To not feel proud of my country at the moment?

[Livingtothefull]

I really want to be proud - there are plenty of things to be proud of in the UK (great people/culture/heritage) - but the way we are governed at the moment just sickens me.

We have a liar and a criminal as Prime Minister, I can't bear the sight or sound of him now. 'Partygate' showed us just how much contempt he has for the British public. People are facing huge cost of living rises and poverty, and the Government offered nothing to help address this in the Queen's speech.

The latest is their proposal to break international law.

By the way the Monarchy was shown up as the useless and empty institution it is through the prorogation of Parliament episode, far from a supposed guardian of democracy. I don't have anything against the RF personally, but as an institution it has presided over all of this and yet has nothing to say about it all.

I am sick of hearing about the Jubilee as well, I see nothing to celebrate in what we have all been through over the past couple of years and are facing now. 'Rich privileged woman lives a long time' does not mean anything imo, in the context of the huge numbers of people who have died before their time due to Covid. Many of them elderly and vulnerable people in care homes - where the Government has recently been found (again) to have broken the law by putting them in harm's way.

Why have we been persuaded that losing all these rights are progress?

Really important question. Lots of people who can afford to be easily persuaded have been easily persuaded while the social contract has been gradually shredded. Those of us who couldn't afford to be persuaded have been ignored, disenfranchised, and/or lied to.

The result is the same. We've been robbed and cheated out of some hard-won rights and we don't live in the same society we once did, which is why the country looks and feels so different now. It's all owned, and if you don't have a big enough stake, you don't matter.

You can work your arse off here these days and not only not be able to afford your food and pay your bills comfortably, but have absolutely no chance of ever owning your own home.

And people will call you miserable and negative for having the gall to complain.

Fuck them

I’m proud of many British things which are taken for granted here, including our impartial judicial system, our tolerance, our welfare state, NHS, free education and…our Queen.

The first five items in your list are steadily being eroded, the sixth is about to cark it. You might want to have a think about where you place your pride

The Great British public voted in Boris et al, not sure why people on here blame the Queen when it all goes wrong 😂

We’re taking the kids to a local street party for the Jubilee and they’re really looking forward to it.

Oh dear - just leave the country. But where will you go - no where is perfect and how many languages do you speak?

@baroqueandblue
Persuasive as your entirely unsubstantiated assertions are, I stand by my original post.

Innocent times 😂😂😂

I don't believe anyone's going to Rwanda, I think the whole Rwanda thing is just designed to produce a juicy human rights court case, get the right wing press spewing hate, demanding we rip up the human rights act and exit ECHR. And before we know it this despicable government will have persuaded (stupid) people to rip out their own rights. The direction of travel is fucking chilling.

100% agree with you OP. I'm an optimist by nature, and a pragmatist, so not on an ideological critique (because of my 'university education' 🙄). I've lived in several other countries, no we don't have the best health service, or the best democracy blah blah. The queen has paid her lawyers to prevent legislation that would have revealed the true extent of that family's wealth. Widely reported. Why do people think she'd want to do that? Sorry, but royalists are thick as planks. Why do you want to be a 'subject', as opposed to a citizen? What benefit are you getting from living under a monarchy? Tourism? Oh ok.

Completely agree OP.

Oh and the Brexit lies haven't been outed, most leave voters are still absolutely devoted to the cause and couldn't care how much itll cost us.

Just read the international press - at best the United Kingdom is regarded as a laughing stock. The only people who don't seem to realise this are around half of the British population!
But why should we care about that?

I agree OP, the jubilee is nothing to celebrate in my eyes and this shitshow of a government needs a damn good ousting.

Perhaps stop calling it 'your' country

These sorts of quotes by labour activists do nothing to support anything - it's boring, I know you're. not paid very much but please stop.

But Sam just came 2nd in Eurovision!

I have a mother and 14 year old with me who arrived Friday.

NI number - applied online, she got an email saying it could take up to 8 weeks to issue her one.

Bank - the assistant said they have Ukrainian who have been waiting 4 weeks for their accounts to be activated.

We registered with the GP but I dread either of them needing to go.

She said 'dentist?' and I just laughed.

Explained to her that the state of my garden is because the Environment Agency cleared vegetation in preparation for construction of flood defences, before realising they weren't planning exempt, and for planning permission they need to do a full impact assessment including hydraulic modelling, and that they don't actually have funding for that.

