My Love-Hate Feelings For Britain and "Rule, Britania!"

[JimBowie1958]

I was raised told that I was an Irish-American, and being a book worm I read a lot of history and I took the Irish side of almost everything. Which meant of course that I learned to detest the English, bastards.

Imagine my shock when I finally got the time to dig into my ancestry and found out I am like 3/4ths English. Our family actually had a barony for like five centuries on the Isle of Wight. Fuck.

So my hard heartedness toward the Brits has mellowed some. I am also about a quarter Scottish and I like that; at least it isnt English.

Love the Scotish Highlanders a long time ago, but grudgingly. Cant hardly beat that old "thin red line"

And then there is this probably most patriotic song ever written.



When Britain fi-i-irst, at heaven's command,
Aro-o-o-o-ose from out the a-a-a-zure main,
Arose, arose from out the azure main,
This was the charter, the charter of the land,
And guardian a-a-angels sang this strain:
Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves
Britons never, never, never will be slaves.
Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.
Britons never, never, never will be slaves.
Still more maje-e-estic shalt thou rise,
More dre-e-e-e-eadful from each foreign stroke,
More dreadful, dreadful from each foreign stroke,
Loud blast above us, loud blast that tears the skies
Serves but to ro-o-o-ot thy native oak.
Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.
Britons never, never, never will be slaves.
Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.
Britons never, never, never will be slaves.

And of course the history of self rule, freedom and the Magna Charta and all that which was the fertile ground for our American political heritage and Gods final ultimate crowning glory of Nature, TEXANS, causes me to give the English more credit than I ever did before.

But it just feels very weird to me.

 

[Syriusly]

Should you hate America because our country had slaves?

There is no question that Great Britain treated Ireland(and many other places and people) terribly. But I think that could be said of almost any country- certainly any country that has ever been any sort of a power.

Look to what the country stands for now. Don't judge a country on what people 300 years ago did.

 

[Auld Phart]

I was raised told that I was an Irish-American, and being a book worm I read a lot of history and I took the Irish side of almost everything. Which meant of course that I learned to detest the English, bastards.

Imagine my shock when I finally got the time to dig into my ancestry and found out I am like 3/4ths English. Our family actually had a barony for like five centuries on the Isle of Wight. Fuck.

So my hard heartedness toward the Brits has mellowed some. I am also about a quarter Scottish and I like that; at least it isnt English.

Love the Scotish Highlanders a long time ago, but grudgingly. Cant hardly beat that old "thin red line"

View attachment 101763

And then there is this probably most patriotic song ever written.



When Britain fi-i-irst, at heaven's command,
Aro-o-o-o-ose from out the a-a-a-zure main,
Arose, arose from out the azure main,
This was the charter, the charter of the land,
And guardian a-a-angels sang this strain:
Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves
Britons never, never, never will be slaves.
Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.
Britons never, never, never will be slaves.
Still more maje-e-estic shalt thou rise,
More dre-e-e-e-eadful from each foreign stroke,
More dreadful, dreadful from each foreign stroke,
Loud blast above us, loud blast that tears the skies
Serves but to ro-o-o-ot thy native oak.
Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.
Britons never, never, never will be slaves.
Rule Britannia!
Britannia rule the waves.
Britons never, never, never will be slaves.

And of course the history of self rule, freedom and the Magna Charta and all that which was the fertile ground for our American political heritage and Gods final ultimate crowning glory of Nature, TEXANS, causes me to give the English more credit than I ever did before.

But it just feels very weird to me.

My ancestry is English, Scottish, Irish, and German.

My ancestors didn't get along with anyone.

(including each other)

 

[whitehall]

The Irish couldn't catch a break in the mid 19th century. They either starved to death during the "potato famine" when the British landlords refused to help them out or they sailed to the New World without a shilling in their pockets and were immediately drafted to be used as cannon fodder in the Civil War. The Brits had a shot at government by the people instead of deranged monarchs when they executed King Charles but they chickened out and called the dead king's son back from exile when they couldn't take the responsibility that came with freedom. For some reason they still spend their hard earned money supporting a quirky family of quasi-monarchs today.