Are you patriotic ?

[janet0001]

Do you feel patriotic ?

I do feel patriotic and I got laughed at and basically mocked when I said it.

I was quite upset about that - AIBU?

I love being British. I love living in Britain. I've been fortunate through work to have been to so many places in the world.But I'm always glad to come home. Why would I want to live anywhere else, whether in the EU or out? The EU doesn't change how I feel about my nationality. I didn't move because I love living here but if I "fucking hated" it, I'd make plans to move elsewhere.

Just because people don't moan 24/7 about the Brexit result, doesn't mean they voted for Brexit. It just means they're realists and are getting on with living life.

No

I don't feel patriotic

Further I think it's my duty as a human being to suppress such feelings as they lead to countries competing ,rather than working together for the good of the human race and the planet . Patriarchy leads to A sense of entitlement and being the best that hampers working together

I think this country like any other has done good and bad things
I am ashamed of things like the First World War, the slave trade , the assumption that our culture is best because we built the best weapons and soldiers and are happy to fight

I'm Welsh, but live in England (and have for a long time). I'm not particularly attached to the UK as a whole - I don't think we're particularly special, certainly nowhere near as special as some people seem to think we are. I do feel a strong sense of belonging to Wales though.

Dotjones · Today 08:51

Yes but in the sense we should be proud of our past glories like the empire, two world war victories, our time as top dog on the world stage. Yes in the sense of all the good we've done for the world (whether they appreciate it or not) and yes in the sense that traditionally our country has undoubtedly been "the best", whether that's the people, the culture or whatever else.

Is this an actual joke? You're proud of past glories like the empire?

I love my city (London) and if I was abroad I would always say that was where I'm from. That's because it is a friendly, inclusive forward looking city in my opinion.
I wouldn't tell people I'm from England though. If I'm honest I'm embarrassed of what we've become since Brexit. And the empire was a fucking disgrace.

The history of the Empire is something most brits haven't reconciled yet. Indeed it was barely taught in my school even though I did history up until A-Level (I hope that's not still the case).

I suspect many don't even know if they're meant to be proud of it or not.

This, absolutely. I'm proud of British contributions to the arts and culture, to science and technology. But I look at what's happening in the arts now, museums closing everywhere you look, theatre dumbed down, funding for all areas of academia slashed - and think we're pissing it all away. NOT proud of that. And our global standing is so embarrassing. I think in another few years we'll truly be a by-word for sad, laughable failure that nobody listens to any more.

What's your point? If you're implying that when Brexit was voted on in 2016, they suddenly hated living here that sounds extreme as nothing actually changed there and then but maybe their feeling about living here changed for them. But the simple fact is, we're not going to rejoin for quite a long time, if ever, so why stay where you're miserable whether that's because of Brexit, an ex, or the weather. If you're unhappy with the situation you find yourself in, don't keep on suffering, look up where to move to, what's needed to get there, and make a plan.

I accept lots of people have family and it's difficult to leave them. There are always reasons to stay. But if you "fucking hate" it, wouldn't your family want you've go and be happy?

Your relatives have decided to stay in the nhs and try to improve it. I'm very grateful about that because we desperately need them. But that doesn't mean if someone fucking hated going into work every day, that I'd have them stay. You only get one life. If they think they'd enjoy their life somewhere else, I'd encourage them to go.

I'm proud of the UK. Sure we're not perfect, and times are particularly tough at the moment, but we have a state funded health service, state financial benefits, we have laws protecting vulnerable minorities, we punish hate crime, we support diversity, we have a robust legal system, we have a largely uncorrupt police force, we have democracy, and we take human rights seriously. On a lighter note, we know how to queue! And despite the financial challenges face by many, we always raise loads of money for Children In Need, Red Nose Day etc.

I know people will come along and deny everything I've said, probably giving examples of our shit NHS and unfair benefits or whatever, but on the whole I think we've got nearer the "whole package" than many other countries.

Overall I think we are, in general (obviously there are plenty of exceptions), a nation of decent people.

Pretty clear you did though..
Because you want to move on... (the classic brexitier response) i don't know about you but in RL if i make a poor decision... i seek to change it, mitigate its effects... no one in either of the main parties wishes to even improve relations... its all Make Brexit Work.. or even more ridiculous "Take back Control" neither recognise the devastating effects brexit has caused.

Europe is/was a handy place to move, 2 hour flight home, similar culture & values.

As i said.. people who might hate living here.. may have many very valid reasons why they can't move.

