Recently it has become frowned upon to have pride in one's country of birth and I think that is a great shame. Liking our wonderful flag is also condemned as being nationalistic and in some way condoning past sins of colonialism and the slave trade. That is not at all what it represents to me. There are many things wrong with our country but having lived around the world due to my work, I have chosen to return and live back in the UK because it is still Great.
I am sixty seven years old and despite my age, neither myself, nor my parents or even my grand parents were alive during the period when Britain along with most other European countries were invading and annexing countries around the world. For me the name 'Great Britain' and the Union Jack reflect how I feel as a result of more recent history and how grateful I am for all the opportunities that this country has provided me with. If a flag is to be associated with acts that took place hundreds of years ago then nearly every country in the world would be equally affected and flags in general should be banned. The title of this post was going to be a question 'Is Great Britain Still Great' but I changed it because I believe that although damaged, it really is without doubt, still a great country.
I was born and educated in Wales, moved to Scotland for 30 years, lived in Azerbaijan for 10 years, shorter periods in other countries of varying cultures but decided to come back and live near London. Having experience of living in Wales and Scotland, I can understand the wish to have independence because culturally we are different but I really do believe that we are also far stronger together as the United Kingdom.
I am not going to list all the things I consider to be good about the UK, because they are my perceptions based on my own particular experiences but there are some things that stand out and must be protected at all costs. Tolerance, freedom of speech and lack of endemic corruption!
Despite the impression given by keyboard warriors on social media, British people are in general extremely tolerant whether it is with regard to different cultures, religions or political views. The country is going through huge changes and further tolerance plus a degree of give and take will be needed if the integration process is to be successful. We still have remarkable freedom of speech but this must be protected because the rise of cancel culture threatens to prevent people from speaking their minds. Freedom of speech comes along with the risk of being offended but I believe that it has to be protected at all costs. Having lived in a number of countries where corruption is endemic and especially affects the disadvantaged, the relative lack of corruption in the UK is a breath of fresh air.
Politicians have let the British people down and our form of democracy is not perfect, but we all have a chance to make some difference through the ballot box and it looks likely that there will be such a chance in the near future.
I am still proud of my country although extremely frustrated by our inept government and the low standard of politicians in general. It is a great shame that there is a vocal minority that seems to relish running down our country and damaging it in the process. To these people I would suggest that they live and work in other countries and then just as I did they may decide that Great Britain is not such a bad place after all.
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