What Makes You Proud To Be British?

BrianW said:
Why should I be proud of something I did not earn or achieve? It's like being proud of winning the lottery.

If I had come here from some random country and earned the right of citizenship through hard work and good conduct, I might well be proud of that.

If we were somehow to end poverty, have the best education system in Europe, and provide housing for all who need it, I might start to feel proud of the country's achievements. With regard to history, I am neither proud nor ashamed of it. I had no agency before I was born. I did not storm the beaches on D-Day, nor did I go to Africa and enslave people.
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Most folk would excuse themselves from the equation but if you think having pride in your country is just about your achievements - and you've contributed nothing to the greater good & indeed gained nothing from others - that's pretty sad.
 
It's starts with your family and then moves out to wider rings. Your tribe/street/community...city....region....country...continent...planet. Human nature.
 
I'm proud of the natural wonder of Britain from the mountains to the coast and everything in-between.
I'm also proud of engineering feats like the Forth, Tay, Royal Albert and Britannia bridges, the Severn Tunnel and London Underground.
I'm even proud of the modern engineering projects like the Severn and Humber bridges, The Shard and the Channel Tunnel.
I've no interest in the royal family and all the military pageants around them. I'm also not keen on the way society is going, with everyone just looking out for themselves.
However, I think it's great that you can still go to a pub, a gig or the football and strike up a conversation with a complete stranger and find a bit of common ground.
 
What a hard question to answer.

Never really cared much about the royals, much to the disappointment of my late uncle (we won the CL, Chris and you’ve have loved it). He was a hard line royalist.

When the Queen passed and the coverage of the entire thing was broadcast worldwide, including the funeral, for the first time in my life I felt proud that family was what people around the world think of when they think of Great Britain. The pomp, the tradition. It was quite the thing.

Two years later I couldn’t give a shiny fuck about them again (sorry Chris) and if Charles was to pop it I would rather watch a re run of Friends than tune into that again.
 
johnny crossan said:
New Survey currently being 'discussed' on Sky News - here's an older one
View attachment 130796
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From that I'd say the NHS, the armed forces, our culture and arts (particularly our literary output over the centuries), and there are still many British businesses that pack a punch. I don't think we have a complete democracy so I would never answer that.

Nonetheless, I agree with others that being proud of where you're from is somewhat strange and cocksure. It's something you have no control over. Any achievements an individual may make in life, or any their children make make; well that's something you can certainly be proud of.
 
staffsblue said:
I'm proud of the natural wonder of Britain from the mountains to the coast and everything in-between.
I'm also proud of engineering feats like the Forth, Tay, Royal Albert and Britannia bridges, the Severn Tunnel and London Underground.
I'm even proud of the modern engineering projects like the Severn and Humber bridges, The Shard and the Channel Tunnel.
I've no interest in the royal family and all the military pageants around them. I'm also not keen on the way society is going, with everyone just looking out for themselves.
However, I think it's great that you can still go to a pub, a gig or the football and strike up a conversation with a complete stranger and find a bit of common ground.
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It is a beautiful country, no doubt. The sad thing is many don't realise just how scenic the British Isles are.
 
Blue and true said:
From that I'd say the NHS, the armed forces, our culture and arts (particularly our literary output over the centuries), and there are still many British businesses that pack a punch. I don't think we have a complete democracy so I would never answer that.

Nonetheless, I agree with others that being proud of where you're from is somewhat strange and cocksure. It's something you have no control over. Any achievements an individual may make in life, or any their children make make; well that's something you can certainly be proud of.
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Being proud only really happens when the govt of the day sanction flag waving at the Olympics or any other sporting event.
 
Blue and true said:
It is a beautiful country, no doubt. The sad thing is many don't realise just how scenic the British Isles are.
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Very varied for a small country too. Obviously most tourists head to Cornwall, The Lake District or Snowdonia, but there's loads of hidden gems like the Pembrokeshire coast, Northumberland, Northern Ireland and most of Scotland too.
 
MafeotulBlue said:
As a foreigner ( 13 years in the UK ) i have to say, i've been forever touched by the following:

- your strong attitude towards adversity
- your sarcasm and humour
- your brilliance in engineering
- your brilliant pies
- your pubs and pub culture
- the love and care you show to your parks and museums and history
- chips and gravy
- Greggs
- basically Yorkshire tea
- football and Formula 1
- the way you treat pets and animals, its very rare outside the uk.

Many many things really, but there's a couple.
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You can stick yer paella up yer arse
 
I'm more proud to be Scottish than be British, suspect that's the same from an English man's perspective
 
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