Aimless Posted March 16, 2008 Posted March 16, 2008 Are you implying that being proud of Britain is un-British. Because that doesn't make much sense for a country that was once proud to fly its flag and sing Rule Britannia. 'Was' being the operative word. I like Britain because its national traits are of being an unassuming nation that just gets on with things. The US comes across as very ostentatious and pleased with itself, and I like to think Britain is the antithesis of that. I'm not a showy person, and I'd prefer to be part of country whose personality I can relate to.
MoogleViper Posted March 16, 2008 Posted March 16, 2008 When Britain first, at heaven's command, Arose from out the azure main, Arose, arose, arose from out the a-azure main, This was the charter, the charter of the land, And guardian angels sang this strain: Rule Britania! Britannia rule the waves. Britons never, never, never shall be slaves. Rule Britannia! Britannia rule the waves. Britons never, never, never shall be slaves. The nations, not so blest as thee, Must in their turn, to tyrants fall, Must in ,must in, must in their turn, to tyrants fall, While thou shalt flourish, shalt flourish great and free, The dread and envy of them all. Rule Britannia! Britannia rule the waves. Britons never, never, never shall be slaves. Rule Britannia! Britannia rule the waves. Brittons never, never, never shall be slaves. Rule Britannia When Britain first, at heaven's command, Arose from out the azure main, Arose, arose, arose from out the azure main, This was the charter, the charter of the land, And guardian angels sang this strain: Rule Britannia! Britannia rule the waves. Britons never, never, never shall be slaves. Rule Britannia! Britannia rule the waves. Britons never, never, never shall be slaves. The nations, not so blest as thee, Must in their turn, to tyrants fall, Must in ,must in, must in their turn, to tyrants fall, While thou shalt flourish, shalt flourish great and free, The dread and envy of them all. Rule Britannia! Britannia rule the waves. Britons never, never, never shall be slaves. Rule Britannia! Britannia rule the waves. Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.
Ramar Posted March 16, 2008 Posted March 16, 2008 'Was' being the operative word. I like Britain because its national traits are of being an unassuming nation that just gets on with things. The US comes across as very ostentatious and pleased with itself, and I like to think Britain is the antithesis of that. I'm not a showy person, and I'd prefer to be part of country whose personality I can relate to. It only became 'was' because the government are too scared to allow us some pride. Political correctness is ruining our patriotism (and country), if we show an ounce of pride, we're deemed offensive to other people.
MoogleViper Posted March 16, 2008 Posted March 16, 2008 We put up a flag in 2006. But the flag wrapped itself around the rusty pole and got rust marks on it. It look like somebody had made a dirty protest.
Aimless Posted March 16, 2008 Posted March 16, 2008 It only became 'was' because the government are too scared to allow us some pride. Political correctness is ruining our patriotism (and country), if we show an ounce of pride, we're deemed offensive to other people. I don't think you can chalk the country's problems up to a lack of national pride. I might not wave the Union Jack about in public, but nor do I drop litter in the streets or try to start fights with passers by. It isn't about being afraid of offending people, it's not needing to show off.
Ramar Posted March 16, 2008 Posted March 16, 2008 I don't think you can chalk the country's problems up to a lack of national pride. I might not wave the Union Jack about in public, but nor do I drop litter in the streets or try to start fights with passers by. It isn't about being afraid of offending people, it's not needing to show off. If we had more pride in our country we wouldn't litter, or take advantage of pensioners, or pick fights with randomers. I think our country does have a distinct lack of pride for itself and residents. Of course you can't blame all our problems on it, but I'd say it plays a part like anything else.
MoogleViper Posted March 16, 2008 Posted March 16, 2008 If we had more pride in our country we wouldn't litter, or take advantage of pensioners, or pick fights with randomers. I think our country does have a distinct lack of pride for itself and residents. Of course you can't blame all our problems on it, but I'd say it plays a part like anything else. But America has way more crime than most other developed countries.
