Being English Part 2

Well i had so many responses about my last post that I've had to think about it more. Before i went on a bit of a patriotic rant and forgot what i was writing about. As Alistair correctly mentioned there is no such thing as ethnic English. However, I've said before that there is a difference between ethnicity and nationality. Ethnically the English are traditionally Germanic or Scandinavian with a mix of va va voom from across the channel. England though is in the globalised world,ethnicity in England is no longer consigned to white fair haired people. For well over a hundred years we have had a mixture of races especially Caribbean and Indian. Therefore our ethnicity is not what being English is. The English and American are not the same even though we have similar ethnic roots.

So being English in the modern day is complicated. I went to school with Caucasians, Chinese, Indian, African, Caribbean and Latin and to be honest i never really thought about Englishness in that way. I'm not naive enough to think it's always been like that. Being a English man now though, i feel should mean that we don't look at the colour of one skin and although there is racism, it is a hardcore minority. Trust me when i say in other countries there a majority who hold racist views. So I think we can be proud of that.

I think to be English means that we have pride in our heritage and development into a multi-cultural country (our national dish is curry). We also have a sense of arrogance that we are rightly at the upper echelons of world society. We are the noble and wise who has dealt with a falling empire. We don''t ask anybody for anything (or least we think that). We strive when the odds are against us and where we have to work as a nation against an enemy (the fact that Prime Ministers tend to get reelected during war time suggests this). We are a nation that will happily laugh at ourselves (when we're doing the joking) and we have a unique sense of sarcasm and humour that other countries (Americans in particular) just don't understand.

I remember sitting in an hostel in Chongqing watching the closing ceremony of the Olympic games when London did it's thing and Boris Johnson waved the flag. I couldn't stop laughing (as well as be embarrassed). The Chinese around me were in shock that i would laugh at my own country and make jokes about my own country. This is not unpatriotic just a unique sense of humour. Our coolness transcends into our music and films. It is this Englishness that people abroad find so honest.

To be English is to appreciate family life and personal time. We take orders from no one not even family but offer advice to everyone. We like to drink (sometimes too much) and complain about the weather. That is just what we do. We are scared of the unknown but in times of hardship we will offer assistance.

I say we but I should say I because I can't speak for all English. We are all different that's what makes us unique. Every country will have it's own positives and negatives. I used to be slightly ashamed of my country, we have done some awful things but we have also achieved some of the most the amazing feats known to man. We have contributed to the world we live in and that is a lot more than some countries I could mention. So now i am not ashamed of being English because after travelling around I've come to realise that although on the face of it countries may look great with new infrastructure and beautiful sights. Socially they are a million miles away from being English, where no matter your race, sexuality, status you can go to the pub and have a beer with the person next to you with no fear of persecution.

But maybe my English arrogance is coming out again. I'm sure Alistair will tell me.