I feel like the British public have big hearts and most would bend over backwards to help those in need, but our institutions are either in the Stone Age or falling apart at the seams.

I don't know if I live in a bubble or what, but the conversations I have with people around me and they way the voting goes in elections just doesn't seem to match up.

‘Just Leave’ is a crap response to someone complaining about their country. It’s also a stupid interpretation of ‘being proud to be British’ - in which having pride in your country means agreeing with the current government about everything. Dissent is a really, really important part of civil society and it’s important we hold our government to account. Saying ‘ugh just leave if you don’t like it’ is shortsighted. What are you going to do when you don’t like something? Are you just going to endure it forever so as not to make a fuss?

Some posters on here seem to be in denial about how angry many people actually are. Obviously a raw nerve has been touched somewhere.

I accept that anyone is completely free to disagree with me; but why patronise me, suggest I leave the country, that I am not grateful enough, suggest I post elsewhere not here, insinuate I am a paid Labour activist, suggest I am a miserable, bitter, University-educated underachiever, or on the other hand that I need to get myself more education on the constitution?

My opinion is as good as anyone else's and I speak from my own first hand experience and that of others like me. BTW I am still up because I am dealing with my DS 'personal care' (a euphemism - won't describe what it entails). I will have to get up early tomorrow before work and deal with it again as his care arrangements have fallen through. Many other families I know will be dealing with the same.

So no I don't feel a bit grateful. In fact for those of you who are taxpayers, you should feel grateful to me (and other carers like me) because I am directly saving you money. The personal is political after all.

I accept that anyone is completely free to disagree with me; but why patronise me, suggest I leave the country, that I am not grateful enough, suggest I post elsewhere not here, insinuate I am a paid Labour activist, suggest I am a miserable, bitter, University-educated underachiever, or on the other hand that I need to get myself more education on the constitution?

You've committed a thought crime, OP. Everything is doubleplusgood in the UK, haven't you heard?

No opinion on the rest but I'm 🤔at the UK doing so much to help Ukraine, while at the same time threatening peace in their own country. But they (Boris etc) don't really care as it's only Northern Ireland, not Great Britain.

I hear you OP. I am angry about the same things. And I can’t even escape them easily because Brexit cancelled my right to live and work in a great selection of countries without having to jump through loads of hoops. Really pissed off.

You have the right to, how anyone doesn't feel ashamed to live in a wealthy country where people can't afford to eat I don't know. Let alone a monarchy who with a bit of luck in the birth order just missed out on providing us with a head of state who assaults young women, with a governing elite who lie, cheat, bully, rape. It's horrendous. I could go on but that's enough!

And no, I’m not a low achiever. I own a successful business, which does open up some additional possibilities to move out of the UK if we were prepared to move the business. But it’s an enormous decision and would tip my employees into the shit as we enter a massive recession.

I don't think the UK is that great; while other Northern European countries modernised their infrastructure to make life easier for their citizens, much of the UK infrastructure outside London and the south east has remained stagnant. Its the little things - like having no footpaths to walk on, or underpasses on main roads, or motorways between cities (there isn't one between Newcastle and Edinburgh for instance, or between Edinburgh and Inverness). Its hard to get normal things like decent healthcare or dentistry or builders who do a good job because they aren't licensed.

I don't know why so many posters are pointing to France as some kind of terrible place. Its those stereotypes people in Britain seem to hold about politics and class; politics are heavily stereotyped into good and bad, left wing and right wing. Of course in the UK, all of the parties are now centre right but the names don't traditionally say that. If you try to be rational about it, some extreme example of alleged right-wingedness or left-wingedness is produced.

I find the UK very left wing now, but not in a good way that produces good public services. The health service, strangely, is nationalised, but the fuel and train companies are not. Its more a very left wing sentiment, theres no respect for people who work hard and earn more money. The standard of behaviour on the streets is poor; theres litter everywhere. The tax system is odd because the personal allowance is 4 or 5 times higher than in most European countries meaning that many don't pay tax at all. That must be disenfranchising. Theres no proper modern written constitution. Local authorities perform dreadfully badly. The planning system is horrible and creates vast soulless housing estates to make profits for building companies.

Its more like America I think, with poor basic services unless you're wealthy. But income tax is quite expensive compared to the US.

I have lived in other European countries and on balance, they were much better than the UK.

not read thread as busy but i agree op!