Focusing on the light and bright what makes you most proud of being a citizen of your country?

That is awesome great R. I think you know I'm a huge fans of Canadians and Aussies. Always have been. Always will be. I admire so much about your country and also Canada. That is not to put down other countries at all. It's just that in my opinion a couple of them stand out. Yesterday I was so down and grumpy and angry about you know what. So I decided to run away to yesterday. Yankee Doodle Dandy is one of my favorite movies. I don't know how many times I've seen it but it is always a delight and makes me very proud to be an American. Can't say much else does especially these days but there is always tomorrow and nothing lasts forever and governments are all TEMPORARY and easily replaced. So there is that! So you had some criminals in your family? IRISH PATRIOTS? What could be more dramatic adventurous and awe-inspiring than that? And you have a John Smith in your family history? Another connection to America right? Maybe every family has a "John Smith" ancestor. O'Neills? Any relation to Eugene O'Neill the playwright?  One of my favoriter plays is THE ICEMAN COMETH which I think he authored. Did you know his daughter OONA married Charlie Chaplin and their daughter did some acting too? You do know who he was right? And you also have an aborgine in your DNA pool? Goodness me how far back do aborgine's go R? Thank you for your nifty informative reply! :) This post was edited by RosieG at May 17, 2020 3:55 AM MDT

"John Smith" is the classic pseudonym for a man who wants to remain anonymous, his past to be forgotten, it was old news long before Pocahontas. A criminal? An escaped convict? (Unlikely, he was from the colony of South Australia which was entirely comprised of free settlers, never a penal colony). A deserting husband? Or possibly a fugitive who was framed for a crime he didn't commit? We'll never know.
One relative was most certainly a criminal - Black Jack Monaghan, a bushranger highwayman. Not a direct ancestor, I'm descended from his brother Kevin.
The First Nations people go back at least 40,000 years, some anthropologists have projected up to double that. It's the oldest continuous culture on Earth. This post was edited by Slartibartfast at May 17, 2020 7:07 AM MDT

Shakespeare? Architecture? Stoic determination to dig in without complaining? Dame JUDY DENSCH whom I adore very bigly. Downton Abbey...a superb extraordinary tapestry we had the great good joy of watching. The WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER. I saw them recently in all their glory and majesty in a documentary. Big Ben. Harrod's. The changing of the guard. Winston Churchill? Camelot? The Thames? Robinhood? Pubs. The Character of the people. Stilton Cheese. A stiff upper lip. Charles Dickens. Cary Grant (Archibald mcleash or something). THE BEATLES! None of those bring pleasure to you or please you at all? Tea and crumpets? SIGH. Thank you for your reply D. Different strokes. This post was edited by RosieG at May 17, 2020 11:01 AM MDT

I can understand her antipathy towards Churchill, the man was an unmitigated scoundrel. As Lord of the Admiralty he refused to provide an escort to the Lusitania, knowing that it was likely to be attacked - he actually WANTED Germany to sink an unarmed American ship, to hopefully bring a nation that was "too proud to fight" into World War I. Didn't work, it wasn't until the Zimmerman Telegram more than a year later that President Wilson asked Congress to declare war.
Churchill was also the scum who ordered the Black and Tans into Ireland, turning what was a minor uprising into full scale civil war.

All so very true Starti....there is something now also about what he got up to sexually ,but can't remember the full details...There was a lot more terrible things he did and didn't do that cost thousands of people's lives..he iwas no angle in many of things he did in England and both Africa...

The old buildings of yesteryear were and are still amazing...Churchill was an evil man that committed atrocities during the Boar War and things he did in the east end of London before the Second World War Rosie...
Dick Turpin use to ply his trade at the Spaniards Inn Tollgate rd not a mile or so from where our home is in London...He was suppose to have holed up in a cave in Epping Forest to...There is a pub next to it that is tiny and holds about four people...That's at High Beach in Epping Forest to...
There are many nice people that live here...but we do have more of our own upper class twits that any other county to I'm sad to say...

Thank you for your thoughtful reply SSB and Happy Sunday to thee. Without fear of reprisal? At this level I am nobody. However were I in gubment and asked these questions with the current "head" how long do you think I'd last? Were I somebody I'd be a target of attacks insults and possibly even investigations. One does NOT speak freely against the "head" without fear of being punished for it. I believe you are not being completely honest. Little people like me are expendable and no one pays any attention to us. I am not a threat to the 'head" in any way. But I would be a very big threat if I were somebody. So much for your pride in freedom of speech. It is very narrow and not comprehensive. Very narrow often gives a false picture. This post was edited by RosieG at May 17, 2020 7:16 AM MDT

I don't know, perhaps you overstate the case. Numerous members of the House and Senate have spoken out against and been critical of Trump, and I recently read an article about Republicans who are supporting Biden. One, whose name I don't remember, is the guy who ran Ted Cruz's campaign in 2016. He said, "I don't want either Biden or Trump to be president, but am I willing to support Biden to get rid of Trump? You're damn right I am."