Quote by firelizard
There does seem to be something in the air this weekend Mar but not in this thread :thumbup:
Tan just forgot to put your kiss at the end of her post. Didn't ya Tan :giggle:
Fire, you're such a sweetheart luv ya! x Join the most popular community of UK swingers now
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Proud to be British
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Quote by firelizard
There does seem to be something in the air this weekend Mar but not in this thread :thumbup:
Tan just forgot to put your kiss at the end of her post. Didn't ya Tan :giggle:
Oops i did sorry
wasnt meant to be as cut throat as i wrote it :shock: :shock: 
for me sorry mar 
Quote by jaymar
So, my question is, giving how far we have come, are you proud to be British?
I am.
As with many others....
I am English, and I am proud to be English. I fly the St George Cross at home on many occasions. I celebrate St George's day and class myself as patriotic.
As for Britain. thats just part of Europe as far as I'm concerned
Ian
Sex God
I'm 'proud' for want of a better word, of my heritage.
I am of Viking stock - from way back, Yorkshire born and a British Citizen.
I'm happy about all these things. To be honest - I'm more 'attached' to my Viking blood than to modern society. But that is probably cos I am seriously into history and that older period particularly.
I've heard that one should be willing to die for one's country. Stuff and nonsense - I may be persuaded to kill for it, at a pinch, but dying for something I will then not enjoy is pointless. I would (I believe) die for my family if that was the only option - but I can't honestly see any situation arising where that would be the only option.
I am of Viking stock - from way back, Yorkshire born and a British Citizen.
I'm happy about all these things. To be honest - I'm more 'attached' to my Viking blood than to modern society. But that is probably cos I am seriously into history and that older period particularly.
I've heard that one should be willing to die for one's country. Stuff and nonsense - I may be persuaded to kill for it, at a pinch, but dying for something I will then not enjoy is pointless. I would (I believe) die for my family if that was the only option - but I can't honestly see any situation arising where that would be the only option.
Quote by Ian
So, my question is, giving how far we have come, are you proud to be British?
I am.
As with many others....
I am English, and I am proud to be English. I fly the St George Cross at home on many occasions. I celebrate St George's day and class myself as patriotic.
As for Britain. thats just part of Europe as far as I'm concerned
Ian
Here here. My sentiments exactly Ian. :lol:
Sex God
Quote by jaymar
Jaymar wrote:
Is it just me or is there something in the air tonight??
Possibly
luv ya too! I just love that advert! hahaooh i love that to, just spent a good half hour looking through the related videos class :thumbup: and still cant decide which of the adverts i prefer the gorilla or
I have followed this thread with interest and feel I should get me two penneth in now ...
I have travelled about a fair bit - USA & Europe that is - and I have to say that the greatest thing we British have going for us (and believe me this is not summat you will see a lot of in other countries) is the amazingly funny, incredibly dark and utterly sincere way we can laugh at our own misfortunes.
The good old British sense of humour is for me the one thing that binds us as a great people. We should treasure it and hold it up as a great banner, sheild and emblem of the essence of Britishness!!
I have travelled about a fair bit - USA & Europe that is - and I have to say that the greatest thing we British have going for us (and believe me this is not summat you will see a lot of in other countries) is the amazingly funny, incredibly dark and utterly sincere way we can laugh at our own misfortunes.
The good old British sense of humour is for me the one thing that binds us as a great people. We should treasure it and hold it up as a great banner, sheild and emblem of the essence of Britishness!!
Thanks Laff... and to everyone else who's posted.
I think in conclusion, and it's made me think, people in general are proud of who they are, what they've done and their achievements. Mostly people are proud of their nationality.
It also goes to prove we can't all be the same or this would be a hellishly boring world.
Cheers everyone! nighty night
I think in conclusion, and it's made me think, people in general are proud of who they are, what they've done and their achievements. Mostly people are proud of their nationality.
It also goes to prove we can't all be the same or this would be a hellishly boring world.
Cheers everyone! nighty night
Quote by TanKinky
There does seem to be something in the air this weekend Mar but not in this thread :thumbup:
Tan just forgot to put your kiss at the end of her post. Didn't ya Tan :giggle:
Oops i did sorry
wasnt meant to be as cut throat as i wrote it :shock: :shock: for me sorry mar Divn't worry man hinny
Quote by splendid_
I am exceptionally proud to be me.
I can take no credit for anything else in history.
Thats what I was trying to find the words to say!
I'm often in awe of the achievements of people who have gone before me. I have absolute respect for them.
However, I can no more be proud of the good, than take responsibility for the bad (eg the slave trade.)
Thought provoking thread Mar :thumbup:
Quote by flower411
I'm often in awe of the achievements of people who have gone before me. I have absolute respect for them.
