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• Is Britain really very different from other places ?

Just off the north coast of continental Europe, there is an island called Britain. Today, this island is closely connected to the rest of Europe; there are direct trains to Paris and Brussels, and thousands of people, cars and lorries cross the Channel and the North Sea every day between British and continental ports.
Britain is very much a part of Europe; however most of the people in Britain (today, at least) do not want any more European \"integration\".
\"We're different, aren't we?\" says Eddie, from London. \"We do things differently. We don't want to become like other countries.\"
Millions of people think the same as Eddie. For example, a large majority do not want Britain to join the Euro. They imagine that Britain's \"identity\" will be lost, if we say goodbye to our pounds and our pennies. They forget that things are also very different from one European country to another.
It's quite a strange situation really; but it is a situation that can easily be explained.

\"Insularity\" is a deep and historic part of British culture and society. Great Britain's borders have been fixed by nature for thousands of years. If you walk in a straight line for long enough in any direction, you will know when you have reached the edge of Great Britain; you will find yourself in salty water!
If you want to go to another country from Great Britain, you have to take a ship, a plane, a train or a car; you can't just drive or walk across the border. Great Britain is physically separated from every other country; and this is the main reason why British people imagine that other countries are so \"different\".
Of course, lots of things about Britain are different. We drive on the left, we like our pubs, we have sports like cricket, we have our own popular TV programmes, we use pounds and pennies and miles, we drink tea with milk in it, we don't carry identity cards, and our policemen don't carry guns. So yes, Britain is different, in these respects, from France or Germany or Spain, or Japan, or even the USA.
Nevertheless Britain's \"difference\" is disappearing fast! Fifty years ago, British people drove British cars; today the cars in Britain are British, French, German, Italian, Japanese and more. Today we buy petrol in litres (not gallons) and fruit in kilos (not pounds). Fifty years ago, our favourite foods were fish 'n' chips and \"bangers and mash\". Among today's young people, the most popular foods and drinks are Italian pasta and pizza, Indian curry, American hamburgers and colas, Chinese take-aways, Continental beers and Mexican tacos.
As far as culture is concerned, young Britons love their Britpop bands; but they also like American and Australian TV series, American films, and Japanese and British video games.... In fact, they like more or less the same things as young people all over Europe and North America!
The real problem is perhaps not that we are very different. It's just that lots of people (in and out of Britain) imagine that Britain is different..... because \"Continentals\" speak other languages, and old ideas take a very long time to die.


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