I notice that I've been becoming much more patriotic towards England and the UK over the last couple of years. It's a strange thing really because politically I'm on the left of Marx, but my mothers side is a highly decorated military family with medals ranging up to the MBE and the GC and military lineage stretching back a few hundred years. Maybe all of that indoctrination is finally paying off, I used to be quite opposed to the idea of patriotism but I've reclassified it in my brain I suppose.
I now see my own brand of patriotism as a pretty harmless and somewhat enjoyable celebration of the history of England and of UK rather than some insidious "gateway drug" to nationalism. I've travelled pretty extensively and see no harm in celebrating the achievements of our country in the same manner as many others do.
I don't think the UK is the greatest country in the world and I actually don't think that such a judgement could be made of any country. I do however think that it's a nice place to live. It's a comparatively liberal country where violent crime has consistently fell for decades. We're tolerant and polite as a people, we have national healthcare and benefits available to those who need them. We have an almost unmatched cultural heritage in literature, in music and the arts. We have pushed humanity forward through our innovation and invention and have an excellent scientific history and culture. I personally feel that some parts of our country are beautiful and due to our climate, we have very few dangerous animals or insects. There are sites of historical interest and significance almost everywhere you look.
My point here is that as a country we do have positive points and I don't feel it arrogant or uncouth to point these out every now and again, so we can just take a step back for a day and think about the nice things that we can enjoy in our country and the positive things that we have achieved historically for such a tiny island plonked in the North Atlantic.
I don't follow Christianity so when Easter rolls around I just ignore it and let those who want to celebrate it do so. Same with Yom Kippur and Ramadan. Or non-religious celebrations like Pride Week. We have this tolerance towards the freedom for people to be able to celebrate whatever they want yet in a post-fascist Europe, doing so for one's country is looked at with a mite of distrust. I understand why this is, I just think that there is room for a sensible celebration of the achievements of our own ancestors.
We unite as City fans once or twice a week; a uniting of people who follow a sports club from Manchester and some of whom feel that it represents them or their community. We do the same for the England national team or Team GB at the Olympics. I'm not sure why one day a year outside of St George's Day, a holiday used to commemorate only the English Patron Saint, we cannot have a day where we remember the achievements of the entire UK as a whole.
We can remember the achievements of the UK without being shackled or guided by them
