I read an interesting article about patrioism yesterday (can't find it now though) It ranked the worlds most patriotic countries, with USA and Japan/Australia in the top, closely followed by Ireland if I remember it correctly. Sweden was somewhere in the middle and England was in the lower mid-table. Sweden would probably be ranked higher if the average Swede wouldn't be so lame. A lot of people are afraid to be called racist etc We are not even allowed to play the national anthem during the "graduations/last day of school" anymore, due to the "fact" that some immigrants may feel put aside or something like that (Why would they?!) And we have the so called "jantelag/jante law", which is the most ridicilous "law" ever. Here we have the "guidelines" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jante_Law [NSFW] Don't think you're anything special. Don't think you're as good as us. Don't think you're smarter than us. Don't convince yourself that you're better than us. Don't think you know more than us. Don't think you are more important than us. Don't think you are good at anything. Don't laugh at us. Don't think anyone cares about you. Don't think you can teach us anything.[/NSFW] Edit: It's not THE law, but it kinda describes the average Swede not being brave enough to say what he/she thinks. Can't see any reason why you wouldn't be proud to be Swedish. Are YOU proud of being English? If not, why? And which country do you reckon to be most patriotic?
If someone ranked England fairly low down in a list of patriotic nations, then I'd suggest the list was a complete load of bollocks. The Japanese are the most racist country on earth, they perceive themselves to be superior to all other nations, so I'm not surprised they'd be high up, but I think most nations are very patriotic and we definitely are here.
It wasn't "someone", it was based on the average points England got from people in England. And I reckon North Korea to be more rascist They certainly think they are the best at everything anyway!
I think English people just enjoy a good moan and like to complain about everything so it just looks like we aint patriotic, then if you include Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland into the equation and call it the UK plus throw in the folks that do'nt like the monarchy then I could see how we would'nt be very high on the patriotism ladder. Overall though most English people are fiercly patriotic about their country. The yanks take the biscuit though, say what you like about them being a bit naive about the rest of the world, which is true but come fourth of July them flags are out on every house and they go nuts!
I'm a bit "meh" these days. I feel very privileged to be English (gives me a better start in life than 5bn+ others and there can't be many better passports to have). However, the way the government (read banking giants and corporates) are selling down this country down the river for a quick self-serving buck, and the general populace's acceptance of this, leaves me with few qualms about upping sticks and going elsewhere (until they decide to close the borders from the inside and revoke all passports). From a football point of view, the blase attitude of the current England team as well as the corporatisation of the game as a business just makes me want to opt out (which is why I very rarely attend games - the olympic ticket application was a rare forray away from seeking value for money). But proud? I think the media does a very thorough job of making the populace self-loathe.
I think it all depends what the questioner asked. I think all of the home nations are very patriotic, but I'm not completely convinced the UK is all that patriotic. The prime example is if you look at the attitudes to a British football team at the Olympics.
I am extremely patrotic, I love everything about been English, and in fact been British. I have fought for my country, represented it at amateur level in sport, and defend it to the hilt if anyone dares to slag off my beloved nation. Unfortunatelty poor leadership over the last 30 odd years has badly effected national pride (not patritism) and as a result a lot of people as Imperial points out has left people a bit "meh" about national identity.
absolutely I am proud to be English despite the best efforts of our government to undermine that pride. strip away a thin veneer & most of what made this country the most powerful in the world has been closed down, sold off or pawned in the name of making a small group of people very rich. It is past time we did something about that. say what you like about Americans. They take a far more active role in self government than most of us are prepared to do and that gives them a right to some pride in their country. for a shot of patriotism, here are the Portland Timbers supporters singing the national anthem. I spent 10 years there before coming home and had a lot of time for these guys. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s50SvZm9jQE&feature=related
Good post IT, sums up my feeling precisly, I,m proud of Our History, but at the moment I feel that apathy has a foothold among a lot of the British population
Im generally only Patriotic during the World Cup/ other national sporting moments. I love being English, because I couldn't imagine myself any other way, but I wouldnt say I'm overtly proud of it. We've done some pretty terrible things in our past as a country, and arguably we do so at present (be it inaction as well as action). Not to say alot of other countries aren't the same in this respect. Throughout my life I have generally disagreed with the actions of our governments which makes me find it hard to proud of our nation at times. Although I am pretty liberal (Not a lib dem though) and I'm proud of what some individuals do rather than the country itself. Its like in the army, the guys fight for each other, not the Queen. The John Donne quote of a 'No man is an island unto himself' is a good one, but at the same time I think Englishness doesnt necessarily mean you have to conform to what your country stands for. We have a tradition of outspokeness and eccentricity and indivduality, I'm proud of that. I also think that the English Flag has become a little bit too synomynous with BNP and EDL right-wing Nationalistic bollocks. Finally I think there is quite alot of apathy when you look at examples such as the non event of St George's day.
I can only comment on the countries I've lived in which is 6, let me rank them.. 1. Isreal - No contest in these stakes, the Isrealis will die for their country, it's more than patriotic, it's fanatisism, religion, Zionism & fatalism all mixed into one little nation. 10/10 2. Turkey - patriotic to the point of nationalistic, they have flags, Ataturk pics everywhere, the Turkish military is idolised & in football Mehmet Ozil is classified as a traitor for choosing Germany as his home nation. Turks love "Turkiye" and think it's the most beautiful nation on earth so I'll give them 9/10 3. USA - how can you say they're not! they chant "USA, USA" at everything they play, they firmly believe that they have the way of life that everyone wants; they have indulged in a little more self-examination post-Bush, when they had difficulty coming to terms with anti-americanism feeling in the world. They are very focussed on winning and I'd put them second in my list 8/10 4. England - Toss up between us and France for 4th, We've (I'm English) have some issues with identity I reckon, the politicians seem to have dampened the patriotism, what's happened to St Georges day? The French try to impose it a bit more but we would fight to the death. 6,5/10 5. France - They have issues too, like France's dwindling power in the world, national dislike of Sarkozy, a rising far-right etc. But they're generally quite proud and think their way of doing things is superior. Would they fight to the death though? No they'd run off at lunch time.. 6/10 6. Russia - I didn't sense an awful lot of patriotism there when I lived in St petersburg in '97, they were still coming to terms with post-communism so jobs, bread etc were more important than mother Russia. The USSR had a stronger sense of nationality, Russia is a bit fragmented, they love their country yes, but there's this ever present sense of sadness. 5/10
Nice list. I remember Isreal being very high up in the list as well! And Australia..... How is it with the Frenchies and language? I do know that they are very "patriotic" with always speaking French. Have you learned French or do you make it "around" anyway?
I support British teams but not exclusively, like I can't stand Andy Murray even though he is the only good British tennis player. I also am anti-royal, I would suggest the royal family are probably less British than Febbos when you trace their lineage? In the F1 I don't follow the British teams and drivers but support Ferrari and whoever drives for them.
