Let's choose some good examples for 'Sam' to ponder - Mary Seacole, the Battle of Cable Street, the founding of the NHS, the Tolpuddle Martyrs, the Polish pilots in the Battle of Britain (nice to see the BNP's own goal in having a picture of a Polish Spitfire in its campaign material)...
No English degree required, 'Sam'. However, an ability to remove your head from your rectum and look at the real world does help.