Patriotism

With the World cup well on it's way... we had a conversation in work today.

I have a feeling most of us on here are above 30, so do you like being British? are you proud to fly the flag, whether England, Scotland, Wales or Ireland?

Or, do you think that it isn't the same here anymore, and dream of retirement in warmer climbs?

 

Yup very proud to be British although I draw the line at having a silly Chinese made flag stuck to the car window .But on this subject it was only a few days ago that The prime Minister decided that its a good wheeze to bring British values to the front and news travels fast as I am working on a teachers house and on Monday he was having a training day all about " British values.
With regards to the sunny climes I was chatting to my younger brother yesterday because my other younger brother is coming over from Australia this weekend and I was saying I would rather be here ( with all its faults ) " Don't get me going" than have to look in my boots every morning for spiders or dodge around the garden hoping not to get bit by a snake .
So perhaps just an home bird or too old to change.

 

The only trouble is we probably won't be allowed to push our British values, as no doubt they will offend someone and get banned!!!!

 

Got my flag on car!! for kids honest.
As for retirement me and wife are off to foreign climbs mates just bought a rundown farmhouse in the Dordogne for 50k

 

I think ukip might be getting a few votes come election time

 

Might get me a job driving buses

 

Their track days get a bit overbooked Dave!

 

English by Birth, British by law, Bristolian by the grace of God

More seriously I class myself as English rather than British probably because growing up there were no British Teams beyond the Olympics. Also Bristol and Wales, particularly Baardiff, don't have the best of relationships, and spending 16 weeks of basic training in a 4 man room with 3 sweaties was fun

So basically I will support England in Football etc but not follow British Teams. I don't do the "Oh look we won Wimbledon because Murray is British" thing, but I do think Britain has done great things in the past, things which some people these days want to portray in a different light and apply modern ethic too. Maybe it's an age thing but I still think the Empire benefited the World in many ways, but I know it wasn't perfect and it also made mistakes.

I don't fly a flag though, can't be arsed arguing with the pinky liberals who think it means I am a facist/racist/homophobic/psychopathic thug, but I do celebrate St George's day whenever I can.

As for the other parts of Britain, I have, and have had, some great friends form the other parts of the Kingdom, and will continue to take the mickey out of them, and vice-versa, for the foreseeable future.

 

It's just the country I was lucky enough to be born in.
Lucky in that I could have been born in any country, not lucky as in that I feel privileged to live here.
I don't really get all the patriotism for any country.
And see it just as merely a power trip, and a way to make money the world over, whether its oil, weapons, governing other places on earth and so on.
With the UK and US being the worst offenders in that regard.
I don't see anyone as being different no matter where they are from.
I also don't class myself as Scottish or British, just a decent human being with respect for all who respect their fellow people.
I grow weary seeing atrocities committed every day in the name of nationalism, religion and greed.

As for where I live, well, as lovely a country as Scotland is, I would rather live in a warmer climate.
And international competitions tend not to interest me too much either as far as wanting certain countries to win or lose.

 

I'm proud of being a Brit however given that our British partners would prefer to be independent I'm English and very proud to be so. Whilst we are criticised around the world we are, in my view, envied for what we are and stand for. It's time we stood up for being English and be proud and protective of our culture. My parents live in France and call England and say they wouldn't return, but they are oblivious to the very real problems that France have?

 

I can't believe that we allow people of non British descent to live in our country and seemingly dictate to us how things are going to be!!!

 

Good question Si, but a bit of tough one.

I have never really felt British, I prefer to think of myself as English (although my great grandmother was French)

That does not mean I have any negative attitude towards Scotland, Wales and Ireland and due to our history I am not surprised the English are disliked by some.

I am not proud of some of our British history eg slavery, invasion and forced rule etc of foreign countries. I am however, proud of the way we defended ourselves during the first and second world wars.

