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Sure I do try and respect those I disagree with - I don't see that as a negative.
I wouldn't disrespect someone entirely over just one aspect of their personality either. I am being a bit feisty about this. Ultimately I just see it as dangerous to allow nationalistic jingoism any more air than it's getting recently. Too many wishy washy arguments about it's ok for this reason or that. All that does is empowers the worst kind of nationalism in the dark recesses of peoples minds. We built the Spitfire because we're the greatest nation on earth sort of bullsh*t.
I just don't see an example of nationalism that doesn't have an air of superiority about it and there are plenty of other ways to galvanise people so we could just drop that one. I guess I'm just triggered!
Regarding intelligence, I call it as I see it. So many people unable to break out of very simple traps in life. Not really lazy, just working at the limit of their problem solving capacity and lacking the ability to solve anything more complex. Hanging on to a flawed model they have of how life should work because that's what they've learnt to do. Some well educated people lacking intelligence too. If people were as interested in economics or global politics as they are in 'strictly' I might change my mind.
Airhead-
I just see it as dangerous to allow nationalistic jingoism any more air than it's getting recently.
Well, we're agreed on that! My (respectful ) disagreement is that I think it would be helpful if there was more - discussion rather than air - given to other aspects of national identity. For me there are similarities with gender (bear with me) - it's a social construct and you could say we'd be better off without it. But whether the media are shit or there's no logic to identifying a certain way, it doesn't change the fact that it matters to people. It just does. We don't say - well misogyny is the worst, so let's not allow any discussion of gender. You can't just force people to "drop it". Maybe it would be better to create examples that aren't about backwards misplaced superiority.
hoefla
I did grow up here, and no-one gets to tell me that I don't belong. If you think I don't feel confident enough to tell people that to their face, you're wrong :)
Sure I do try and respect those I disagree with - I don't see that as a negative.
However I'm not holding back out of lack of confidence, I genuinely do think national identity - as a widespread social construct that people to varying degrees hold close to their own sense of identity - is more complex than just thinking England is better than the rest of the world.
And I do think reducing it down to that is dangerous in the wider sense because it gives many people no room for their own identity. I do think if we had a healthier understanding and discussion about what being English or what being British could be, in all its various forms, perhaps we wouldn't be in this situation. You say there's little intelligence to go round - I believe treating people as if they're unintelligent is more to blame, unfortunately that's something that has built up over decades.