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What makes you most proud to be British?

Poll

What makes you proud to be British?

Title explains the thread, really.

I guess for me, the thing that makes me most proud of my country is the English language. I find it so weird how a language that was only spoken by peasants 700 years ago when the nobility spoke French and Latin has become the world's lingua franca, official in 45 countries, spoken natively by 400 million people.

I'm also very proud of our history, which, though littered with both highs and lows, is amongst the world's most fascinating. Whether it be the countless wars in which we beat the French to mad despotic Kings like Henry VIII, British history has a strong allure.

Also, we were the first modern democratic nation. Whilst all of Europe was ruled by absolute monarchs, we beat the monarchs, made Parliament supreme and put severe limits on the power of monarchs in the 1600s- and even earlier with the Magna Carta. Democracy, tolerance, civil liberties- these have always been defining British values.

Discuss.

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Reply 1

Greenlaner

Natural beauty. I love the British countryside and i love the diversity of our natural environments too. From the rolling farmland, winding roads and quintessentially English villages, to the vast rugged and mountainous wildernesses of Scotland, North Wales, The Pennines, The Lake District etc, the featureless moors and the forests and woodlands.

Its all just great. :yep:

Reply 2

Snagprophet

Firstly, the English language makes me proud to be English, not British. As for the rest, I'm proud of it all, Dartmoor, Highlands, subtle humour etc, as British.

Reply 3

BristolStudent96

It will have to be the history for me although I was torn between most of the others on the list too!

Reply 4

Theroomofstudents

I picked humour, due to the fact that unlike many other nations, we seem to be able to get all types of humour; just humour in general!

Reply 5

Ronove

Nothing makes me 'proud' to be British. I didn't invent the English language (or any other British language if we're going to be fair about it), I didn't create the landscape, I didn't invent democracy. I didn't make the NHS, though I use it and am appreciative of it. I happened to be born in the UK and happen to be British because of that. To call oneself 'proud' of this is ridiculous. This is in no way having a go at people who appreciate the good points of Britain, I do too. It's just that getting that feeling mixed up with the idea of being proud leads to patriotism and then nationalism and other less insidious than outright disgusting things.

Reply 6

Mockery

The ingrained emotional characteristic within me and the rest of the human population to feel strong commitment and attachment to the group or society we recognise as home.

Reply 7

smd4std

i like our 2000 calorie english breakfasts

Reply 8

Negaduck

If I was English then my answer would definitely be the English language. I disagree with the idea of Britain having the best values in the modern world as there are far more tolerable states. I love the British climate but it doesn't make me proud to be British and the same goes for natural beauty. In many ways Britain isn't a true democracy, at least not anymore. British humour- meh. The UK doesn't even have the best healthcare system in the world so I don't know why you would be so proud of the NHS when other countries are doing a better job. I don't think that the history of Britain is much to be proud of but maybe i'm focusing too much on the low points.

I decided to pretend i'm English just so I can vote for the English language.

Reply 9

Chucklefiend

I reserve pride for personal achievements and I do not classify falling out of my mother's crotch in a particular nation state as an achievement, so in answer to your question, nothing.

Edit: and FYI, RE: 'equality', Britain has a GINI coefficient of 0.34, which makes it the 7th most unequal country in the developed world.

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 10

Maccabees

The fact people leave their houses in their pyjamas and not give a damn.

Reply 11

ShaolinTemple

I love the chav culture.

Reply 12

Carl Sagan

I don't understand how you can be proud of something that was nothing to do with you. I mean, I like the NHS but can I really be proud of it when its existence has nothing to do with me?

Also, we don't have a set of common values that defines us as British.

Reply 13

jaydogone

nothing. i could have been born in ethiopia. its pure luck i was born in a rich country. its like when peoples favorite football team wins and they say 'we won'.

you didn't do ****. you watched.

englands heritage is that of rape, pillage and murder. like most other countries.

Reply 14

username540512

None of the above. Our incredible culture. Music/arts especially. See sig for details.

Reply 15

I Kant Spall

What absolute tripe I read on this website sometimes. It doesn't make you trendy, liberal, or progressive to distance yourself from the place (country, city, whatever) in which you were born. And of all the threads to come in to whine about how estranged you feel from the country you were likely born in, raised in, and presently study in, you choose the one where people are asked to write about what makes him or her "proud" to be British. Whatever that entails is up to the individual--a concept you so cherish yourself but dismiss as plebeian whenever someone else appeals to it. It doesn't matter if all 63.1 million UK citizens can't come to a consensus about some universal, indisputable "Britishness" because with a term as vague as British, there are bound to be things one identifies as British and another not. That curry shop down the street? Yeah, it's British alright. Local football club? British. Some movie I saw last night? British. And best of all, you're in no position to tell me otherwise. If, by association with these things, I feel a sense of self-worth then that is the very definition of "proud". And if you yourself could disregard your holier-than-thou, elitist attitude for just a second, I'm sure you'll find something in your life that made you proud to be British.

And I'm not even a Briton.

Reply 16

Piprod01

[video="youtube;dk5uwz2FBoA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk5uwz2FBoA[/video]
:puke:

Seriously, since watching that I've found it a lot harder to be "proud to be British".

Reply 17

Oxy

The Empire (or whats left of it), Pounds and ****ing pence.

The Beatles

Sorry, I'm not exactly contributing to this thread in the required manner- but why is it that people are "proud" of their ethnicity/religion/nationality/race? It isn't exactly an achievement of some sort is it?