Why aren't we proud anymore?

growstuff

What made your DH think that merlotgran? He would appear to have a particular view of other people.

There are many on GN who have very particular views of other people!

I grew up in South Africa although I was born in Swindon. I love this country, and am proud of all the wonderful inventions, writers, and scientific achievements achieved by people who were British. Now we are being forced to take down statues to people formerly considered great because those people had slaves or were concerned in the slave trade... I dont approve of the slave trade but unfortunately in those days it was accepted. Those people gave money for improvements in their cities and to pull down their statues just destroys history. As for colonisation many countries, especially in Africa, benefitted a lot from colonisation, not just British either. I say this although I know most Grans will be scandalised.

Your choice Jabberwok!

Fashionable amongst whom? The ones I saw making that kind of comment were the ones trying to undermine legitimate criticism by ridiculing it.

merlotgran!!!! ??. If you didn't laugh you'd cry!!! Or die of despair!!

I’m pleased to be Welsh and British where we have freedom of speech and our police don’t carry guns. We must be doing something right otherwise migrants wouldn’t be risking life and limb to get here across the channel, having already chosen not to stay in countless other countries in the EU.

We’ve kept our borders open, unlike other countries in this pandemic, which is what so many people said they wanted to keep our farming and NHS going.

I think Merlotgran’s DH made that remark, although jokingly, because at the moment it seems very fashionable to jump on anyone who has been held in high esteem, and bring them down growstuff.

What made your DH think that merlotgran? He would appear to have a particular view of other people.

There you go.

I rest my case.

On our first trip to Australia, we noticed how many products had ‘Proudly Made In Australia’ on them.

Even the floor mop!

What made your DH think that merlotgran? He would appear to have a particular view of other people.

Some people seem to be on a kind of negative auto pilot at the moment. Any attempt to put a positive spin on events is very quickly slapped down and a collective misery fest takes over.

When the news was announced this morning that Vera Lynn had died and 'We'll Meet Again' was played, DH muttered, 'I wonder how long it will be before somebody decides she was actually a closet racist, descended from white slave traders and all her music is banned!

He was joking of course but there is a point there.

How wonderful to hear from so many of you who are proud of the contribution of the British to our own 4 countries and the wider world. We need to see those people in terms of their choice to be part of our nation states no matter what their background - whether recent immigrants or those of past generations - after all Anglo Saxons a were from Germanic/Scandinavian origins!

Who's classing you as a racist?

I think it is very sad that we are classed as racists if we say we are proud to be English!!!, and I am not racist, but I am English.

Being lucky, which I think I am, is not the same as being proud.

Where would people go?

There will always be those, thankfully in a minority, hell bent, on living in the past who chose to dwell on mistakes the country made rather than its achievements.My response is why do you stay? so pack your bags and make room for those who will appreciate what our country has to offer.

Loving your country and your community is OK. I am a Scot and I am glad I was born here and will die here. I spent a lot of my life in England, married an Englishman and raised my daughter there. No English person ever put me down for being Scottish. They seemed to like me for it in fact. Having a Parliament here and some control over our affairs has been good for Scotland. I would like to see a federal UK because I think the majority of people in Scotland want a different sort of society from the majority of the people in England but there are many links between all the parts of the UK and things we should manage in common, However there is an element in Scottish nationalism that is anti-English. Everything is blamed, not on the UK government, or even those who voted for that government, but on the English as a race. The same people in England would be in UKIP and directing their prejudice against other Europeans or immigrants and so on. It is possible to love your country for its strengths without being blind to its faults, without boasting that it is the best country in the world or without needing to scapegoat other people who have a different identity to you. People are so influenced by the gutter press. I am sure anti-Scottish sentiment in England could easily be engendered if it suited those who seek power. The Sun was anti Scottish independence in England but for it in its Scottish edition. Most generalisations about people are just that. Generalisations. If all English people were the same, how come the gransnetters are so radically divided in their opinions.

I think we "run ourselves down" because we can afford to. IMHO we have such a strong sense of out national identity that we can criticise ourselves without ever losing that. Other countries have to work at it. cf the USA where children have to sing a patriotic song at start every day. cf Europe where the borders have always been changing. Our island has stayed intact. We don't even bother to put the name of our country on our postage stamps - everyone knows worldwide who we are.

I am very pleased to be British. I say 'pleased' rather than proud as that seems to open to criticism. I am also pleased to be English. I am definitely not racist in saying I am pleased to be English. Why has that become a thing?
We used to be a country of stiff upper lip, now we are becoming a country of endless whinging and whining and denigrating our own country continually.

I agree with you Dragonfly46, and well said CheŕryTree59. I've always been very proud to be British and would be the first to say so if anyone criticised my Country. It has always shocked me how few people know our National anthem (at least more than the first verse) and seem to be embarrassed about singing it, it's not even taught in our schools.

There are lots of things I don't like about the United States, but their custom of pledging allegiance to the flag in their schools has always struck me as a good way to instill a sense of national unity and pride from an early age.

Regardless of people's colour, race or ethnicity we are a great Nation and we should be proud of our achievements, especially this year. Every country has it's problems and makes mistakes but we have to keep sight of the bigger picture. We should show and voice our pride (just as we did for our NHS) - no-one else is going to do it for us.

I am not proud to be British, I think I our country is in a terrible mess and will only get worse. The Covid death rate, the number of people in poverty and homeless. I can’t see anything to be proud of at the moment. Some of the things we did in the past were awful too. What I am proud of is my children and grandchildren.

Oh, I’ve lived in ‘less harmonious places’ - I think Iran during the revolution was about the least pleasant. I’m not short of gratitude for the advantages of living in England as a U.K. citizen. For me, gratitude is not the same as ‘pride’.

Aepgirl Sadly we are not a completely free country, certainly as regards the press. Piers Morgan was sounding off yesterday morning about the govt. and it's refusal to speak to Channel 4 News and Newsnight.

I too am eternally grateful that I was born in this country and not in war torn Europe. I'm proud of this country, especially for the NHS, our tolerant Police, our benign armed forces, past achievements in science, engineering, medicine, the arts and and all our freedoms. Most of us take everything this country has to offer completely for granted and forget how lucky we are. Perhaps a spell of living in a less harmonious place would wake us up as to exactly how fortunate we are!