Well no, the EU is much more than just a business deal, which is the main reason anti-EU sentiment is so popular. A re-structuring of the EU, or at least a re-negotiation of our relationship with it would probably be enough to satisfy most EU sceptics. I for one would be much happier with a trade agreement such as Norway or Switzerland have.
Sorry, are you saying the anti-EU sentiment is
because the EU isn't a business deal? If it was just about playing happy buggers with the rest of Europe I can't see how anyone would mind. It's the laws, policies and money which, by the way, culminates in a business deal that people are unhappy about.
Just in case anyone was wondering, the European trading bloc is still a thing also, even if we were out of the EU we'd still have trade, only we could set the import tax and not a body that has no interest in our little island whatsoever. Which is why it's a good thing like Penty says. Yay, I get to agree about something!
I'd say its not. I'm pretty sure I don't many people who are afraid of losing their cultural identity, your own cultural identity is a private thing and unless you're scared that immigrants are actually going to brainwash you then there really is no logical reason to believe you'll lose it due to immigration. Not to mention the fact that the volume of immigrants is not nearly as great as made out to be by right leaning media.
And of course culture is not a static thing, much of our current culture is brought from outside of britain in the first place. Well all of it is if you go back far enough. But what if I were to live outside of the UK for a while? I might well pick up new cultural influences that might not fit in with conventional british cultural identity. So would I now be unwelcome? Afterall I'm probably more likely to influence my british friends and family than a group of economic migrants are.
This will take a bit of writing. And it's just plain wrong that the media is right biased when the opposite is true. UKIP candidates get singled out constantly for minor slip ups whereas frequently LD and Lab are made out to be pulling the country back, which is also wrong given how we're doing better (projections and short term) economically with Conservative economics than Labour.
I don't know how often you go to any of the big cities but it's now difficult to argue that cultural identity in
some places is compromised. London, the very capital of our country has areas where UK law is superceded by Sharia, same with Manchester. Segments of cities cut themselves off from the rest, don't speak our language, have their own schools, dives, whatever. It's here in Northampton btw as well, which isn't exactly a big place. In and of itself it's fine, small communities of different nationalities are great, they add so much character and vibrancy but these communities are constantly growing and usually at a rate much higher than the native population.
I
love culture, I'm always learning new languages to better integrate myself in foreign countries I can speak decent French, Spanish, Italian with basics in Swedish, German, Portuguese and Arabic. This is not me speaking out of fear or anger or racism or anything like that. Picking up cultural traits is brilliant, I wouldn't for an instant want a purely British country, like many others all I'm saying is that, for now, we have enough people here.
Economic migrants? Not all, not even close and these are the ones that usually learn English and integrate themselves. It's not about influencing people so much, having other cultures influence you helps build a fondness towards them and, hell, we only live 80 years give or take, it's about influencing the area, the architecture etc.
So should the descendants of slavers and racists in America be proud of said ancestors? Should I be proud of my ancestors who violently conquered a vast empire for their own vanity and greed and started the previously mentioned slave trade? There's plenty of armadillo to go along with the "greatness" of my ancestors and I'd rather not tarnish myself with that thanks. I'd say I take some pride in being british, in being part of a society that is largely tolerant and welcoming to alternative ways of life. But more importantly I'd say I'm grateful to have been brought up in such a society.
The problem with nationalism is that it can blind people to the faults in their own nation and lead to them looking outside for someone to blame instead of tackling the real roots of their problems. I suspect America would be a better place if its inhabitants were more open to introspection and willing to acknowledge their own faults. Not that the same doesn't apply for us of course.
The British Empire is still talked about in India as being the best thing to happen to it. Vanity and greed? It's sentiments like this that just have no bearing at all, does anyone know the motivations for carving an Empire? Maybe they did it on a whim for armadillos and giggles, for power and respect, so that France wouldn't laugh at us? Nope, don't think so. Creating an Empire is a monetary investment which is what brings it prestige, not the amount of land you own but how well you can develop it. You acquire a piece of land, peacefully through agreements or not, either way, it doesn't matter all that much (for the next step, not ethically, that's another barrel). Then, because the indigenous population isn't as technologically advanced you bring in these technologies, ways of thinking, etc and uplift them. They may resist due to unfamiliarity or not understand the change at first but after it has been integrated the population sees it for what it is. With India it went well until the East India Company started doing dick things and the Sepoys mutinied but whatever, that was the fault of the admin, not the procedure of colonisation.
That is the ideal scenario. It's the goal but it doesn't always work out that way as I'm sure you can provide many examples of.
The slave trade, welp this'll be a can of worms and things are likely going to be taken out of context but here goes. Hate to use such a pointless argument but if the roles were reversed (the slaves were the slavers of the time and vice versa) you think they would have done anything differently? Nope. We aren't at fault for it, there is no need for anyone for a few generations now to have anything to be sorry about over it. Wasn't us, it was our ancestors. Yes their accomplishments were built on the backs of slaves but they still did great things they just went about doing them totally wrong. It doesn't excuse them but taken as separate as they should be, great things were done. Railways, factories, steam power, proper industrialisation. We made the world better for having those things, British inventors and engineers. So yes, overall I can say that yep, I'm proud to be a part of this nation. I firmly believe all nations
are introspective of themselves even if they appear not to be at all. Even France.
UKIP have done well in the European elections, no denying that and while they themselves are set to thinking that this will translate into the general elections, I'm pretty skeptical. I think what will happen though is that at least some parties will take notice that the things that UKIP are about are real issues that concern a good size of the population and hopefully at least think about.
It's easy to take swings at the government but a lot more difficult to acknowledge what the problem actually is, can any of us know? Nope, we don't have access to the collection of data that they do, we have to trust our government that they are making the right decision, and if they aren't then we use democracy to its fullest.