I'm not at all bothered about what those who called themselves British did in the past. Who cares what people have done if their only connection to me is that they happened to have been born on the same sad rainy island just off France? There's nothing inherently good about being British - when I speak to people from other countries I'm more likely to feel embarrassed about it than anything else. We don't bother to learn other languages, we're somehow proud of our seriously problematic colonial past and we make fools of ourselves whenever we go on holiday. We're proud enough of the NHS to leave the best economic deal we've ever had because a bus suggested it was at risk, but we keep on actively electing people who want to take it down. We want to "trade with the world" but hate the fact that the people who've just moved in at number 54 are a bit too foreign. The balti is practically our national dish but at two Barnsley matches I've been to the Brains Trust in the crowd thought that chanting 'Town full of pakis' was hilarious. To be fair we all shouted them down on one of those occasions, and I hope they went home realising that they were in the minority. I really hate nationalism. I'd remove the whole concept of the nation state tomorrow if I could - let's get on with each other. We've all got more in common than we have differences.
True. It's our leaders who create national myths of superiority, exploit fear and turn us against 'the other.'
I t I think, like the Eurovision Song contest, we never really took them particularly seriously and treated it all as a bit of a larf. Germans for example took the Jeux sans frontiere seriously and worked like a well oiled machine whilst we excelled in naffness . Same with Eurovision (although we used to take that seriously a few decades back with stars of the time like Cliff Richard, Sandy Shaw (",who?" I hear you ask) taking part when UK and USA dominated the pop music world.
Whilst it is,without doubt, the legacy of the dubious period of Empire and colonisation, Britain as a small lsland both landmass and and population has throughout history punched above its weight. From the Industrial Revolution which started in UK and up to and including the technological revolution we are still major Global centre/player for finance and technology. We may no longer have a domestic car manufacturer we can call our own but the technical expertise in automotive design and development is still centered around the UK. A significant part of F1 innovation and development including the World beating Mercedes AMG Petronas team are based in Bracknell. Given the size of our island even with Brexit UK is still one of the largest economies in the World. I too don't get the constant knocking of the UK . The North unfairly Barnsley especially has been left behind and that clouds the perception that the UK has stagnated and still stuck in the 70s. You only have to go to places like Milton Keynes, Reading, Berkshire in general, not to mention London itself, to realise how much has changed. Many young Italians work in the UK or have aspirations to do so and do not have the jaundiced view of many on here. I always find it funny when some on here who have never left Barnsley let alone the UK except for the odd annual holiday make comments like "we are a laughing stock in Europe" . Living amongst them I can categorically state that whilst they are sometimes bemused (as we all are) by some of the antics Govts and institutions get up to, we are still considered as an aspirational place to come to work and live.
Who’s mocking the country? Lots of posters have pointed out what we’ve got to be proud of. My original post was questioning why so many believe in myths.
might just be me but that post just makes me really sad. Many countries are proud of their history and development, if folk don't take a pride in their country whats the chance of improvement? I've always been proud to be from Yorkshire for instance!
A Brit working in an international environment, building on the work of many other people, on a network invented by the Americans. We do not live in a bubble any more.
Seems a bit odd. If you're not bothered about the actions of other people who just happen to have lived on the same island as you, what are you feeling embarrassed about?