B is for British
Different people use the word “British” in different ways. It can describe a way of life; it can describe a nationality. Some think that retaining “Britishness” is incredibly important, and that it is being eroded.
I was born British. My family are mainly English with some Northern Irish connections. I’ve been brought up in England and have been affected with Englishness without realising it all my life.
This is something that many people get confused over – usually the English. Being British does not mean being reserved, or having a “stiff upper lip”. That’s much more being English. The British nations have their own distinguishing marks but there are few generally British ones.
Still, the British way of life holds a particular importance to some people (whatever that is). Often to these people being British is a mark of honour – you’re a cut above the other lot (the un-British). It’s these people that are often the ones against immigration (even of refugees), the EU (for all the wrong reasons) and vote for ridiculous parties like UKIP or (dare I say it?) the Tories.
The British are a funny mix. Ancestrally we’re a mix of Celts, Angles, Saxons, Normans, Scandinavians, Germans and a few other groups. The very foundations of Britishness were in this multicultural mix and now the proponents of Britishness say it is under threat. They’re right – by excluding people of other countries we threaten the nature of being British, and by reacting against the EU we weaken the international influence that has always been with the Brits.
Okay, I’m labouring a point – I’ll move on. I am glad to be British, but not because of some belief in British superiority. As a Brit I’ve grown up speaking English and consider myself lucky to have it as a first language. I have a British passport. (For some reason I’ve always been told British passports are very good at getting you into other countries – maybe people think Brits are unlikely to stay away from home for too long.) I have the good fortune to be in a very rich country. This doesn’t give me any particular love for my nation though: I feel sure that were Britain part of a federal Europe I would have similar things. I like being British because of the opportunities it gives me, and am under no illusions that this is necessarily something Brits have sole claim to. I can’t see that Britain has anything special in itself: I’ve never understood patriotism for anything other than sport.
If the EU came together into a federation of states rather than just a collection of individual countries like at the moment I would have no objection. It is entirely possible to keep British individuality while part of of federal Europe. It would make travelling in Europe so much easier and would get rid of the terrible isolation that the Channel has given our nation.
So, I’m British. This doesn’t mean I’m a patriotic (or even nationalistic) right-wing fanatic. It does not make me racist. It makes me part of a multicultural society with a large minority who dislike its multiculturalness (but will still go down town for a Chinese takeaway). It makes me a European – and even though I think British comedy and rock music can’t be bettered, it does not make me special.
Matthew @ 09:23, March 5, 2005 to ABC | Comments (13)
Comments:
ThreeDimen
Now, you would know the American simply must weigh in on patriotism. ;-)
Patriotism is just love of one’s country, not a belief in its superiority. It’s like loving your family—just because you love your grandparents doesn’t mean you believe your grandparents are better than everyone else’s. Americans are somewhat illogically patriotic now, but we were illogically patriotic when we were a broke, struggling republic.
American patriotism was best described by a Canadian ex-pat I heard discussing it. She said always assumed American patriotism was simply nationalism, a belief in American superiority. But after she moved here she realized American patriotism is not based on nationalism but on gratitude for the people who have gone before and sacrificed so that we could have freedom. We love our country because we love them and what they stood for.
So love the UK because it produced Shakespeare, Austen and Tolkien. Love it because of Wilberforce and Wesley. Love it because of its courage and determination of 1940. Don’t love it because you think the UK is intrinsically better than France or Beligium or Switzerland.
(As to international influence—the horrible truth is that as long as you have Europe’s only real military, you’ll continue to have your influence. Remember, for all practical purposes, international law is whatever 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and 10 Downing Street say it is.)
Whether the UK becomes part of a “United States of Europe” or not, you and the rest of Europe still must tackle the problems low birth rates and unassimilated immigrants. Unless Europe figures out a way to assimilate its immigrants, Theo Van Gogh is but a taste of the future.
Comment added at 17:35, March 8, 2005
Matthew
I haven’t heard patriotism described in quite that way before. I still think that patriotism is a foreign emotion to me – maybe I’ll feel differently if I ever live for an extended time in another country, I don’t know. Maybe the divide between patriotism and nationalism lies when you start believing your country is superior. I just try and distance myself from the whole thing though.
Assimilating immigrants is hard because of the opposition of the people they’re trying to assimilate into. I don’t know how to go about solving that problem – it’s just the (unfortunate) way things are.
Comment added at 20:34, March 8, 2005
Julie B.
Exactly. I suppose it’s also looked down upon more in Europe because of it’s confusion with nationalism, esp. Nazism. We don’t have that baggage here.
I suppose patriotism is also taught and expected in the States. It was just a few years ago when it dawned on me that all other countries didn’t expect their school children every morning to stand with their hand over their heart and pledge their undying allegiance to flag and country.
And if you were an American, a statement like you made above would absolutely disqualify you from ever holding political office. Here our politicians end up saying things like, “How dare you question my patriotism by implying that I questioned your patriotism?” Or something like that. A politician can be a compulsive liar or a serial adulterer, but by golly you’d better be a patriotic compulsive liar or serial adulterer.