However, I can no more be proud of the good, than take responsibility for the bad (eg the slave trade.)
Thought provoking thread Mar :thumbup:
Interesting that you should mention the slave trade.......this country definately took advantage and built a huge empire based on slavery....but we didn`t invent it ...it was a well established system long before the English took advantage.
But
Concentration Camps ....Ask any Dutch person who invented concentration camps !!!
:-) yeah - we may not have invented the slave trade but I'm not really sure that gets us off the hook. We still did more of it than anyone else and made more money out of it than anyone else. The fact someone else did it first isn't really material...
Quote by Cherrytree
I can't say I'm proud to be English, or British - not because I have any particular grievance, but just because...well to be proud to me, implies I've done something to help make it the way it is, and I haven't.
I'm glad to be British, yes, there are a lot worse places to live - but proud? No, I can't take any credit, so I feel I can't say I'm proud.
Quote by splendid_
I am exceptionally proud to be me.
I can take no credit for anything else in history.
This is of course the rational position. I didn't do anything to earn any of the good things about this country and so proud isn't exactly the right word. And as Winchwench pointed out Britain has done some fairly despicable things throughout history as well, and so if we're going to start feeling pride there should be a hefty does of shame with it. But I don't feel shame exactly - I personally didn't go running round the world stealing other people's land or money or resources or indeed people. I do think it's important to acknowledge that these things were bad (why is it that we're never really taught that the British Empire was in any way naughty? The Empire the sun never set on is always kind of boasted of in a way - we were some right bastards to people all over the world. Massacres, genocide, you name it).
There are other things I feel intensely ashamed of as well, more current things - people pissing and vomiting and fighting in the streets at 9pm in every major city; the way as a culture we've disowned our kids and left them all to go feral; our national diet; the Sun; the Mail; the Wombats; electing Thatcher three times (yeah - can't reeeally have a go at Americans for electing Bush twice when we went one step beyond).
However. None of these were actually my fault (apart from my contribution to the national diet) so I don't feel personally guilty. I feel shame but not guilt. I'm not really sure of what words to use in reverse but it's that kind of connection. There are things about Britain (and England, and the beautiful north, and the cities I grew up in, Newcastle and Leeds; and Europe and the "west" and the human species) that make me feel an intense - something.
I think the NHS is one of the towering achievements of the human species; the idea that no matter who you are or what is wrong with you you will get the best treatment possible, immediately, with no questions asked, is one that in the whole of human history hasn't existed outside the last 50 years and north-west Europe (and Cuba). And we did it first and better, and although every government since has been chipping away at it, it's actually still fantastic compared to almost anywhere else.
When you add that to the idea that this was the prize our parents/grandparents/great-grandparents chose for winning the second world war - it's just beautiful. And all of those ideas - from cradle to grave, a country fit for heroes - whether or not they actually worked perfectly, there is so much hope and nobility and beauty encapsulated in those ideas that it makes the hairs stand up on my arms.
(It also makes me angry that we're giving it up so cheaply; my grandads must be spinning in their graves.)
And the BBC is an incredible thing when you look at all the stuff it does; not only the TV but all those radio stations (in every city); World Service reporters in every city in the world; how many orchestras do they keep, is it four, five, six?; the biggest website in the world; several of the world's biggest music festivals (the biggest of all being the Proms); very high standards of objectivity and all of it done to a very high quality. They invented a lot of the technology used for TV and radio and now they're leading the game for internet broadcasting. It's very good; it gets slated a lot, particularly for the license fee, but for me it's well worth it.
Those are the two big ones for me. And the fact that this is actually one of the least racist, most tolerant, least religiously bigoted, most open-minded countries in the world. Not exactly what makes everyone's heart sing maybe but they do it for me. I feel something when I put on my Newcastle shirt or when I see Hadrian's wall. I feel better then I pass the white rose going east on the M62. I sometimes feel that Luton is in a foreign country, but somewhere around Derby things start to make sense again. Then again I get exactly the same feeling landing at Heathrow if I've been away for a while. It's pissing with rain, the people are miserable, everything is crappy and overpriced and overcrowded, but somehow it all makes sense. Yeah - I'm going to stop now but - don't know what you'd call it, loyalty, commitment, maybe pride? love? Something. Wouldn't want to pin my colours to any other mast.
Sex God
Quote by Cherrytree
I can't say I'm proud to be English, or British - not because I have any particular grievance, but just because...well to be proud to me, implies I've done something to help make it the way it is, and I haven't.
I'm glad to be British, yes, there are a lot worse places to live - but proud? No, I can't take any credit, so I feel I can't say I'm proud.
Given that I have to have done something to support Britain to be proud, then yes I am proud to be British. I have upheld and practiced values that I consider British. However in the overview only a few have noticed, even less have said thank you.
