Lab
See how this opinion breaks down by gender, political spectrum and generation — and who shares your view.
Gender
13 comments
I'm British, I have a lot to be proud of.
Tbf, I generally think it's wrong to take pride in things that you didn't directly have a hand in. I didn't save the widows in India, depose European despots, invent the telephone, the television, the internet, the steam engine so why should I take pride in it? But I do. I can't help it.
My tax money did go into ending slavery though so that's I'm proud of.
I'm also British and I think we should be proud of our country's great history. We are both a product of it. We may not have contributed directly but who we are is shaped by it. No man is an island and so every member of British society helped to bring about the inventions and developments you speak of. We are now doing our part for the future generations as well.
1
Attempting to condense everything the acting members of a country have done into a singularity upon which you deliver a singular position is both futile and dangerous.
It removes your ability to distinguish the good from the bad; it obliterates your ability to analyze current policies logically, and it all but ensures you will be manipulated by those with more power and resources than yourself.
British history contains too many atrocities for me to feel proud of it
- Whilst perhaps not all of British history is bad, enough of it is.
- Even if there was a part I thought was particularly positive, ‘proud’ of any of it is never something I have felt as this history is not something I feel that strongly personally connected to.
- However, I feel connected enough to have certainly felt guilt and shame of its history.
- We learn about our history through a very biased, rose-tinted perspective so that it may be understandable so many are proud of it.
- However, colonialism and the remnants of the British Empire is not something to be proud of, and is still causing harm across the world to this day.
- In my eyes, too many times has Britain has been the villain throughout history.
- I am unable to separate the bad from my history, as in this ‘opinion’ it seems history must been seen in its totality, thus ‘proud’ has never been an appropriate feeling.
The British empire was the best thing that ever happened to my homeland ( Tanzania). They did far more for the infrastructure and institutions than any previous government (or lack thereof). And they helped end the Islamic slave trade in the area which was literally stealing Swahili children from their mothers to become slaves.
If you are ashamed of British history, just be glad you aren't from any other culture because you'd only have more to be ashamed of.
Of course it’s not so black-and-white, but whilst there are good things that I can appreciate in Britain’s history I personally have not felt ‘proud’ of it. ‘Proud’ feels too personal of a word and I am not someone who feels particularly connected to my ancestors. This is just my experience. And as I said, there are too many negative instances of Britain throughout history for me to say I feel anything positive about it overall when viewing history as a whole. The good doesn’t make up for the bad.
I also don’t think it’s right at all to say any other culture would have more to be ashamed of in their history than Britain.
I'm really struggling to think of another culture that has less to be ashamed of than the British. Perhaps there is one, out there somewhere but I can't think of them. Britain since its inception in 1707 has done more good as a culture and civilization than any other I would say. They have also done bad things - they are human like everyone else. But today people still flock from all around the world to Britain because they dream of the advanced, just and equitable society that Britain is in comparison to pretty much the entire rest of the world.
British history isn't one thing to root for or against.
- The history of britain spans thousands of years. No two british historical figures from different eras share anything in common besides the island from which they were born.
- Some British figures contributed to the horrors of colonialism, while others helped to end colonialism in Britain and elsewhere, such as Thomas Clarkson, who rallied support for petitions that led to the Abolition of Slave Trade Act 1807. https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/tradeindustry/slavetrade/overview/parliament-abolishes-the-slave-trade/
- I have no reason to be ashamed of the past crimes of my country, but I have no reason to be proud of the accomplishments of my country, since I wasn't there for either.
- British history should more-so act as something to learn from, rather than something to root for or against. Learning what worked in the past, and trying to implement it into the future will always be much more productive than treating countries and their histories as sports teams.
British history isn't one thing to root for or against.
The history of britain spans thousands of years. No two british historical figures from different eras share anything in common besides the island from which they were born.
American history to me is something to be proud of. Though I did not have a hand in any of these things that I am proud of, I'm still proud. I love my country, everything about it.
Make the case or invite a friend to comment!