Is anyone proud to be British these days?

[Titanic99]

I'm not proud to be British as I'm only British by nature of the location of my birth, however, I am still mostly proud of Britain. We in general are still one of the most open and liberal countries in the world, we are excellent at sport for our size consistently punching well above our weight, we give more to charity per capita (both government aid and public donations) than any other country.

 

However, there are things we've started to do lately that I'm less proud of, our involvement in Iraq and Syria based on lies have caused untold suffering, our NHS is still looked upon by the world with envy but we don't value it or appreciate it enough to help it save itself, our police force is having to police by force increasingly rather than by consent etc. I still think we are one of the best countries in the world to live in but that doesn't mean we should rest on our laurels. We should always strive for better.

 

Other countries I'd be proud to say I was a part of would be Sweden, Denmark and Norway. All have more socialist and caring societies from the outside, but knowing someone who moved to Sweden for work, they've said it's a v insular society and they've found it nearly impossible to make friends even though they speak the language well enough. Grass is always greener huh?

 

This is similar to what I think and the reason for the thread. I'm proud of the Police and Firefighters in London and Manchester but not of the decision to reduce their numbers so substantially.

 

I could and have listed many other examples of this, it just feels people aren't as Proud as they were 20 years ago.

[ANGELFIRE1]

We cannot be patriotic for fear of been called racist.

 

Angel1.

[silentP]

20 years ago I felt pretty much the same.

Perhaps we confuse pride with patriotism. I'd say I was patriotic.

 

---------- Post added 20-06-2017 at 14:27 ----------

 

We cannot be patriotic for fear of been called racist.

 

Angel1.

 

The two are not the same though not by any stretch.

[Manlinose]

I'm not "proud" to be British - nor am I ashamed

 

I'm proud of many of the things "we" have done and still do and ashamed of many other things done by Britain and British people

 

But I don't feel much of a connection to Britain in anything other than a physical sense.

 

I was born here and have lived most of my life here so far, but I'm no more proud to be British than I am to be ginger - I didn't choose it but I wouldn't change it

[Ms Macbeth]

I've seen these advertised, and not sure whether worth it or not. Is this all the info you get from them?

 

(not sure whether worth waiting a few years until a larger database of people might give more accuracy)

 

Not a great deal more Ash, although the European roots are broken down a bit. It tells me that people with my ancestral DNA are often to be found in Scotland, which given what I've traced back to the 1700s makes sense. But of course it all started long before then!

[melthebell]

We cannot be patriotic for fear of been called racist.

 

Angel1.

i think you need to look up what the words racist and patriotic mean

[Dardandec]

I'm a Yorkshire boy, born and bred in Sheffield, I took my first breath here and I will take my last too, I'm very proud to be British/English or however you see it. No clown will ever stop me thinking like that.

[Carlinate]

I'm a Yorkshire boy, born and bred in Sheffield, I took my first breath here and I will take my last too, I'm very proud to be British/English or however you see it. No clown will ever stop me thinking like that.

 

Why would anyone try?

 

I was also born in Sheffield, as was my direct male line all the way back to 1706.

 

Sheffield is my city and I'm proud of it's various accomplishments, the birthplace of the most popular sport in the world, the birthplace of Yorkshire cricket, the birthplace of England ( Dore village 829 AD ) stainless steel, world famous for cutlery etc.

 

As to being proud of being English/British, I'm Anglo-Irish so maybe it provides me with a slightly different perspective.

 

This country has much to be proud of, it also has much to be embarrassed about, just like every other empire that ever existed throughout history.

 

Being proud of your country is fine except when it involves jingoistic nonsense where you only claim the good bits and ignore the bad.

 

Sheffield has a mainly honourable, hard working history built on craftsmanship and isn't 'up itself' like some parts of the country.

 

I'd put this city before the country in my affection every time.

[Puggie]

I love Britain and what it stands for. But I do get tired of hearing that 'we're the best country in the world at this...' when we clearly are not.

 

You mentioned the British Empire. The self-righteous attribute we sometimes display is living testament that our imperial past still influences our modern identity. It's why we see ourselves as somewhat 'special' or different from the rest. Brexit comes to mind!

 

I wouldn't be so quick to write off the Empire or its significance to modern Britain. It still informs our politics, our identity, the friends we have in the world, and the wars we choose to get involved in. It's why we still have a monarchy.

 

It's also why we love curry, tea, and sugar!

 

We cannot pretend our imperial past didn't exist. This island nation we call home once ruled the world for hundreds of years and [polling data] suggests most Brits are actually proud of their imperial past.

 

Now where have I put my union jack?

[Lex Luthor]

Everyone coming together after Manchester, London, Grenfell Towers - people with the least, donating what they have - YES! that makes me immensely proud to be British.

 

Theresa May speaking of the 'compassion' of those people whilst punishing the disabled, the NHS, and those who work extremely hard in our emergency services, NHS, and now schools, and big business squeezing workers and customers until their pips squeak - makes me extremely sad but I don't really class them as British - just imposters riding on the British people's coat tails.