Many live in Britain, collect their dues from Britain, they are glad to live in Britain. Many go to work, dial 999 if need be, teach their children British value, march for what they believe in or pick up litter. If you are doing more than collecting every penny you can grab, then you are supporting Britain Yes what you do may be small, but be proud of what you do, and being British.
Travis
Sex God
Quote by westerrossThe Normans built castles in England as well, and we, England and Wales stood side by side in the Civil Wars of the mid 1600s to win back British freedoms.
All the castles the English built in Wales!!
....
.
Sex God
Quote by foxylady2209The Yorkshire side of my family used to bait the southern folk ( the other side of my family)about being un-cilivelized, but Danes and Saxons are really the same people. Yes I do have other blood, but I consider myself Saxon, and proud of it. Is that because we are able to pick the best bits from our distant past, without having the bad bit shoved in our face on the six o'clock news?
I'm 'proud' for want of a better word, of my heritage.
I am of Viking stock - from way back, Yorkshire born and a British Citizen.
I'm happy about all these things. To be honest - I'm more 'attached' to my Viking blood than to modern society. But that is probably cos I am seriously into history and that older period particularly.
....
Travis
Quote by Peanut
In all honesty I can't say that I've ever understood the logic of national pride.
Maybe this may help....
"Nationalism has had an enormous influence on Modern history, in which the nation-state has become the preferred form of societal organization, however, by no means universal. Historians use the term nationalism to refer to this historical transition and to the emergence and predominance of nationalist ideology. Nationalism is closely associated with patriotism".
Quote by tomu
This is of course the rational position. I didn't do anything to earn any of the good things about this country and so proud isn't exactly the right word. And as Winchwench pointed out Britain has done some fairly despicable things throughout history as well, and so if we're going to start feeling pride there should be a hefty does of shame with it. But I don't feel shame exactly - I personally didn't go running round the world stealing other people's land or money or resources or indeed people. I do think it's important to acknowledge that these things were bad (why is it that we're never really taught that the British Empire was in any way naughty? The Empire the sun never set on is always kind of boasted of in a way - we were some right bastards to people all over the world. Massacres, genocide, you name it).
There are other things I feel intensely ashamed of as well, more current things - people pissing and vomiting and fighting in the streets at 9pm in every major city; the way as a culture we've disowned our kids and left them all to go feral; our national diet; the Sun; the Mail; the Wombats; electing Thatcher three times (yeah - can't reeeally have a go at Americans for electing Bush twice when we went one step beyond).
However. None of these were actually my fault (apart from my contribution to the national diet) so I don't feel personally guilty. I feel shame but not guilt. I'm not really sure of what words to use in reverse but it's that kind of connection. There are things about Britain (and England, and the beautiful north, and the cities I grew up in, Newcastle and Leeds; and Europe and the "west" and the human species) that make me feel an intense - something.
I think the NHS is one of the towering achievements of the human species; the idea that no matter who you are or what is wrong with you you will get the best treatment possible, immediately, with no questions asked, is one that in the whole of human history hasn't existed outside the last 50 years and north-west Europe (and Cuba). And we did it first and better, and although every government since has been chipping away at it, it's actually still fantastic compared to almost anywhere else.
When you add that to the idea that this was the prize our parents/grandparents/great-grandparents chose for winning the second world war - it's just beautiful. And all of those ideas - from cradle to grave, a country fit for heroes - whether or not they actually worked perfectly, there is so much hope and nobility and beauty encapsulated in those ideas that it makes the hairs stand up on my arms.
(It also makes me angry that we're giving it up so cheaply; my grandads must be spinning in their graves.)
And the BBC is an incredible thing when you look at all the stuff it does; not only the TV but all those radio stations (in every city); World Service reporters in every city in the world; how many orchestras do they keep, is it four, five, six?; the biggest website in the world; several of the world's biggest music festivals (the biggest of all being the Proms); very high standards of objectivity and all of it done to a very high quality. They invented a lot of the technology used for TV and radio and now they're leading the game for internet broadcasting. It's very good; it gets slated a lot, particularly for the license fee, but for me it's well worth it.
Those are the two big ones for me. And the fact that this is actually one of the least racist, most tolerant, least religiously bigoted, most open-minded countries in the world. Not exactly what makes everyone's heart sing maybe but they do it for me. I feel something when I put on my Newcastle shirt or when I see Hadrian's wall. I feel better then I pass the white rose going east on the M62. I sometimes feel that Luton is in a foreign country, but somewhere around Derby things start to make sense again. Then again I get exactly the same feeling landing at Heathrow if I've been away for a while. It's pissing with rain, the people are miserable, everything is crappy and overpriced and overcrowded, but somehow it all makes sense. Yeah - I'm going to stop now but - don't know what you'd call it, loyalty, commitment, maybe pride? love? Something. Wouldn't want to pin my colours to any other mast.
