With 陳謝s to St George - patron saint of a country that seems to be dying of shame

By David Thomas for the Daily Mail

Published: 16:30 BST, 23 April 2012 | Updated: 07:57 BST, 24 April 2012

Saints day: St George's Day is celebrated on 23rd April, but to seemingly little ファンファーレ／誇示

Dear St George,

Happy saint’s day - hope you have a good one! True, you won’t get a proper 祝賀 like your pals Andrew, David and Patrick. I mean, you’re probably not too jealous of Andy 存在 toasted by a bunch of belligerently nationalistic Scots, or Dave 存在 祝う／追悼するd by Welshmen with daffodils and leeks pinned to their rugby shirts. But 米，稲’s another 事柄. He’s got the whole world 持つ／拘留するing marches, dyeing their beer green and pretending that they’re Irish. You’d have to be a saint not to be, 井戸／弁護士席, green with envy at that. Oh, yes, of course, you ARE a saint. But still, you know what I mean.

It’s just your rotten luck that you’re the patron saint of a country that’s dying of self-憎悪 and shame. 現実に, let me rephrase that … You’re the patron saint of a country whose 治める／統治するing エリート are dying of self-憎悪 and shame. I don’t know やめる what it is that’s 原因（となる）d the problem. Maybe it’s some sort of 犯罪 at the fact that for centuries the English were really incredibly good at （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域ing other people, taking over their countries, winning wars and 一般に 存在 最高の，を越す dog. And for some 推論する／理由 our leaders now feel the need to apologise for that.

After all, what did the English ever do for the world? Apart from give it the 惑星’s most popular language, 明白に … and the greatest 脚本家 who ever lived (it’s Will’s day too, by the way) … and 議会の 僕主主義, ありふれた 法律, the 廃止 of slavery, the steam and jet engines, the Beatles, Rolling 石／投石するs, James 社債 and Harry Potter. Yes, but apart from that … and Winston Churchill, Winnie-the-Pooh, Charles Dickens, police officers, postage stamps, the 小型の-skirt, the 小型の car, the Rolls Royce, football, rugby, cricket, tennis, the Spitfire, four of the world’s 最高の，を越す 10 universities and the World Service …? Apart from all that ? oh, and about 100 Nobel laureates ? it’s やめる （疑いを）晴らす that this is an 絶対 rubbish country that should spend most of its time apologising to everyone for 絶対 everything it’s ever done.

公約する to thee my country: A new 投票 has 明らかにする／漏らすd the English have a 欠如（する） of pride in the Cross of St George

I imagine that you’re 公正に／かなり cheesed off about the fact that even England’s 旗 ? which is, of course, your personal 旗 ? is now regarded as a 人種差別主義者 symbol. 明らかに the problem is that some 汚い, 人種差別主義者, shaven-長，率いるd morons have appropriated it as their symbol. So now the 残り／休憩（する） of us have to grovel to anyone we might 感情を害する／違反する by waving it inappropriately.

The 半端物 thing is, though, that the people who are supposed to be 感情を害する／違反するd, aren’t. I don’t know if you ever happen to cast an 注目する，もくろむ on Bradford, but I happened to be there in 2002, a year after the race 暴動s that 攻撃する，衝突する the Manningham area there in July 2001. I was chatting to a 地元の 議員 who happened to be イスラム教徒 and he was pointing out that all the Asian 青年 who’d been caught up in the fighting a year beforehand had just spent the 2002 World Cup 運動ing 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the city in cars with Crosses of St George ぱたぱたするing from the windscreen.

And it’s not イスラム教徒s, or Hindus, or Jews who worry that Christmas, or someone wearing a cross 一連の会議、交渉／完成する their neck at work might be 不快な／攻撃.

There’s an Indian restaurant in the village where I live. All its staff are Bangladeshi イスラム教徒s and every Christmas they hang tinsel in the windows, wish a Merry Christmas to all their 顧客s and stick curried turkey on the menu.

No, the only people who worry about all the ways in which the English might be 感情を害する／違反するing everyone else are the English. As a result, we’re just too embarrassed to celebrate your big day, or have an English 国家, or show any of the pride in English culture, English 業績／成就s and Englishness that the people of Scotland, むちの跡s, Northern Ireland and the Irish 共和国 show in their countries.

They have 絶対 no problem celebrating their saints. And the truth is, nor should we. In the meanti me, however, I know it should be your big party, but we seem to be having a 静かな night in … Again.