Poking gentle fun at themselves is very much part of the Morris tradition. So of course is the attitude that objects to that. It's a wide and variegated tradition in that way as in others.

But the truth is, it's quite possible to treat something lightheartedly and recognise its absurdity, and recognise it as serious and important, both at the same time. Doing that is quintessentially English (though of course not exclusively English). It's the quality you find in, for example Dad's Army or many Music Hall songs, as Cosmotheka used to bring out so well.