http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2133422/St-Georges-Day-2012-Give-England-anthem-demand-MPs.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
I have always thought it strange that when England competes as a nation, God Saves the Queen is played. That is the British national anthem, and Scotland/Wales have their own anthems.
I think that it goes further than merely just song choice though....there is definitely a lack of English or British pride in this country. If you look at countries like Scotland and Wales...they have a lot more pride in their country. If you look around the world, most countries have a lot more national pride than we do. I think the article does get the reasons right....politicians and the perceived "racism" and retarded far right groups. I bet that some people look at this thread and think "Racist"...which pretty much sums up the stereotype that we need to shake off. I think a lot of people have bought into this idea that being English/British and having national pride makes you racist....which has generally put people off of having any pride.
I would couple that with some general resentment for politics in recent years...some stuff which I just can't forgive. The government represents you as a people....so if you don't like your government or you don't like what they are doing...then that can make you lose pride too.
England needs a rousing national anthem of its own to help restore pride in the country, say campaigners.
They have written to the Prime Minister recommending a popular vote to pick a song such as Jerusalem or Land of Hope and Glory to be used at sporting and national events instead of God Save The Queen.
MPs and academics claim that treating the anthem as if it belongs to England ‘undermines an equal claim to British identity and the allegiance of other nations within the United Kingdom’.
They say: ‘When British athletes win gold for Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics, God Save The Queen will play to celebrate.
'However, when it is England who take to the sporting field to play rugby or football, they should be heralded by an English anthem for an English team, just as Flower Of Scotland and Land Of My Fathers are sung as Scottish and Welsh anthems.’
The campaign is launched today, St George’s Day, after a poll showed the English feel more aligned to the Union Flag than the Cross of St George.
Just under a quarter consider the red cross on a white background to be racist because of its association with extreme Right-wing groups.
While 80 per cent of those questioned linked the British flag to patriotic feelings, only 61 per cent associated such emotions with the English flag.
The Welsh and Scots, in contrast, were far more likely to feel pride in their flags of Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon, and St Andrew’s Cross.
The survey, carried out by YouGov for the think tank British Future, analysed how 2,600 respondents throughout the UK viewed their national identity.
British Future says the results show more must be done to promote ‘English patriotism’ if the Union of countries is to continue.
The think tank report, This Sceptred Isle, blames the ‘extreme street hooligans of the English Defence League’ for ‘toxifying’ the St George’s Cross, although it also criticises politicians for not speaking up ‘for inclusive patriotism of the English majority’.
Despite continued pride in the Union Flag, the report concludes that English anxiety over its own flag could damage the Union.
It states: ‘England, the land of Shakespeare, seems uncertain how to find its modernity. Historically an understated Englishness has been conflated with being British. It is ignoring England that now presents a greater threat to the Union than anything else.’
British Future director Sunder Katwala said: ‘We’ve done nothing in the era of devolution to give a voice to England as well as Scotland and Wales, which has left English identity too open to an extremist fringe.
'The EDL with their street yobbery are not the only ones to blame for the unusual anxiety that too many people in England feel about their own flag of St George.
'They share the blame with the politicians who haven’t spoken up for a modern patriotism, as well as our British identity.
‘While the devolution debates in Scotland and Wales appear to have modernised the Scots and Welsh associations with their flags, attitudes to the English flag are lagging behind.’
Mr Katwala’s appeal is being backed by MPs including Conservative Robert Halfon, Liberal Democrat Greg Mulholland and Labour’s David Lammy and Jon Cruddas.
I have always thought it strange that when England competes as a nation, God Saves the Queen is played. That is the British national anthem, and Scotland/Wales have their own anthems.
I think that it goes further than merely just song choice though....there is definitely a lack of English or British pride in this country. If you look at countries like Scotland and Wales...they have a lot more pride in their country. If you look around the world, most countries have a lot more national pride than we do. I think the article does get the reasons right....politicians and the perceived "racism" and retarded far right groups. I bet that some people look at this thread and think "Racist"...which pretty much sums up the stereotype that we need to shake off. I think a lot of people have bought into this idea that being English/British and having national pride makes you racist....which has generally put people off of having any pride.
I would couple that with some general resentment for politics in recent years...some stuff which I just can't forgive. The government represents you as a people....so if you don't like your government or you don't like what they are doing...then that can make you lose pride too.
