English or British?

The principles of positive patriotism have been written without naming "our country" for two reasons.  They are universal principles, which could apply to any country.  But we have a particular set of problems, here in England.  

This website focuses on England, because the far-right has misappropriated our national flag, the flag of St George, making it seem toxic to many people, particularly from ethnic minorities - more so than the Union Jack, the Saltire or the Red Dragon.  At the same time, we, the English, have a problem with patriotism.  Many intelligent people with progressive views dismiss the whole idea, inadvertently helping the far-right to pose as the true patriots, which they are not.  

Partly because of all this, there has been a big shift in national identity within England.  As recently as the 2011 Census, most people in England identified themselves as English.  In the 2021 Census a large majority of people living here identified themselves as British.  Interestingly, most of the far-right groups seem to describe themselves as British patriots, even when they are wrapping themselves in the flag of St George.

England makes up 85% of the population of the UK, which makes for a strange relationship between the two.  I may have more to say about that later, but for positive patriotism, it doesn't matter whether you consider yourself to be entirely English, entirely British, both, or partly something else.  These are basic principles of nation-building and human decency, which we need to reassert.