The following is purely a personal opinon and intended to offend nobody
:
I think part of the reason why there is such a marked difference in the attitudes toward 'patriotism' is the relative age of the countries.
By the time mass media was adopted on a large scale by the West, Britain had existed long enough for it's population to become aware of the fact that the government didn't always represent it's wishes. It's also fair to say that 'we' peaked, as nation, before mass media like TV was around, so large chunks of the people never got to hear about major victories and achievements until long afterwards.
In the US, however, the country's growth has been alongside the growth of the various media industries, meaning that the government has been able to be media savvy and manipulate it in a way that older countries' governments would have loved to do, but weren't able. Patriotism has been drummed into American citizens in a way the British government could ony dream of, since achievements can be boasted about and reinforced
as they happen.. If we'd had TV in Quenn Victoria's time, I bet it would have been much easier to find fervently patriotic British people.
From watching various US news programs, I know that the view they are presented with on numerous topics (Iraq being one), from various sources is markedly different from the way such events are broadcast in the UK. Although on nothing like the same scale, it remnds me of the Germans who were outraged when their country surrendered at the end of WW1, since the media had given them the impression they were winning.
Important: that is NOT a dig at Americans, I appreciate the average person has no control over what gets shown on TV, and if the same things were broadcast in the UK, we would probably have grown up with many of the same attitudes. I also know that many aren't 'taken in' by any skewed reporting, but even the most ardent flag wavers would have to admit that many people do accept whatever is shown to them as gospel.
Add to the media influence the fact, that by the time the US was colonized, people were able and willing to travel much further than during Britain's early days. This allowed for the development and maintenance of a national identity far more easily and across a much larger area than in older countries where some people might spend their whole lives within a few miles of where they were born.
Without rambling on for too long (too late, I hear you say
), I'll end there.
(and apologies if I've spoiled anybody's rant by trying to make a few points.
)
Would it be a slight bit more accurate to do a 'It's my opinion that... blah, blah, blah...' as a preface to your comment?
, that part of the UK's lack of patriotism is due in part because of the royal thing. Having been considered a second class person all our life, etc, etc... Just a thought - please don't anyone take it the wrong way...
