England

[Bruv]

We English need to get over the idea that we are the center of the earth, but rather only part of it and a less important part every day. We don’t have the best health care system, or the best education system, we no longer graduate the best and brightest engineers and scientists, we don’t live the longest life or have the lowest infant mortality rate, our portion of the world economy is shrinking each year, we are in debt to the world up to our eyeballs and our people find it easier every year to seek answers not in their own efforts, but from government.


In short, we need to get over ourselves and get back to work on the basics, we need to take personal responsibility and to better understand what a globalized world means to the future of the UK in the decades ahead. We need to be part of that world and a leader because other people respect us and our accomplishments not because we rest on our laurels.

Taken from another forum UK substituted for USA.....any opinions ?

Originally Posted by Bruv2

Taken from another forum UK substituted for USA.....any opinions ?

Sort of self deprecating view that has led us to where we are today.

[Bruv]

Originally Posted by churchill

Sort of self deprecating view that has led us to where we are today.

Or a reality check ?

That would be the case if all the jingoistic assumptions made by the poster were actually true. I've not met many English who think that England is the centre of the earth, and so on. I think most acknowlege that the UK's importance on the world scene is relatively insignificant now, we haven't been a world power for over half a century. Personally I think the death knell was Hong Kong. Although our lease on Kowloon was running out, we actually legally owned the island. The chinese said, give it back, or we'll cut the water supply off and surround the place with armour to which even Thatcher could only reply with, do it, but the world will be watching, alluding to the amount of trouble she could cause, but essentially couldn't do a damn thing about it.

The collapsed empire idea is outdated, the world is moving far too fast now in terms of technological development and politics.

[Bruv]

As I said, the words are by an American about America, I actually cut a lot out.
I thought it worth posting, to promote discussion.

Same argument applies really.

[poppy]

That is so American I expected it to have 'with god on our side' and 'leader of the free world' in it somewhere I think the English stopped thinking that way after the decline of the Raj.
No it doesn't apply, I think we see ourselves more as a third world country now depleted and ravaged by several decades of bad government and mismanagement

Originally Posted by churchill

I've not met many English who think that England is the centre of the earth,

Light touch paper;

"Germany is FAR superior to that pile of shite island off the coast of France, with only their in bred imbicility to keep them company, and a half liter of second hand clothes washing water that when warmed up, they SERIOUSLY call "beer"(???!!!)."

Retire to safe distance and watch.

Originally Posted by von Clausewitz

Light touch paper;

"Germany is FAR superior to that pile of shite island off the coast of France, with only their in bred imbicility to keep them company, and a half liter of second hand clothes washing water that when warmed up, they SERIOUSLY call "beer"(???!!!)."

Retire to safe distance and watch.

I've not met any Germans who have voiced that view about their country before either. But then again, you've spent too much time here imho!

Can't argue about the beer part though, anybody who's been further than Spain on holiday knows that British beer is piss.

[Sweetpea]

Not quite as pissy as American beer however. But hey ho, I don't drink beer.

And Von, I think just about anybody is 'Superior' to us at the moment. We all know it.