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In my view patriotism is being proud of the country you live in.
Am I proud of being English? In a word, not really. The only thing that's happened in my life time that made be proud to be English was when we beat Germany 5-1 in the football last year.
That's it.
Nothing else in my life, since April 21st 1981, has made me proud to be English.
Lot's of things have made me ashamed to be English. Mainly when English people go abroad and cause trouble, slurring our reputation.
I should be proud to be English. Our country has a great history.
But that's it. History. It's past, not now. Not any more. For how long can we rely on things years past to be proud of? For how long can we say "Yeah, but we had the Empire." Had. Not any more.
What are we good at on a global level? Music? Sport? Athletics? Films? Books? Is there any apsect of life where we are acknowledged as being the best?
Perhaps one. The ceremony for the Queen Mum. We're good at pagentry (if that's the right word for it), we're good at pomp and ceremony.
Why is this? Why are we crap at most sports, and face it, we are.
Ok, we're getting better at football, and we're ok-ish at rugby. But that's it. In the US athletes have sponsorship. They don't have to work, they can spend time training.
Over here? Redgrave and Pinsent had to work full time while training for the olympics the other year. This is wrong. Why were they not given sponsorship to help them achieve their best?
Why do we not have academies and things for young people who have an obvious talent, to help them get the most out of that talent?
Not just in sport, but in other things. Music, films, books, art... all the creative things.
I keep mentioning sport but it happens in all aspects of life. Even in politics, we're seen as being America's lapdog.
We do what Europe tells us to do, even on THE most ridiculous things.
Why? We're our own country. We should do what we want to do. Why listen to people in Brussels, who we haven't voted in, to tell us what to do? That's not democracy. Being told what to do by unelected people is not democracy at all. It's a farce.
Result:
I'm am NOT proud to be English at all. Being English sucks.
I want to see our national teams do well, I want to see us do our own thing.
Yes, being in Europe would be good for some things. And we should embrace those things, but we should ignore the crap that seems to come with it.
What's the saying? When in Rome do as the Romans? How about this one: "When in England do as the English"?
The other year Birmingham City Council decided to re-name Christmas to "Winter Festival" or some crap name like that. Why?
To accomodate racial minorities in the city who don't celebrate christmas. They don't celebrate christmas, that's fine with me. But we bloody well do. Why should we change to accomodate them?
I'm not racist at all. But they CHOSE to come here, we didn't FORCE them to. The celebrate their festivals, we celebrate ours. What's the problem?
Political Correctness gone mad, that's the problem.
Anyway, I've written gibberish long enough. Congratulations if you got to the end without skipping the middle out...
Am I proud of being English? In a word, not really. The only thing that's happened in my life time that made be proud to be English was when we beat Germany 5-1 in the football last year.
That's it.
Nothing else in my life, since April 21st 1981, has made me proud to be English.
Lot's of things have made me ashamed to be English. Mainly when English people go abroad and cause trouble, slurring our reputation.
I should be proud to be English. Our country has a great history.
But that's it. History. It's past, not now. Not any more. For how long can we rely on things years past to be proud of? For how long can we say "Yeah, but we had the Empire." Had. Not any more.
What are we good at on a global level? Music? Sport? Athletics? Films? Books? Is there any apsect of life where we are acknowledged as being the best?
Perhaps one. The ceremony for the Queen Mum. We're good at pagentry (if that's the right word for it), we're good at pomp and ceremony.
Why is this? Why are we crap at most sports, and face it, we are.
Ok, we're getting better at football, and we're ok-ish at rugby. But that's it. In the US athletes have sponsorship. They don't have to work, they can spend time training.
Over here? Redgrave and Pinsent had to work full time while training for the olympics the other year. This is wrong. Why were they not given sponsorship to help them achieve their best?
Why do we not have academies and things for young people who have an obvious talent, to help them get the most out of that talent?
Not just in sport, but in other things. Music, films, books, art... all the creative things.