I am not proud that 'Britain' in alliance with other 'powers', particularly the USA, seem to think they have a divine right to dictate to other countries what they can or can not do.

I do not see we have an England any more, bit by bit I have seen it transformed into a multicultural, multi racial society where it is often seen as being offensive to hold on to any 'British/English' values.

I now feel like a minority group in a country which once felt like 'home'.

Having been to quite a few countries I do however, feel lucky to have been born in Britain. Often thought about moving overseas, but I guess this is home, for better or worse.

 

The england football team sum this country up perfectly. Absolutely shite

 

Personally I can't stand the false patriotism about at the moment due the the football.
Houses, cars etc adorned with St Georges flag that up until a week ago were bare...how many flags will stay up after the football has finished.
I have a St Georges flag and a Help 4 Heroes flag flying outside my house all year round.
I am an Englishman and proud of our heritage but I feel that this country is being sailed down the river by corrupt politicians who care nothing about the country and everything about what they can scam out of the system for the time they are in office.
As for moving to warmer climes..yes its on the to-do list, though the choice is pretty limited really.
America is out of the running as their politicians are as bad as ours as is most of the American continent.
New Zealand, Japan or Australia are high on the list..possibly Poland too....ok not exactly warmer..but I work with a lot of Polish guys and they are very friendly and hardworking, make the effort to learn our language, how many English try to learn Polish, it's the second most spoken language in England these days.
I know that "immigrants" are getting a hard time in the current climate and press, but the Poles, we should remember stood, fought and died side by side with our soldiers during the war.
I have had numerous offers to go over and stay as a guest with their families from the blokes I work with.

 

I am proud to be British but perhaps not for the reasons that many might be.

I HATE people feeling smug and self-important because of past glories. Like when you hear people proudly espousing the fighting spirit and virility of the British male because of the the days of empire and success in world wars despite the fact that the guy talking about it had nothing at all to do with it. Like when you hear some guy proudly announce that his grandfather fought at El Alamein or something and inferring that, by association, he must be a double-hard bastard.

More than that I think that people looking to the past to bask in the reflective glory of other people's achievements holds us back as a country sometimes.

I think that British people have a lot to be proud of. Most of all is our sense of fairness and justice. I love this country because it's full of MOSTLY good people who can't stand seeing others suffer. Like when the Tsunami hit Indonesia et al back in 2004. British people, not the government...the people, donated more than pretty much every other country because that's what British people are like. We're nice. We want to help.

We're also in possession of the world's best sense of humour.

We're happily crap at some things. Whereas our American cousins want everything shiny and perfect we're prepared to sit back and laugh at ourselves and accept criticism.

Fair enough the weather might be a bit sh*te from time to time and we might not look as pretty as Brazilians or make things quite as well as the Germans or cook things as well as the French or have the joie de vivre of the Italians but I'm content on our happy little island because of the people who live here.

 

Just landed in Liverpool for the weekend and was chatting to the taxi man about the world cup . He said he was not a big England fan and said it was more a down south thing . . the people around Liverpool don't really support England

 

This is a muti edged blade:

I am immensely proud to be English. I say English as that is what I am and it’s not with any ill meaning or feeling against the Welsh, Scottish or folk from N Ireland.

However, when I am overseas, not so much for business but on holiday, I am constantly embarrassed by the way the British conduct themselves, if it’s not the way some British people dress it’s the way they behave and the way they treat the locals.

Having said all that, once I retire ( 8 years and counting) I will be waving this cold and wet island goodbye and other then coming back frequently to see my kids I will be done with this ruined country.

 

Well as you can see, I fly my own home nation national flag on my blade; that's more to do with not wanting a blue star flag on it!
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I work with some scots, some cockneys, more than a few yorkshire folk, and a couple of welsh blokes; all have the same passport but I find most of them couldn't give a fig about being british, more concerned with being recognised as their regional identity.

 

Mate just bought this even less than I thought.....

Pretty Stone House To Renovate