Not a patriot

It's trendy these days to back patriotism and nationalism. Meaning being proud of your country, overlooking its faults and shortcomings, and regarding other countries as second-rate.

Well, I'm not joining the trend. I'm not at all proud of my country, I'm well aware of all its faults and shortcomings, and I think there are plenty of countries that are doing better than ours.

What's to be proud of? A failing economy? Collapsing public services? Widespread misogyny and trolling? Rampant racism? It's not a country to be proud of but one to be embarrassed by.

I was last proud of my country probably in the 1970s, when there was a definite sense of a society that looked after its most vulnerable citizens and wanted everyone to have a satisfying life. I grew up at a time when there were no tuition fees, unemployment benefit was generous, and salaries and working conditions were much better than they are now.

It's just embarrassing when the government flaunts union jacks at its news conferences. Or when people wear union jack tee shirts. Or when football fans wave the St George's flag, the flag of England. Are they really proud of their country? It's hard to believe.

But it's awkward when I happen to live in a country I'm not in any way proud of. I tend to sidestep any conversation that turns to patriotism unless I know the person shares my own views. It could turn nasty.

Accidentally British

It doesn't surprise me in the least that a Facebook test on Britishness showed that the Polish are more British than we are.

Having always found the whole idea of national loyalty idiotic, I find it quite predictable that so many natives haven't a clue how often the Cabinet meets or how many people live in Wales. Who gives a toss anyway?

Apart from the fact that my Britishness is a complete accident, since I had no choice where I was born, surely the important question is not how British you are but how civilised you are - meaning how much you care about fairness, equality and democracy.

What's the point of knowing the Cabinet meets once a week if you're also a narrow-minded bigot who wants all immigrants to be deported and all homosexuals to be castrated? If that's being British, I'd rather not be thought of as British myself, thanks very much.

In fact I've never seen myself as British, there are far too many British traits I'm either indifferent to or hate intensely. At the same time there are many features of other countries that I admire hugely, like Italian cuisine and the Irish lack of a monarchy or honours system.

It makes no sense that I should be loyal to a particular country whose boundary is a mere historical quirk. If things had gone differently, we could just as well be part of France or Spain - or Russia.

And I find it most encouraging that Poles (and also the Finnish, Swedish, Germans and New Zealanders) know more about Britain than we do. It shows how many people are looking beyond the narrow confines of their own countries and seeking inspiration from the cultural diversity of the entire planet.

See also Jenny's post "Me a Nationalist?"

Footnote: I dedicate this 100th post to the one and only Medbh, who has just put up her 1000th post!