Good posting there Marek Luther King
Let me just clarify something - I actually LIKE the UK, and if you read my posting properly you'll see I am lamenting the situation as someone who has a sense of national pride, NOT as someone who hates the UK. I am FED UP with the constant battering we get at being told how crap we always are.
One that I forgot to add (which Claire reminded me about) was one in which UK children are the unhappiest in Europe:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/uk-children-the-unhappiest-in-europe-says-study-415387.html
Once again I ask you - is it any surprise when all of our self-worth is being constantly undermined by the media, by politicians, and by the politically-correct b*****ds who only care about their own twisted agenda? Or do we once again simply refuse to believe the headline?
It really doesn't matter how much we choose to ignore the headlines. They keep coming. That's why I compared it to a form of social torture - like Chinese water torture - you can ignore it so long but eventually, when that boot stamps on your face long enough, you start to feel its effects.
I like the UK, and I agree with almost everything on Claire's posting (which she posted to contrast mine), and I am not knocking the UK. I am knocking the forced opinions that we are constantly bombarded with, having rammed down our throats, by those who influence our thoughts and views.
Charles de Gaulle quotes : "Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first."
Sadly, even patriotism is frowned upon in the Uk these days.