Comment added at 01:07, March 10, 2005
Matthew
Mm, I realise this. It’s one reason why I’m not sure I could cope in the States. Hearing about the whole pledging allegiance thing really worried me when I first heard it. I mean, what if your country’s wrong and you’re pledging loyalty to it? ;)
Incidently, the <Maybe the divide between patriotism and nationalism lies when you start believing your country is superior.> quote at the beginning of your comment got stripped out by the comments script as it thought you were trying to post HTML. That’s the one thing that the script doesn’t seem to do for you…
Comment added at 07:50, March 10, 2005
Julie B.
Oh, you could cope just fine in the States. There’s nothing to worry about in the pledge. These things always seem sinister until you are around them. If you look at what we say (I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which is stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all) it serves as a reminder of what we’re supposed to be, of our ideal. It’s not at all inconsistent to say the pledge and then turn to someone and start to bitterly complain about something or other the government is doing.
I’ll use the imperfect family analogy again—if you make a mistake or even if you do something pretty nasty on purpose your parents don’t kick you out, they come alongside you to assist you and help you become a better human being. Their loyalty to you doesn’t blind them to your faults, if serves as a motivation to help you correct them.
Comment added at 12:53, March 10, 2005
Rory
I never was patriotic until I left Scotland. Here in Canada I’ve found myself being, I suppose, patriotic. Not exactly thinking Scotland’s the best, or that it’s better than Canada or anywhere else (indeed, I prefer Canada to Scotland in many ways), but rather that I am proud to be Scottish and of my roots. It does seem strange, even illogical, to be proud of something that I have no control over – but parents can be proud of their children, and while they extend a certain control over their kids, the children still have free will. Okay, that was a weird analogy, but it’s interesting nonetheless. I don’t exactly miss Scotland, but I enjoy telling people of the beautiful landscapes and languages, and of all the inventions and geniuses we’ve created over the years. Maybe it’s more attention seeking than patriotism, but it pleases me nonetheless.
Something interesting here though – in most schools here, at the start of the day, they play the national anthem, and sometimes people sing along to it. I found it very intriguing when you compare with Britain, where the national anthem is played very very rarely. I think I’ve heard it once in the past 2 years. Consequently I know the Canadian national anthem (“O Canada”) just as well as I know the British one (“God Save The Queen”).
Comment added at 06:06, March 12, 2005
Matthew
I never sing the national anthem – possibly because I only know half the words and don’t agree with most of them (I’m not a fan of the monarchy, so “long may she reign over us”? No thanks).
I think partly I hate the one extreme (nationalism) so much that I’ve swung over to the other. Then there’s the whole federal Europe thing that I think should happen – kind of adds to it.
Maybe I am patriotic in a way – I certainly love a lot of things about the British heritage (and hate some others) – but I don’t think it’s pride. I also love things about other countries’ heritage. It all gets confusing :)
To use the family analogy, surely we’ve got the generations the wrong way round? As a Brit I’m a child of Britain in a way. Parents are proud of their children, sure – but are children usually proud of their parents in the same way? I am, but it’s not necessarily a natural thing. Then Britain isn’t a parent in the same way – in fact it’s probably less natural to feel proud of Britain than it is of your parents. I don’t know.
Comment added at 10:51, March 12, 2005
Rory
Yeah, the analogy does seem to be the wrong way around… I’m all for a federal Europe too, but I still have a cultural identidy – that’s what bugs me, when people think you can’t have both… Poppycock! Anyway, that’s all I really have to say, apart from that I agree with you.
Comment added at 04:19, March 13, 2005
Julie B.
Remember though, patriotism is simply love of one’s country, not pride. Maybe the things you love about the UK also make you proud of it, but it’s not the same thing.
In America it sort of all gets twisted around because patriotism, pride of country, a belief in American Exceptionalism, and fairly recently a sort of “nationalism by default” are all present at the same time.
Comment added at 06:35, March 13, 2005
Matthew
Mm. But is patriotism just love of one’s country? The definition of patriotism at answers.com also adds devotion to and/or willingness to sacrifice one’s life for. Even ignoring the latter one due to extremity, I still don’t feel I can claim to be patriotic just because I love my country :)
It’s all semantics really, so it doesn’t really matter.
Comment added at 11:24, March 13, 2005
Julie B.
I guess I should have said it’s not a belief that your country is superior to others. I can love, be devoted to, and be willing to sacrifice my life for my children all the while being painfully aware they are not superior to all other children.
Comment added at 20:48, March 14, 2005
Alex H
I enjoyed reading your article on Britain. I believe Britain is tthe greatest country in the world but i do not consider myself patriotic. I love the British attitude of, we know we’re a great country but we don’t flaunt it.
Comment added at 23:24, April 2, 2005
Matthew
Well, I don’t necessarily think Britain’s the greatest country in the world ;-) – just because we have the best rock music and comedy (in my opinion) doesn’t necessarily mean we’re the best at anything else. (For a time, there was rugby as well…)
Comment added at 12:03, April 4, 2005
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