Originally posted by dottewellAgreed. It is a shame that there are still so many that cling to it.
There are great things about celebrating the culture which you can identify with on a local or even national level, provided that you do not view it in terms of one-up-manship over other cultures.
Entirely agree.
I guess nowadays we are influenced by all manner of cultures - some national, some local, some international. I think its not just i ...[text shortened]... onal culture" as the single defining influence on the people who live in a particular country.
Originally posted by dottewellWhy?
I think its not just irrational but impossible to try to "preserve national culture" as the single defining influence on the people who live in a particular country.
The population is big enough for there to be plenty of variation.
I know people who (like Starmann) constantly ridicule British culture, say that it doesn't really exist, etc. and wholeheartedly embrace either what they consider Euro culture or other immigrant cultures.
Surely there is room for the ones who'd rather stick to their ideal of traditional British culture as well?
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Originally posted by VargYou have me utterly wrong, I do not embrace other cultures at all, European or otherwise.
Why?
The population is big enough for there to be plenty of variation.
I know people who (like Starmann) constantly ridicule British culture, say that it doesn't really exist, etc. and wholeheartedly embrace either what they consider Euro culture or other immigrant cultures.
Surely there is room for the ones who'd rather stick to their ideal of traditional British culture as well?
I'd be interested to actually hear what you think British culture is.
Originally posted by StarrmanNo, I didn't mean you embrace other cultures.
You have me utterly wrong, I do not embrace other cultures at all, European or otherwise.
I'd be interested to actually hear what you think British culture is.
The "like Starmann" bit related only to the constant ridicule of British culture.
If you need telling what British culture is, then I'm not going to tell you.
Do you want me to say something like "fish and chips, sunday dinners"?
It's much more than that.
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Originally posted by VargOf course you can (and should) preserve aspects of national and or ethnic culture but it is impossible to define, yet alone preserve, "British" culture as a whole at this point in our history. Neither, with the internet and mass media etc., can we stop international cultural influences from diluting (or at least working alongside) whatever our national culture may be.
Why?
The population is big enough for there to be plenty of variation.
I know people who (like Starmann) constantly ridicule British culture, say that it doesn't really exist, etc. and wholeheartedly embrace either what they consider Euro culture or other immigrant cultures.
Surely there is room for the ones who'd rather stick to their ideal of traditional British culture as well?
It's trying to stop water with a net.
[EDIT: Be honest; when you say "British" culture you mean "White English" culture.]
Originally posted by VargThen explain it, I don't need it, I'm merely asking for what your specific view on it is. Why the reluctance?
No, I didn't mean you embrace other cultures.
The "like Starmann" bit related only to the constant ridicule of British culture.
If you need telling what British culture is, then I'm not going to tell you.
Do you want me to say something like "fish and chips, sunday dinners"?
It's much more than that.
Originally posted by StarrmanI'm not reluctant, I'm just not sure it's possible.
Then explain it, I don't need it, I'm merely asking for what your specific view on it is. Why the reluctance?
This goes for the culture of any country, of course, because it is based upon "the norm" or majority, and there are always plenty of exceptions.
Anyway, I could list many things which are either uniquely or not uniquely British and it would seem ridiculous to say our culture is based on any one of them. But together as a collective whole, it is how it is defined.
For example, I could say "bucket-and-spade holidays and donkey rides" and you would probably laugh and say that's hardly anything to be proud of, and that our culture is pretty pathetic if that is it. And you'd be right.
But take thousands of examples like this and together they define British culture.
You don't have to like or even participate in some of them but regardless together they produce a definite British culture which may not be apparent to you, but is very different from the culture of, say, the south of France.
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Originally posted by VargThat's a good example in one way; how would you (and why would you want to) protect this when it is a matter of consumer choice that more people choose package holidays to Continental Europe these days?
For example, I could say "bucket-and-spade holidays and donkey rides".
Originally posted by dottewellEr no. Not really. I thought you were talking more generally.
[EDIT: Be honest; when you say "British" culture you mean "White English" culture.]
Anyway, culture constantly changes - many of the things we might consider "British" (for example) are not exactly ancient tradition.
So it is silly to insist they are preserved for ever.
But if individuals want to continue to live their life as they have been used to, that's fair enough in my opinion.