r/europe • u/MarktpLatz Lower Saxony (Germany) • Feb 21 '17

What do you know about... the UK?

This is the sixth part of our ongoing weekly series about the countries of Europe. You can find an overview here.

Todays country:

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The UK is the second most populous state in the EU. Famous for once being the worlds leading power, reigning over a large empire, it has recently taken the decision to exit the EU.

So, what do you know about the UK?

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u/kervinjacque French American Feb 22 '17

  • What I know about UK is that it was a great naval power back then and the world went by "Pax Britannica" .

  • Thanks to France, America defeated Great Britain and gave all of us such pleasure.

  • Great Britain is a great country to reside in.

  • I like British accents.

  • British women are pretty hot imo.

  • They built a very beautiful palace called "Crystal Palace" I wish I was alive to see such a beautiful palace finished.

  • The UK has a respectable professional army

  • The UK has a remarkable history and anyone would never get bored learning about what went on in the UK

  • They have the BBC and I LOVE BBC so much!

  • The UK are very into politics and it can get a bit messy and may look like it from an outsiders perspective.

  • The UK is an admirable kingdom and are great at governing colonies. It's why a lot there ex colonies are doing so well, (South Africa , India , America, etc.)

  • The United Kingdom's Empire is something any British citizen should be proud of imo.

  • Also, One direction came from the UK.

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u/[deleted] Feb 23 '17

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u/[deleted] Feb 23 '17

In the context of the times it was normalised behaviour. Had it not been the UK it would have been France or some other nation, and although it is hard to know what alternative reality would be the overall effect has been positive in the view of many people.

This is not to say all actions by the empire were good.

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u/[deleted] Feb 23 '17

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u/[deleted] Feb 23 '17 edited Feb 23 '17

Am I proud that my daughter is trying to exterminate all arachnids? Am I proud that she snatched a toy off her baby sister? Am I proud that my daughter doesn't tidy her room?

No. But I am proud of my daughter because overall the benefits outweigh the negatives. On a country level the bad points may be more evil but the good points are also more elevating.

Promotion of common law, democracy and trade. Freedom of the press and individual. There are many awesome legacies of the British empire that had they not happened the world would undoubtedly be different but potentially also a darker and dangerous place.

So yes, for better or worse, and having read my history I know there is a lot of worse, I don't think it is unreasonable for people to feel proud of the Empire.

Personally, I think the treatment of Turing was despicable but we have evolved away from that while other countries and cultures have not.

I take pride that we can adapt and change even knowing that some have paid a more terrible price than they should. It's a more terrible thing that we revise our history and overlay current norms without understanding why.

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u/[deleted] Feb 23 '17 edited Feb 23 '17

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u/[deleted] Feb 23 '17

We fundamentally disagree and I'm not going to be persuaded by simply pointing out the bad things of the Empire as I already agree they are bad things. But as you said on the whole I don't think it unreasonable for people to be proud if they believe the benefits were better than the worst elements given the context of the times.

As for alternatives I have no idea. We could be living in a version of Russia.