan.

In January 1956, hundreds of millions of people around the world still clung to beliefs that had not been true for years.Like a cartoon character who has stepped off a cliff but doesn't realise it, they were suspended in mid-air, their legs whizzing round.The moment they realised the ground had gone from under their feet, they would fall.

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Extract

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When the Isms Became Wasms ; Suddenly It Was Easy to Believe in Nothing

That moment came in a few tumultuous weeks in October; days of tragedy, disillusion, failure and humiliation so powerful that this one year is almost as significant as 1914 and 1939, and perhaps even more so than the smashing of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

But because our rulers were lying so much, very few realised the significance of what was happening as the great catastrophes of Hungary and Suez began to take shape.

Even now, many in Britain do not grasp just how much Suez meant. I can just remember the distant roar of great events, even in my Devon village home. I can still recall, aged five, my father dragging an ancient bicycle from the garden shed for an urgent journey because there was no petrol.

In those days, Naval officers did not ride bicycles it was considered beneath their dignity. That he had to do so was ...

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