Tuesday, 15 March 2005

Good things about English national identity

It seems to be time to talk about this. I say English not British. I am not sure how to differentiate the English and British national identities, as in some ways they were conflated until rather recently - and the reality of these things consists wholly in how they are thought about.


I don't know if any of these things are world-historical contributions to the human species, but I do think they are good things, and add to the gaiety of nations. And perhaps some of these things are close to being lost - politeness would be a case in point - but that is all the more reason to praise them, loud and clear.


Eccentricity


Tolerance for eccentricity


Love of animals


Love of the countryside


Support for the underdog


Politeness


Pragmatism


Belief in fair play

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