Alistair McConnachie published Sovereignty from July 1999 to its 120th consecutive monthly issue in June 2009, and he continues to maintain this website. Alistair McConnachie also publishes Prosperity - Freedom from Debt Slavery which educates about the nature of our debt-based money system and A Force For Good which advocates the maintenance of the United Kingdom. To find out more go to the about who is Alistair McConnachie page. You can buy the Complete 10-Year, 120 Back Issue Set of Sovereignty - worth £162.50 - for only £89 inc p+p, a 45% discount. Cheques payable to Sovereignty, at 268 Bath St, Glasgow, G2 4JR or go here and click "Buy Now".

Why do I support England at the World Cup? That's not something for which I would normally attempt an intellectual explanation -- it just comes naturally.

It seems obvious to me to support the land of my closest neighbours, my family members, my friends, my fellow Britons.

Ultimately, if I rationalise it, I support England, because England is part of the same country as Scotland -- called Britain!

I support my fellow Britons on the worldstage. It's no more complex than that! Kind of obvious, really!

In that regard, not supporting England seems incomprehensible to me - so rarely do the British get a chance to shine worldwide.

That's one of the Great things about being British.

Scotland and England are different countries, but uniquely we are blessed by the fact that we are also part of the same country.

A British identity provides each of us with a shared inheritance which is ours, by natural right, as a Briton.

That means, whatever is English is part of a Scot's inheritance. Whatever is Scottish is the inheritance of an Englishman.

This sense of identity can only be enriching for us all.

This shared inheritance is available within the identity of Britishness but it is not available to those who identify only with one area of our island archipelago. A British identity allows for an English, Irish, Scottish or Welsh identity to exist within a wider identity. Thus a British Scot can delight and rejoice in the success of the English football team -- or share the sadness and pain of its travails -- because it represents an extension of his or her own national identity in the world.

A British identity widens one's horizons and it enables us to transcend any differences.

An identity which allows one to automatically bond with the other 60 million people who are living in the same islands as oneself is a valuable identity!

Indeed, being British is Great.

"But there is no such thing as 'Britishness'", some say.
Yawn! Only to the extent that there is no definitive definition of Britishness. However, the exact same thing could be said about "Englishness", "Scottishness", "Irishness" (especially!) or "Welshness" -- all of these identities contain similarities, differences, diversities, inconsistencies, ambiguities.

Yet Britishness unites them all.

To proclaim, "There is no such thing as Britishness" is simply to make a statement of politics rather than a statement of fact. The political aim being to attempt to de-construct and de-legitimise the idea of a political order based upon the identity. If you can pretend the identity does not exist then you can more easily try to de-construct the political order.

FOOLISH FIRST MINISTER PLAYS WITH FIRE
Of course, there are some anti-English types in Scotland, but there are plenty of us who support England.

In that regard, we have been dismayed at First Minister Jack McConnell's stupid intervention in the World Cup, claiming that he would not be supporting England. For a Minister of the British Crown to make such a foolish public statement merely confirmed that the man is, indeed, a complete numpty!

As Scotland's foremost politician and public figure he should have been at the forefront in creating alliances in the public mind with England -- if only for the sake of tourism in Scotland and Gordon Brown's political aspirations in England!

Rather, what McNumpty succeeded in doing, very successfully, was putting an official seal of approval on the mainstreaming of anti-English sentiment, thereby encouraging it, and its commercialisation, in the public space -- creating a somewhat unpleasant atmosphere for some English people in Scotland, as well as Scots who support England.

More statesmanly, former First Minister, Henry McLeish, stated he had "no difficulty -- watching from the other side of the Atlantic -- in wanting England to win. I only wish more of my fellow-Scots, in and out of politics, could take the same broader British point of view...Why should we not be big enough to wish England well…The genuine tragedy is that we are all trying to promote Scotland's image abroad and we are being perceived as sour and grudging. Being Scottish is not about being anti-English…The danger is that such a perceived anti-English posture could encourage the irresponsible."

However, it should be said, there are also English people in England who have a problem supporting their national teams. June's edition of Red Pepper magazine has an article between two English lefties earnestly debating whether it's ethical to support England!

Robert Crampton asked why richer people often don't appear to support England:
One well-heeled woman, trying and failing to square what to her was the contradiction of our being middle-class metropolitan types and yet simultaneously happy to wrap ourselves in the flag, asked my wife if our car was "an ironic statement". Someone else confided to me that a part of him was always willing England's opposition to score, and surely I felt the same? Er, no, actually," I said, "I always want England to win 10-0." He looked perplexed and giggled nervously, choosing to assume I was joking. It's peculiar, isn't it, that in England, unlike any other country I know of, the gain of a little education, a little upward mobility, so often seems to entail the loss of the simple human desire to take pride in place? Peculiar, and sad.

BEING ENGLISH IS FOR LIFE, NOT JUST FOR FOOTBALL
Thankfully, it seems those people are in a minority!

We were in England recently and we were heartened to see all the St. George flags. Hopefully, many more people are realising that patriotism is about more than just waving a flag -- although waving a flag is a very good start!

Patriotism is about supporting our country -- both of them -- by using our commercial power wisely -- by buying local and national. It's about having civic pride, caring for the environment, remembering national days and commemorations, taking an interest in our history, and valuing meaningful national traditions, icons and institutions. Taking pride in place!

Especially, patriotism is about using our vote carefully, rewarding those who stand for Britain and punishing those who are destroying it.