WOW! Tomu I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post. Well thought out and brilliantly worded. I agree with everything you've written.
(oh and extra points for the Toon top!
) We have many things to be proud of in Britain, so the question is in what way do you feel and show your pride. There are also many opportunities to do this, simply by taking part in things like charity events, marathons, or just going for a walk in the hills or on the moors and realising that its your home and everyone feels pride or something like that.
But we only have a few opportunites to see how we all behave on a large scale. Usually wars and disasters.
In the meantime we all soldier on usually with a dignified stiff upper lip etc. knowing that is what needs to be done until the next period of prosperity or enlightenment.
There's no harm in feeling pride, assuming its arrived at in an acceptable way; but it does need to be presented in an acceptable way.
But we only have a few opportunites to see how we all behave on a large scale. Usually wars and disasters.
In the meantime we all soldier on usually with a dignified stiff upper lip etc. knowing that is what needs to be done until the next period of prosperity or enlightenment.
There's no harm in feeling pride, assuming its arrived at in an acceptable way; but it does need to be presented in an acceptable way.
Quote by tomu
I'm often in awe of the achievements of people who have gone before me. I have absolute respect for them.
However, I can no more be proud of the good, than take responsibility for the bad (eg the slave trade.)
Thought provoking thread Mar :thumbup:
Interesting that you should mention the slave trade.......this country definately took advantage and built a huge empire based on slavery....but we didn`t invent it ...it was a well established system long before the English took advantage.
But
Concentration Camps ....Ask any Dutch person who invented concentration camps !!!
:-) yeah - we may not have invented the slave trade but I'm not really sure that gets us off the hook. We still did more of it than anyone else and made more money out of it than anyone else. The fact someone else did it first isn't really material...
then perhaps we should be proud that we were one of the first if not the first to make slavery illegal within the British Empire,and that the Navy saved thousand of africans being shipped off to slavery, no one ever wants to bring that little fact up!
Quote by kentswingers777
In all honesty I can't say that I've ever understood the logic of national pride.
Maybe this may help....
"Nationalism has had an enormous influence on Modern history, in which the nation-state has become the preferred form of societal organization, however, by no means universal. Historians use the term nationalism to refer to this historical transition and to the emergence and predominance of nationalist ideology. Nationalism is closely associated with patriotism".
I understand the history of it and the definition, it's the logic of it that escapes me.
what a fabulous thread i myself am incredibly proud to be english i love my country and this is something i have been thinking about recently but on a more local scale
i come from northampton and i love my home town yet i hear others when saying where they come from have an almost appologetic tone to thier voices why is this i wonder?
what provoked this thought was actually big brother as becky was entering the house she was shouting she was doing it for cov and was incredibly obvious she was proud of her home town and i know quite a few peeps from cov that feel the same so firstly what is it that makes those from cov so proud of thier home town (rightly so i'm certain) and why aren't more peeps proud of thier home town after all it is all of these towns that make up this beautifull country of ours that the majority of us are proud of now isn't it :thumbup:
i come from northampton and i love my home town yet i hear others when saying where they come from have an almost appologetic tone to thier voices why is this i wonder?
what provoked this thought was actually big brother as becky was entering the house she was shouting she was doing it for cov and was incredibly obvious she was proud of her home town and i know quite a few peeps from cov that feel the same so firstly what is it that makes those from cov so proud of thier home town (rightly so i'm certain) and why aren't more peeps proud of thier home town after all it is all of these towns that make up this beautifull country of ours that the majority of us are proud of now isn't it :thumbup:
Quote by Peanut
In all honesty I can't say that I've ever understood the logic of national pride.
Maybe this may help....
"Nationalism has had an enormous influence on Modern history, in which the nation-state has become the preferred form of societal organization, however, by no means universal. Historians use the term nationalism to refer to this historical transition and to the emergence and predominance of nationalist ideology. Nationalism is closely associated with patriotism".
I understand the history of it and the definition, it's the logic of it that escapes me.
I find the logic very easy.
I cannot understand peoples " logic " when they claim to have no national pride. It is an identity, a belonging. If you watch the last night of the proms, which by the way some people would like to see banned, that instills great national pride. The whole Britishness.
Or the wearing of the poppy for rememberance day. People bring up the slave trade but that was 200 years ago when things were so different from today.I am proud now.
If peoples morals are so high, the very people who dont think they are British or English, then if we ever get a St. Georges day as a holiday they wont want to take it I gather? There is a lot I do not like about the UK, but it is where I was born and brought up, it is part of my identity, and for that I am proud.
Sex God
pride comes before a fall
