0038 Why I'M Ashamed Of Being British Comments

Our talent at queuing and being enraptured by the royal family, of course! t x

I wrote this to encourage discussion, and as a record of the image of 'Britishness' that a generation grew up with. It's certainly not nostalgia for colonialism. And I would distinguish between dangerous 'my country right or wrong' patriotism, and legitimate national pride - that is, pride in those things which all the nation agrees are good... freedom itself, free speech, justice, support for the underdog, love of animals, sportsmanship, sense of humour, 'muddling through', and...er...what have I forgotten?

yes Michael it must be very bad for you...now that the british can no longer rule the world...and now that there are more immigrants than britishers in london...now that jobs are being grabbed by others in the UK...those were good old days...but we like these times better...we have our country to ourself now... left poorer but braver...but will rise and rise very fast for all to see...back to our lost glory...i love our history...it has taught us to never let anyone else call the shots ever....love...nalini

Michael, this is superb; a trip down your memory lane which is so telling, together with an eye to the future which may indeed force sich a conclusion. (Got to mention though... Habeus Corpus was never legitimately passed....there is a lot of mystique around the 1679 Act and the Hansard figures don't add up. Ho hum.) t x

very intriquing...i can't say that i understand most of it, i am after all only 14 and come from horrible schools that teach us absolutely nothing, but it was intriquing nontheless

Michael, as ever, an insightful tour de force. As Stuart says, fascinating stuff. Is the whole of Britishness simply an Imperial legacy?

One day? It was intriguin greading this as someone who was never around during any particularly inherent patriotism that didn't carry the tag of the NF. The flow of this was good, it was more of a confession perhaps; an edited and more though out diary entry. I enjoyed the bracketed bits of the first section and the pervading nostalgiac tone. I'm always shocked at the level of patriotism in America and how it can be used as blackmail almost (the insult of being unamerican that they're all scared of) . I don't hate England with the passion of some of my friends but then again the patriotism of other friends leans too far towards racism. I never normally spend this long on a comment and this should probably be an e-mail but its a topic that intrigues me as someone who wants to be proud of where they're from but sees no reason why at the present time.