I keep mentioning sport but it happens in all aspects of life. Even in politics, we're seen as being America's lapdog.
We do what Europe tells us to do, even on THE most ridiculous things.
Why? We're our own country. We should do what we want to do. Why listen to people in Brussels, who we haven't voted in, to tell us what to do? That's not democracy. Being told what to do by unelected people is not democracy at all. It's a farce.
Result:
I'm am NOT proud to be English at all. Being English sucks.
I want to see our national teams do well, I want to see us do our own thing.
Yes, being in Europe would be good for some things. And we should embrace those things, but we should ignore the crap that seems to come with it.
What's the saying? When in Rome do as the Romans? How about this one: "When in England do as the English"?
The other year Birmingham City Council decided to re-name Christmas to "Winter Festival" or some crap name like that. Why?
To accomodate racial minorities in the city who don't celebrate christmas. They don't celebrate christmas, that's fine with me. But we bloody well do. Why should we change to accomodate them?
I'm not racist at all. But they CHOSE to come here, we didn't FORCE them to. The celebrate their festivals, we celebrate ours. What's the problem?
Political Correctness gone mad, that's the problem.
Anyway, I've written gibberish long enough. Congratulations if you got to the end without skipping the middle out...
Page:
Very true.
I think that often patriotism is misinterpreted, it usually ends up being an excuse to bully an 80 year old pakistani out of her home, or throwing petrol bombs at the police.
Because they're German,right?
Goatboy wrote:
> I expect "Gor Bless ya M'am" Wookiee in here any moment.
Certainly not. I can't stand the royals.
> I expect "Gor Bless ya M'am" Wookiee in here any moment.
Certainly not. I can't stand the royals.
Mouldy Cheese wrote:
Erm...how can you be proud be be a member of any nation? You didn't do anything to be born in a particuler country, did you? Its like saying 'I'm so proud of having blue eyes'.
I'm concious of how other people percieve the country I was born and live in.
If people look at our country and think things like "Yeah, that looks like a good country to live in." or, "My God! They've just got 75 gold medals at the olympics - WOW!" then that makes me feel good.
That makes me proud to be English.
Erm...how can you be proud be be a member of any nation? You didn't do anything to be born in a particuler country, did you? Its like saying 'I'm so proud of having blue eyes'.
I'm concious of how other people percieve the country I was born and live in.
If people look at our country and think things like "Yeah, that looks like a good country to live in." or, "My God! They've just got 75 gold medals at the olympics - WOW!" then that makes me feel good.
That makes me proud to be English.
Erm...how can you be proud be be a member of any nation? You didn't do anything to be born in a particuler country, did you? Its like saying 'I'm so proud of having blue eyes'.
Whoops, sorry, d/ced.
Our local newspaper is even better. A boy had heard the first cuckoo of spring. "It was loud and woke me up", he said.
Our local newspaper is even better. A boy had heard the first cuckoo of spring. "It was loud and woke me up", he said.
Wales is worse. Complete truth now, the Welsh News put that we'd won this Stick Championship on the sports news the other day.
It was a 10 year old girl, for Christ's sake. She'd dropped a stick off a bridge, and it had gone really far down stream, so she won.
I love Wales.
It was a 10 year old girl, for Christ's sake. She'd dropped a stick off a bridge, and it had gone really far down stream, so she won.
I love Wales.
Yep.
The rest of my family hail from Powys.
Welsh Viking.
Who wants some?
The rest of my family hail from Powys.
Welsh Viking.
Who wants some?
Wales is worse. Complete truth now, the Welsh News put that we'd won this Stick Championship on the sports news the other day.
It was a 10 year old girl, for Christ's sake. She'd dropped a stick off a bridge, and it had gone really far down stream, so she won.
I love Wales.
It was a 10 year old girl, for Christ's sake. She'd dropped a stick off a bridge, and it had gone really far down stream, so she won.
I love Wales.
Page: