One thing I have noticed is that people will try to change history to fit their own point of view . They will say that the Jewish people never had two kingdoms on the east edge of the Mediterranean coast in the ancient times. They will say they stole the land from another country although Palestine is a region, not a country. One day people will have strange definitions of what it means to be British, I feel obligated to clarify things.
I will simplify the answer. Being British means to live on the Island of Britain for most of your life. I can go to Germany to work for 5 years and still be British because most of my life I lived on the British Island.
Some people in Northern Ireland call themselves British but I don't see them as British. I see them as part of the Kingdom but being British is exclusive to the Island of Britain.
Being English is different because it is as much a product as a Nation. The English are a Nation within the island of Britain but being English is more complicated. Many people say the English are descendants of the German Saxon settlers but that is not true because many settlers came from Scandinavia and at one time, half of this side of the island was Dane law land. So you would then say, well then you are half Saxon and half Viking. This is also wrong because the Norse invaded in 1066 and they were French. You may then say, "ok, so they are part Saxon, Part Viking, Part Norse". But that wouldn't be true because there was already people living there before the Saxons and many thousands of Protestant exiles came there to scape Catholic persecution and other people settled here in recent years to help rebuild our post war society.
No race, tribe or ideology owns English heritage. We are the product of different settlers choosing brotherhood over war. England is the flower of cooperation between different people that put down their swords and sat together and became Brothers in toil. To be English two things are needed. You must live most your life on the English part of Britain and accept that you are part of the English family. Many people that are born in England call themselves British because their parents are foreign. I feel sad when they do that because it is like rejection of their place in the English family.
The reason they do this varies, some people reject their place in the English family because they feel ashamed of the historical fruits of our nation. Every nation on Earth did bad deeds in the past. Others reject their English heritage because they are afraid of rejection. There are many reasons but I hope all people that are here to stay can stand up and call themselves English no matter how they look and what they believe.
Accept your place in the English family and call yourself English if want to. Rule Britannia! The land of Hope and Glory.
