Do we Brits still love our country?

[symbolon]

#1 9 Minutes Ago
symbolon
Poker Queen Join Date: Oct 2009
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Do we Brits still love our Country?

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I read an article today in the Mail on Sunday, quoting Helen Mirren as making the following statement,

She was asked whether British values such as decency were being lost.

She replied,

I'm under the impression that this notion is disappearing from our society where conflicts are made worse on cinema and on television, where people are nasty and cruel on the internet and where in general terms everybody seems to be very angry.

I wondered if anyone would like to respond to that statement?

xxsymxx

[fred913]

I'm sure most of us will always be Brits. I now live in Ireland but I am still English to the core. It is just a pity that a few millions of so called Brits would take arms against the country. I suppose we have made the problem ourselves in the past. We let the Indians, the Pakistanis, and many Africans, fight for us in two world wars, their only recompense was a British passport, now we have to face the consequences. Helen Mirren is in a far better shape than most other Brits, financially and that she can escape to the States if she wished, the rest of us have to put up with what we are given by our government. I could go on for ever with this so maybe I should shut my gob and retire lol.

[flip29a]

"I'm under the impression that this notion is disappearing from our society where conflicts are made worse on cinema and on television, where people are nasty and cruel on the internet and where in general terms everybody seems to be very angry."

If i respond to this statement i would probably get banned.... and i think the Author knows what i mean.... perhaps thread should be closed before it gets personal.

[roo27]

it can be hard to feel real pastion for your country when it feels less and less like Your country

[aceman666]

The whole world has changed...people got richer while good manners got poorer, its dog eat dog out there...good job i'm a big one.

[crinkle62]

I'm not British...... i'm ENGLISH

[reaper1569]

at 1 time i ad fight 4 this country ...... now iad rather go 2 jail than fight 4 this country it a joke when imagriants hav more rights than us brits my dad fought in war 2 keep thease people out n ...idiots let in giv a house all done out ..free gas n elec free mobils n even a free car .. wot do we get told 2 work 4 benifit s whos the slaves now... i i wonn lottery i ad b out of this appin country....as we struggle 2 sav 4 r houses 2 look half decent they get all free... i say hoy them all bk out n would sav this country a fortune ... n if they burn poppies shoot emm they r guest in r country if donn t lik it they no were 2 go bk wi nowt lik wat they came wi....ps n bring bk the union jack aswell

[symbolon]

I understand what Helen Mirren is effering to when she talks about the media, television and the internet. I doubt that escaping to the states will change that much, other than there are not the tabloid newspapers and the media feeding frenzy that surround every small detail of what usually amounts to being nothing in the end.

We are a small island which once was an Empire and exploited millions to become a rich nation, that was in Victorian times and since then we have declined and through successive wars become poorer and poorer, passing the power to a richer nation The United States of America.

As a child growing up in the aftermath of the second world war, we were subject to food rationing and poor but happy as our families attempted to keep a roof over our heads, to feed us and ensure we went to school.Eventually in the 50's there was television for a hour in the evening, I was in bed by 6.30pm every night of the week until I was 10 and then it was raised to 7.30pm. It was a strict household my father was a policeman of the old school and so I had to behave but a sense of "Duty" was bred into me. This "Duty" was about love for your parents and your country and the Queen.

There was no state care at that time so when elderly parents fell ill it was the "Duty" of the children to take care of them, there was no need to think about it, it was there from being born!

This sense of "Duty" had been there in the majority of the British public for centuries and when called on to fight for "their Country" they enlisted freely and without waiting for call up papers.

Call it indoctrination if you will, but there are still families in this Country who follow this code and without them we would have no armed forces to protect our shores or air above us. They do a sterling job under sometimes poor direction from successive governments, it is not their fault that they are in Afghanistan or Iraq.

The world has changed we have become or should have become more aware that people are the same the world over, families to feed, a roof to find over their heads and if lucky a school for their children.