Ramar Posted March 16, 2008 Posted March 16, 2008 But America has way more crime than most other developed countries. And I can't answer for them. :P I should have probably put a maybe in my previous post. Of course problems wouldn't just disappear, but maybe if we cared more for our country and for each other. We'd see a brighter future.
Jonnas Posted March 16, 2008 Posted March 16, 2008 But America has way more crime than most other developed countries. Meh, that's probably because of the guns and such. Anyway, patriotism is important. The only thing keeping Spain from falling apart right now is their patriotism and loyalty to their king/country.
Charlie Posted March 16, 2008 Posted March 16, 2008 I see your point, but it's not entirely a fair one. The England team were expected to at least get past Croatia, given the squad that they had. What the fans didn't expect was their team to go 2-0 in the first half, then come back to a 2-2 qualifying position, and to balls it all up by losing it just minutes later. With Scotland, they performed much better than anyone thought they did, and they were giving a great account of themselves. The real reason that Scotland got the ovation was because of the effort, hardwork and determination that the players put in, to at least give themselves a shout at qualifying. Something which England lacked. But, you are right, the fans are supposed to encourage the players. But, the players are also there to entertain the crowd, and to win. Or, at least try to play. Yeah, obviously my example was a bit weighted towards Scotland. But it's not just that, we didn't boo our team off when we lost 3-0 to Georgia. I remember very vividly that we gave our team a standing ovation after getting knocked out of World Cup 98. Even after our horrific 2-all draw with the Faroes we didn't do anything apart from blame Berti which is understandable because he's foreign. A foreign manager in Scotland just won't work because we're all so patriotic.
LazyBoy Posted March 16, 2008 Posted March 16, 2008 I consider Patriotism evil. Not in for an argument, its just it has the same negative effects as religion.
Jonnas Posted March 16, 2008 Posted March 16, 2008 I consider Patriotism evil. Not in for an argument, its just it has the same negative effects as religion. Meh, it depends. Blind patriotism is almost as bad as blind religion.
jayseven Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 I think the british version of "patriotism" is a lot different to the US or Scottish versions. Charlie; you focus patriotism on whether you boo your team off of the pitch or not; that's just silly :P for a start you're talking about the percentage of the population who not only gives a shit about football but also goes to the games. Charlie; would you stop what you're doing and put your hand on your heart whenever your anthem starts playing? I am proud to be english for reasons beyond any national anthem. I am proud of where I was born, of what I've seen and what I am able to do. I just don't see the need, as Edge said, to sing and dance about it. I like being english, but I'm just so damn aware of how little that matters :P As for teh topic- american patriotism... Well the flag represents a massive ideology that you can't understand if you're not submitting to the same lifestyle. I mean, there's no 'american dream' for countries beside america, are tehre? The idea that anything is possible may not be a reality, but it's a hope for many americans. Being a part of 'the greatest nation in the world' I suppose drives some people to continue their mundane lives. I suppose my point is; if you were raised in america, you'd be one of those people saluting the flag. Don't diss others because of their upbringing.
Sanchez Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 But America has way more crime than most other developed countries. source? tressd
Mike Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 An American friend once told me that when she was younger, and she learnt the song "I'm glad to be an American, cos at least I know I'm free" (or something like that) at school, she seriously thought that America was the only 'free' country in the world.
Charlie Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 I think the british version of "patriotism" is a lot different to the US or Scottish versions. Charlie; you focus patriotism on whether you boo your team off of the pitch or not; that's just silly :P for a start you're talking about the percentage of the population who not only gives a shit about football but also goes to the games. Charlie; would you stop what you're doing and put your hand on your heart whenever your anthem starts playing? Whenever it was played at school or something we all stood up for it, don't do the hand on heart thing though. I know my examples of Scottish patriotism are very bland and directed towards a small percentage of the population but what other sort of patriotism is there now? What is there to be patriotic about other than sports? The Scottish Government going for independence? I don't think so, as much as I would like to see us as a seperate country I can't see it working at all. Scottish Wars of Independence is something that the majority of Scots love because we got one-over the English. There just really isn't anything in my view to be patriotic about Scotland for anymore except for sports.
