Do you think the British are a proud nation?

not bitter

I think we are to a degree but I think its on a different level to the Americans. The impression I get (from watching US TV and news) is that the majority of Americans come across as being proud to be American and quite a possitive nation. Whereas us Brits will display pride as a nation when we have to. When we are up against it or someone is having a go at us. I think we are more cynical.

The American big budget movies are a great example of this. You know the ones, where the president saves the planet or gives some speach to the nation then salutes. I know its all make believe and I actually hate these kind of movies but they do give the impression that the American people are very proud.

I sometimes think that the British and Americans are poles apart.

I'm not sure what I'm asking here. Maybe our impressions of each other. I just hope you get my drift.

Elgiard

America is exactly like it's shown in the movies. Exactly.

jgnat

Patriotism shows itself in many ways. I used to think that Americans had us Canadians beat when it came to patriotism. Like the rest of the world, we are bombarded with American media, flag-waving, strident speeches, the anthem, yadda yadda. My lovely American friend has kindly asked me not to paint all Americans with the same broad brush. Not all Americans are so myopic to be ignorant of the rest of the world.

I think Canadians are closet patriots. We let loose in a positive way at the last winter olympics, and not so positively at the hockey final. I remember my daughter going to the US for a running tournament and the team was so homesick they spontaneously belted out the Canadian anthem in the stands. The American teens were astonished. Canadian patriotism is young, spontaneous, and breaks out in wild ways.

I'm not from the UK, so mine won't be an expert opinion. There's a wry patriotism in the UK that I think is borne from it's long history. You have scars, you have flaws, and you aren't afraid to own up to them. Yet you maintain a strong loyalty to your country. I often think how much Japan and the UK are similar, islands to themselves, pull-up-by the bootstrap sort of people, weaving empires out of blood, sweat, and tears. You have a lot to be proud of.

BizzyBee

Poles apart in this regard. Britain has a long tradition of domination, but has been humbled. The US is a young nation and just hasn't gotten there yet.

varian

britain is no longer the country of my childhood.

it´s just a disgrace, no matter where you go. it´s like visiting pakistan or any other muslim place. why don´t you call your capitol simply londonistan?

british pride? where´s all that gone to?

luna2

I've never been to England, so its hard for me to do a real comparison. America is coming down off of a patriotic high that seemed (to my under educated eyes) to peak in the 1950s. I was born in 1956 and was raised to think that we (Americans) would be safe in whatever country we might travel to because of the might of the U.S. government and because they really gave a crap for their citizens. We also believed that we were almost always right about everything and that the U.S. was the best place to live. All very egotistical and hardly realistic. Television reinforced the fairy tale with stupid shows that portrayed the average American in a certain way, believing certain things...more like propaganda than entertainment.

Viet Nam was a turning point for a lot of Americans. The government suddenly wasn't so benign, we began to get the feeling that you couldn't trust the people running things and that they weren't really working for our best interests. Older people were willing to give the government the benefit of the doubt, but younger people were getting worried.

These days? Very little trust for politicians at all. They all look like opportunistic thugs, who pull large salaries and big pensions for doing minimal work...some while sending dirty pictures to women via Facebook (got to wonder where the brains are). Tough economic conditions with large debt owed to China. Lagging in education and manufacturing. We also keep getting involved in expensive wars or rather military action type conflicts where we can't seem to withdraw while our soldiers are killed and the money keeps bleeding out of the treasury to maintain these things. Pakistan (and a good number of other countries I'm sure) plays us for fools, hiding Bin Laden while taking the massive aid money we foolishly spend on them, (which should be spent to reduce our own debt). We're a joke. And while I still think there is a lot of good here and we could pull ourselves out of this mess, I doubt that we will.

Movies kind of show how people might wish things were...although there are plenty that are critical these days too.

Britain has already gone through this junk. Huge super power with a great history kind of winding down. I like the more subdued attitudes of its citizens and can understand not wanting to scream how great everything is from the rooftops. I would imagine that the British are proud of their country, they're just not as loud about it.

Broken Promises

would be safeloved in whatever countrycongregation we might travel to because of the might of the U.S. government brotherly love because they really gave a crapof the agape love for their citizensbrothers and sisters. We also believed that we were almost always right about everything and that the U.S.JWs was the best placeway to live .

Sorry, but I couldn't help notice the similarities.

pedal power

Im with varian on this one, theres not much to be proud off, the last labour Govt changed the face of the UK forever, I personally dont mind, the Indians, Ausis,yanks, canadians,kiwis,S africans. But the influx of Eastern Euopeans and extremist Moslems is in my opinion eroding the fabric of our society. But what can you do ?

On my last holiday to USA, I got interregated at SAN FRAN by some little Asian people, who were from US imigration, and couldnt speak English properly, they kept shouting at me, WHY YO CUM TO AMEICA , WHY YO CUM TO AMEICA ????? I wanted to ask them the same question, WHY YO CUM TO AMEICA ?

Well I came for 4weeks holiday to spend $7000 having a good time, no doubt contributing to the US economy. I dont think I felt proud to be Brittish, I felt USA is in the same mess as us, sigh

St George of England

We used to be Great Britain until Tony Blair totally ruined the place and it was finished off by his mate Gordon Brown.

Regretably, I think we are past the point of no return. There are simply too many of the world's riff-raff here and there is no chance of getting rid of them. Just last week a guy cut his own throat, (not fatally) on the aircraft that was deporting him so he is probably still here.

The only good point of being old is that I will probably miss the country being completely turned into a Muslim hell hole.

George

P.S. By the way I am still proud to be British and very proud to be English.

punkofnice

Being a Brit in my 50's boy have I seen change!!!!

I love the way Americans seem to enjoy stuff with impartiality.

I predict that the UK is heading toward being a 3rd world country when I look around.

The immigration seems to have exploded.

Don't get me wrong I don't mind immigrants who come here and just get on with it. However, there are some that are a disgrace. Crap drivers, tazzing around with no insurance. DUI. Hit and run in cars that are MOT failures.

Yes, I know born in Brits do these things but since certain minorities have been here my are has become a bloody rubbish tip. It's very strange going around the city and not hearing many people speaking english.

Immigration is great...if it's screened fairly.

Never mind, we'll all be under sharia law soon.

Do you think the British are a proud nation?

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