We have become a multi-cultural country, how amazing is that, that we as a nation are prepared to open our doors to those less fortunate than ourselves! What does that say about us, yes we are limited in area and capacity but we do our very best as a nation to help others get a start in the world and through doing that show that we are not afraid to do this wonderful thing.

I am British,born in England, I love my Country,It is a little poorer at the moment financially so what, I was never rich and unless the lottery finger points my way perhaps never will be, but there is something that is forever British in my heart and will stay there til I die!

xxsymxx

[white_wizard]

Originally Posted by crinkle62

I'm not British...... i'm ENGLISH

im not british either,,,,,,,,,im ENGLISH also as a soldier been there seen it done it,,,,,,

[phattP]

IF...you consider yourself 'English'and your 'English' daughter meets and falls in love with a guy and has his child..
AND..the guy happens to be the son (born and raised in England) of an immigrant (polish,Indian,maybe Irish or Scottish even)
WOULD.. you say that your grandchild is not 'English' and therefore should be deported to the country that his/her father came from?
NOTE:- THIS IS NOT A STATEMENT..MERELY A QUESTION ...have a nice day all

[6CACTUSJACK6]

Ok,to be honest i can feel myself becoming a racist,that lot who burnt the poppies was the last straw for me.
There are decent asians i guess,not the ones filling the prisons,or cheating the benefit system or bringing drugs into the country or running sweat shops or bringing in illegals,no i mean the honest hardworking folk.These asians are the ones who say they are disgusted with the actions of the extremists.
They are that disgusted they do absolutly nothing about it.

if you wasn't born here and aint got a job then clear out.

[crinkle62]

If my daughter ever had children and they were born in England, then yes, they will be English...if they were born in Scotland, they would be Scottish etc etc etc....
Anyone can be British nowadays by moving here from wherever they feel they want to come from and for whatever reason...but they will NEVER be English, and from what has happened recently in the news, and in the past, they dont even seem to want to be British so why come here in the first place if you cant/wont abide by our beliefs as we have to in most countrys on a visit!!!!!?
And no, i'm not racist, its just my patience is growing really really thin !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TheTexan]

I just have to say it is not a British thing alone, here in the US we are having some of the same issues. The question becomes are you (and I mean your country) for isolationism, or globalization?

In a global market if you want to continue to grow your economy you have to sell your goods outside your country and hence you are going to have to take some imports too. Likewise people are going to move in and out.

There is a significant loss of common decency since biblical times but not much has changed, just the delivery methods.

With the advent of the Internet now school yard bullies have a whole new world of people to pick on. Globalization of goods and services has made the top 10% of the businesses seek other ways to increase profit by using cheap labor in under developed countries.

Will we, as individuals accept what is dealt to us, or stand up? If you stand up it is called revolution. If you act against your government it is called anarchy or sedition. If you act against other governments it is called terrorism. A free voice is never free and those who stand by and let bad things happen rather than face possible exile are no better than the criminals.

In our country we have a vote, and win or lose, if the vote is cast then you have to live with the results, for a while anyway.

Not an easy topic, for anyone, no matter what your opinion, even if your opinion is none.

On a personal level the question is responsibility, are you accountable for your actions or do you consistently blame others for your situation?

On a national basis, at what point does the culture become more important than those who make it up?

On the topic of government, are you more afraid of the government, or the government of you? Is the government not here to support and enforce the will of the people? If it is not doing that, what are you doing to change it?

Change is inevitable, where will we be in 50 year, 100 years, 1000 years? Will the world shrink to the point that we have to colonize space to make room for the global population that is filled with criminals, or will good people finally take a stand for what is right over what is wrong? Do we even know what is wrong anymore with TV, Media, Internet and Movies that continue to desensitize us to violence and encourage us to do whatever feels good and then find someone to blame for our behavior?

And in the end...who will enforce the will of the people?

[symbolon]

More question than answers I think ........ not real qualified to answer them but in the context of this forum and my own life I'll give it a try.