Apple_NdiB Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 I think the british version of "patriotism" is a lot different to the US or Scottish versions. Charlie; you focus patriotism on whether you boo your team off of the pitch or not; that's just silly :P for a start you're talking about the percentage of the population who not only gives a shit about football but also goes to the games. Charlie; would you stop what you're doing and put your hand on your heart whenever your anthem starts playing? I am proud to be english for reasons beyond any national anthem. I am proud of where I was born, of what I've seen and what I am able to do. I just don't see the need, as Edge said, to sing and dance about it. I like being english, but I'm just so damn aware of how little that matters :P As for teh topic- american patriotism... Well the flag represents a massive ideology that you can't understand if you're not submitting to the same lifestyle. I mean, there's no 'american dream' for countries beside america, are tehre? The idea that anything is possible may not be a reality, but it's a hope for many americans. Being a part of 'the greatest nation in the world' I suppose drives some people to continue their mundane lives. I suppose my point is; if you were raised in america, you'd be one of those people saluting the flag. Don't diss others because of their upbringing. And yet, ironically, as I read that, "Land of Hope and Glory" was playing in my head. But yeah, agreeance with that.
MoogleViper Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 source? tressd I did my media coursework on the Columbine high school shootings and the effect of the media. And America has way more shootings. Even more than Canada who also have guns readily available.
somme Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 When I lived in Australia, the word Australia was used so much it made me want to hit people. In terms of patriotism, Australia is like an insecure teenager, forever needing to tell themselves they're special or they won't believe it. If Woolworths have their biggest sale of the year its not simply, "Woolworths sale of the year," it's, "Australia's biggest sale of the year...at Woolworths".
The fish Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 I did my media coursework on the Columbine high school shootings and the effect of the media. And America has way more shootings. Even more than Canada who also have guns readily available. He's right. Last September (I think) I read about a murder at the time in Toronto. It was the 13th with a firearm that year, making it one of the worst years in a long time. However, 13 is a low tally for an American city for one day. America has a serious social issue with violence...
Sanchez Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 He's right. Last September (I think) I read about a murder at the time in Toronto. It was the 13th with a firearm that year, making it one of the worst years in a long time. However, 13 is a low tally for an American city for one day. America has a serious social issue with violence... Again, Source? Anecdotal evidence isn't going to convince me.
The fish Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 Again, Source? Anecdotal evidence isn't going to convince me. It was in May, my bad.
Sanchez Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 Pretty vague article about US levels of crime. Don't you have anything with full stats for non gun crimes and such?
The fish Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 Pretty vague article about US levels of crime. Don't you have anything with full stats for non gun crimes and such? That's what I read about the 13th firearm murder in Toronto that year. Look for Chicago and Houston in this list (coincidentally, they're next to each other), they're the two most similar in population of Toronto. They have murder rates of 448 and 334 per year, respectively. According to this (scroll down), the murder rate was just 84 in 2007 Roughly half involved firearms.
Paj! Posted March 17, 2008 Posted March 17, 2008 I'm generally unpatriotic. I'm not into sports so yeah. Patriotism there, in extremes is what causes mob lynchings or whatever. Gang beat-ups and stuff. I LOVE Edinburgh. Literally one of the best cities I've ever been, and I've ived here all my life. I'm usually bored with the normal, but Eidnburgh is so unique. Glasgow is a bit typical ,and just reminds me of grey. But yeah. Good venues. I DO NOT want to be a seperate country. What's the point? Just to allow for the possibly of more future economic troubles that we have no one to help us with? I also generally dislike the Scottish accent (or the more "common" one). I LOVE the scottish accent in people from up north though. Like squeeky clean fun.
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