I love the Brits

 

    I love the Brits.

  Until my recent visit to the UK, my favorite nationality had been Canadians, due in large part to their inherent sense of humor and universal healthcare.

   It had been some years since I had traveled to Great Britain, and I had forgotten their prominent joie de vivre and their overall congenial manner.  They are simply a cheery people who enjoy nothing more than a good debate over any number of subjects ranging from sports and politics to the quality of a local ale or the appropriateness of a Royal mistress.

   Of course, I had the pleasure of being in the UK when the Brits beat the French in the quarter finals of the Rugby World Cup. Surely, the Duke of Wellington’s defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo now pales in the annals of history to this battle on a pitch in Paris. Nowhere, not even in Boston after the Red Sox broke their 100-year curse to win the 2004 World Series, has pride in a sports team been more fanatical and universal among a citizenry.  Wisconsin cheeseheads should bow their cheddar in deference.

   But no matter how passionate the Brits are with an issue and how varied the opinions of those involved, the exchange remains polite and pleasant, rarely engaging in personal attacks.  The worst I ever heard a Brit call an individual with whom they had taken issue was “a bit of a chump,” and so said with an almost apologetic tone in that pleasant manner of theirs.  My colleague heard a referee called a “wanker” but since we were uncertain exactly what that meant and it was shouted so pleasantly, we assumed the best.

   On the other hand, I knew I was back in the USA when, after passing through customs at O’Hare, I began hearing the F-bomb dropped with startling frequency and a rather sour agent at a besieged airline service counter being addressed in terms that my mother would not approve of.

   I was jostled and shoved and ignored.  No one called me luv.  No one was concerned that I was properly tucked in.  No one offered me tea.  The smell of greasy fast food filled the passenger waiting area where everyone talked too loudly on their cell phones about matters of little importance while CNN discussed the details of the latest congressional sex scandal.

   Oh, it was good to be home.  God Bless America, but if push comes to shove, God Save the Queen.  The Brits will be much more appreciative of the effort.