Voting supposedly gives us the right to select government but what if whatever government you choose, it will go down the same path of semi- corruption. Even honest Joe ( not the plumber ) if he stood for election what is to say that in some way his ideal will be corrupted because to get the bill that he wants through he has to trade away something else. It's the market place of politics.

My own feelings are about the smaller world, the world around you, neighbours , friends , strangers even, I treat them the only way I know and that is by being friendly and hope that it is reciprocated if not then I smile and walk away. No animosity, no anger, they are unnecessary feelings and should be suppressed.

We should all be accountable for our actions, responsibility is good, no point in blaming somebody else for something you have done.

Change is inevitable and in a way I'm pleased I won't be here in 50years or more. It will be a tough world that requires adaptation to survive.

We have changed very little in 2000years, other than technology, will technology be our enforcer of the future?

xxsymxx

[telboy]

[white_wizard]

Originally Posted by phattP

IF...you consider yourself 'English'and your 'English' daughter meets and falls in love with a guy and has his child..
AND..the guy happens to be the son (born and raised in England) of an immigrant (polish,Indian,maybe Irish or Scottish even)
WOULD.. you say that your grandchild is not 'English' and therefore should be deported to the country that his/her father came from?
NOTE:- THIS IS NOT A STATEMENT..MERELY A QUESTION ...have a nice day all

all i said is i am not british i am ENGLISH,,, so wot part dont u understand,, have a nice day

[BIGSMUDGE]

Originally Posted by phattp

if...you consider yourself 'english'and your 'english' daughter meets and falls in love with a guy and has his child..
And..the guy happens to be the son (born and raised in england) of an immigrant (polish,indian,maybe irish or scottish even)
would.. You say that your grandchild is not 'english' and therefore should be deported to the country that his/her father came from?
Note:- this is not a statement..merely a question ...have a nice day all

if a dog is born in a stable , does that make it a horse ??

[maddarcy]

the problem is were humans and we feel for these people who live in 2nd and 3rd world countries even us aussies have had our racist riots here but ur government and police have to be very strong against riots and racist marches or they will get out of hand and there will be bad people may be white black yellow red brown whatever there all over the world and drugs and drinking politics sport religion help to make it worse .and that nasty game of poker when u loose i get pissed off .............lololo.

[tracey123]

Originally Posted by bigsmudge

if a dog is born in a stable , does that make it a horse ??

lmao smudge

[tracey123]

I FEAR FOR MY COUNTRY.SO MANY TERROISTS BUT WHAT I THINK THEY SHUD DO IS IF ANY TERROIST IS CAUGHT THEN THE WHOLE FAMILY COUSINS AUNTS THE LOT COS THEY DO HAVE LOTS SHUD BE BOOTED OUT NEVER TO COME BK.WHERES THESE MUSLIMS THAT SAY EXTREMISTS ARE WRONG.WHY AINT ANY OF THEM UP DOIN RALLIES.PREACHING THE COUNTY THATS ITS WRONG TO BE EXTREMEISTS.IM NOT FOR ONE GIVIN MY THOUGHTS BUT ALL THIS IS GETTING TO ME
WHERE I LiVE I RECON THERES 85%ASIANS.AND YOU GET TO THE STAGE WHERE U BEGIN NOT TO LIKE THEM.EVEN IF THEY AINT DONE WRONG.WHERE I LIVE IMMIGRANTS GET A HOUSE THATS DONE UP FROM THE COUNCIL.THEY GET BRAND NEW FURNITURE AND £3000 FOR A CAR.THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE GENUINELY HOMELESS AND THERE ARE HOUSES EMPTY.BUT THESE EMPTY HOUSES ARE FOR IMMIGRANTS WHO AINT EVEN IN THE COUNTRY.NOW THAT IS OUT OF ORDER.IT SHOULD BE THE ENGLISH WHO GETS THEM HOUSES WHO HAS PROBERLY WORKED MOST THEIR LIVES AND FOR NO FAULT OF THERE OWN HAS LOST THEIR HOUSE AND HAD NO CHOICE.WE SHOULD LOOK AFTER OUR OWN 1ST AND FOREMOST