What does being British mean to you?
Discuss issues that have a social and cultural impact, including but not limited to issues such as racism, teenage pregnancies, the social impact of religion, and the state of the education system.
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Re: What does being British mean to you?friendly polite people, awesome food and drink, top-notch sport and entertainment, quirky traditions, excellent public services, best place to live in the world by a considerable distance.
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Re: What does being British mean to you?you missed off(Original post by py0alb)
friendly polite people, awesome food and drink, top-notch sport and entertainment, quirky traditions, excellent public services, best place to live in the world by a considerable distance.
great education system with some of the best universities in the world
free press and politically open society
freedom to make your mind up for yourself rather than having religion forced on you
good enforcement of property rights and easy to run and start a business
political system with little corruption
biggest and most famous football club in the world
But I agree its the best place to live in the world which is why our most heated topic of political debate is immigration, the whole world wants to be British. -
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Re: What does being British mean to you?- and despite what you may believe from reading too many TSR trolls, probably the most tolerant and progressive society in the world.(Original post by MagicNMedicine)
you missed off
great education system with some of the best universities in the world
free press and politically open society
freedom to make your mind up for yourself rather than having religion forced on you
good enforcement of property rights and easy to run and start a business
political system with little corruption
biggest and most famous football club in the world
But I agree its the best place to live in the world which is why our most heated topic of political debate is immigration, the whole world wants to be British.
Quite often its not until you've lived in other countries that you realise how awesome the UK is in comparison. -
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Re: What does being British mean to you?Not much. Country is going down the pan. The only thing I admire about this country is the police, army, teachers, and doctors in the NHS pushing on and keeping going despite all the **** being thrown at them.
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Re: What does being British mean to you?Probably feel more British because of the civic angle, but the respective countries making Britain up have much more of an identity overseas than that of Britain as a whole. In France I would hardly ever say "Je suis britannique" but "Je suis anglais". Not only because the former's a bit of a mouthful, but I feel it's more common to refer to Brits by being from England/Scotland/wherever in a foreign language.
Both really then. -
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Re: What does being British mean to you?LOL at your life(Original post by Sgt.Incontro)
Putting up with being on a tiny island with one of the highest population densities where it is cloudy/rainy almost all year...
Means being under payed, over taxed and not having the right to free speech...
It means that the government can make promises to get them elected and then those promises turn out to be lies...
I love Britain. -
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Re: What does being British mean to you?It doesn't mean a lot nowadays unfortunately due to the watering-down thanks to multiculturalism and mass immigration. It's not helped by the PC society we live in and the fact that so much as waving a Union Jack is viewed by many as being right-wing or in the BNP.
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Re: What does being British mean to you?I would be more inclined to describe myself as Scottish, because I don't "feel" British, if that makes sense...for example, here in Glasgow only 7 streets have applied to hold a Jubilee street party.
Although I would say that when I think of myself being British , the first thing that pops to mind is tea! -
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Re: What does being British mean to you?No, actually I lolled at your comment.(Original post by Muscovite)
LOL at your life
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Re: What does being British mean to you?Well they will find out as they are all going to leave the UK when they graduate and get their well paid jobs in Switzerland and enjoy the low cost of living.(Original post by py0alb)
- and despite what you may believe from reading too many TSR trolls, probably the most tolerant and progressive society in the world.
Quite often its not until you've lived in other countries that you realise how awesome the UK is in comparison. -
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Re: What does being British mean to you?Unique in the world? Also that's false. Provide evidence for being fed by massive immigration from any of those peoples. Even the Saxon invasions did't leave behind much of a genetic footprint. The people of this island are largely descended from the original settlers after the last ice age.(Original post by Miraclefish)
Well, the British are a mongrel race, fed by immigration and conquering armies from France, Scandinavia, Germany, the Roman Empire, the Picts and Celts, Semites, Dutch, Flemish, Saxons and a hundred more, forged by hardship and growth over the centuries.
I love the mixture, its what makes us unique. I'm proud of what the British offered the world, ashamed of what they took from it.
I love that we're made up of England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Eire, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man.... every disparate and bizarre, quaint and forward-thinking, every part of this group of people.
To the OP - I'm English. Most of my ancestors were English. To me , being English is having humility, civility and having a huge sense of debt and gratefulness to my ancestors and to the society from which they came.