To be patriotic or proud of ones country.. there needs to be something to be proud about & the UK has gone down the drain under the Tories.

Britain participated in the slave trade along with virtually every other country/tribe etc. British businesses and individuals bought slaves from tribes/warlords/countries/native traders. Britain not only stopped its own trade but it stopped the trade internationally and globally. Are you proud of that?
The descendants of these slaves gained independence from the Uk and many have chosen to come to the Uk. If it was such a terrible place would they have?Would they have stayed? Would they have made such an active and proud contribution to the Uk?

"Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel"

No I am not proud that I was born the the same country as the people who first managed to get slavery undone - although I suspect that many other areas also didn't participate in slavery

I mean why ? It's illogical - it wasn't my actions or anything I supported , it's just chance where I was born

I don’t understand how anyone can feel proud of something that they didn’t personally accomplish.

So I can be proud of my individual actions, but how can I be proud of being born in one country rather than in a different one? It just doesn’t make sense to me.

Pretty clear you did though..
Because you want to move on...

You're ridiculous. Why am I going to spend the next 10, 20 years just going over and over Brexit? Moaning that were not in the EU. If you want to politically agitate for change, good for you, go ahead but I'm not seeing or hearing 16m remain voters agitating. Are they fed up about losing? Yes. Are they living their lives out of the EU? Yes.

One of my closest friends was coming to early retirement, had loads of plans, holidays arranged. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer and was dead within the year. My mum has dementia. At the moment I've been living several months with her as she can't be on her own. It's exhausting. I have no life really and I want to go home. I'm trying to get her into a care home. Everyone on her side of her family has it so I'm probably going to get it too.

I don't know how long I've got left or what the future might hold but I'm not spending my life fretting over something done and gone when I could be enjoying what this country has to offer.

I’m with you on this

I don’t feel remotely patriotic. I think that country boundaries are largely man made and that where we were born in relation to that is pretty meaningless. There are things that I like about the UK and things I’d change but I don’t support national teams etc because I just don’t get that sense of national pride.

I'm not sure. I don't think one can say you're proud to be a nationality or colour because you didn't really choose that.

If we take patriotism as a sense of attachment to one's country then yes, I would say I do feel that but I can't explain why exactly. The UK has it's flaws but so do all countries. I don't feel like we should self-flagellate over behaviours of the past. Certainly they can be acknowledged but for someone born in the late 20th century to say they're ashamed to be British because of things that happened centuries ago is a bit of a reach. If they have issues with current day goings on then that's up to them and a decision whether it should be attributed to a whole country of an individual/group of people.

My own sense of patriotism is heightened by being married to someone who has come here from overseas. Other members of his family have followed. They are all British nationals from birth, just happened to live somewhere else. When they start slagging off Britain or comparing it unfavourably to their old country, I do feel annoyed. I feel like if it's so great there, then why did you leave, why not go back?

Re the question - I feel a kind of separated positivity / fondness to the two countries of which I am a citizen

I also enjoy elements of other cultures. I think I could find something good and interesting about any

I’m proud of the UK legal and justice system. Especially when compared to the US.

This is a really interesting thread to come back to.

I agree that Brexit damaged a lot of feelings of pride I had in this country. But like others there are British achievements that make me feel quite proud still.

I also think my lack of patriotism in some senses might be a form of privilege. In terms of the Uk as a whole (rather than the individual nations ) we haven’t had to fight for our country’s right to exist. Certainly not within living memory or many generations. So it’s easier to say “I’m not patriotic”, which I do say. Just a thought.

Legal system has some faults, but yes I agree. Especially in terms of judicial independence.

Agree with you. I say London or Britain. Never England. I don’t feel English as opposed to British at all, but I do feel like a Londoner.

Done a lot of work for Govt and defence over the years and always felt proud to do so.
I was involved in a new Met Office building which thatcher opened and then did a speech on climate, Trident too.

I detested her but felt proud of our teams contribution in making this happen and actually in her speech too.

Now? older wiser me, far less so, i feel Austerity has ruined the UK.

Its hard to be proud of the UK when the chances are, if i had a stroke etc, i would not be treated in a timely manner, my friends mother spent 2 days in a marquee outside an AE dept, people died around her.. in a car park (her daughter is a ex nurse, stayed with her, feeding turning)

We are nothing without a fucntioning NHS and we will not grow as a country either, few companies will invest in the UK if their workforce cannot access good health and education services.

No. As someone said upthread I support England at the world cup and that's about it and the reason I even do that is because Rashford and Saku played.