--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think England has been in the long-term…" description: "\"I think England has been in the long-term damaged by Britishness.\" — Neal Ascherson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e68/neal-ascherson-24717_england_i-think-england-has-been-in-the-long-ter_1548556.jpg" --- # I think England has been in the long-term damaged by… ![“I think England has been in the long-term damaged by Britishness.” quote by Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e68/neal-ascherson-24717_england_i-think-england-has-been-in-the-long-ter_1548556.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e68/neal-ascherson-24717_england_i-think-england-has-been-in-the-long-ter_1548556.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e68/neal-ascherson-24717_england_i-think-england-has-been-in-the-long-ter_1548556.jpg) > “I think England has been in the long-term damaged by Britishness.” [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He believes British identity has caused lasting harm to England. **In simple terms:** Britishness has damaged England over time. Key Takeaway Recognize and address cultural impacts. Themes culture identity history Mood reflective critical Type historical analytical When to use this quote - policy reform - cultural dialogue - education curricula Key Concepts colonial legacy national psyche Questions to Reflect On - How does national identity shape policy? - What steps can mitigate cultural damage? A Different Perspective Complex factors beyond 'Britishness' also affect England. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Damaged Britishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damaged-britishness-5782697/) [England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/england/) [England Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/england-long-1218414/) [English](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Long term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-term/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [Think England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-england-478116/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I have lived in England for a long time. And I love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bonnar/i-have-lived-in-england-for-a-long-time-and-i-love-it/) [Mark Bonnar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bonnar/) > [I would love to spend more time in Britain one day. In my heart, I still feel that I'm English, and when I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-hussey/i-would-love-to-spend-more-time-in-britain-one-day-in-my-heart-i/) [Olivia Hussey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-hussey/) > [They make other nations seem pale and flighty, But they do think England is God almighty, And you must remind them now and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-duer-miller/they-make-other-nations-seem-pale-and-flighty-but-they-do-think/) [Alice Duer Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-duer-miller/) > [I think England has served me very well. I like living in London for the reasons I gave. I have absolutely no intentions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/i-think-england-has-served-me-very-well-i-like-living-in-london-for/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [Playing for England was one long roller-coaster: some ups and downs, but also quite a few moments when you're not really sure if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-neville/playing-for-england-was-one-long-roller-coaster-some-ups-and-downs/) [Gary Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-neville/) > [My Luftwaffe is invincible... And so now we turn to England. How long will this one last - two, three weeks?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-goring/my-luftwaffe-is-invincible-and-so-now-we-turn-to-england-how-long/) [Hermann Goring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-goring/) > [It's always good to be somewhere with some history, maybe that's England, which has a long history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/it-s-always-good-to-be-somewhere-with-some-history-maybe-that-s/) [Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/) > [England, so long mistress of the sea, Where winds and waves confess her sovereignty, Her ancient triumphs yet on high shall bear And reign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gray/england-so-long-mistress-of-the-sea-where-winds-and-waves-confess-her/) [Thomas Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gray/) > [Sting and I need to think what our relationship is to England in the long term.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudie-styler/sting-and-i-need-to-think-what-our-relationship-is-to-england-in-the/) [Trudie Styler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudie-styler/) > [Shaking hands with the Queen of England was a long way from being forced to sit in the colored section of the bus going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/althea-gibson/shaking-hands-with-the-queen-of-england-was-a-long-way-from-being/) [Althea Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/althea-gibson/) > [I think England has to change the way they are teaching football because football is changing, and the method isn't changing as much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-vieira/i-think-england-has-to-change-the-way-they-are-teaching-football/) [Patrick Vieira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-vieira/) > [I mean, people listen to music, and they like that, but I think in England, a lot of people don't like contemporary art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/i-mean-people-listen-to-music-and-they-like-that-but-i-think-in/) [Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/) > [I think England are a very exciting side because they have got so many young, talented, creative players, playing up front.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianluca-vialli/i-think-england-are-a-very-exciting-side-because-they-have-got-so/) [Gianluca Vialli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianluca-vialli/) > [Just close your eyes—and think of England.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-victoria/just-close-your-eyes-and-think-of-england/) [Queen Victoria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-victoria/) > [“Hell, yes. Keep calm and carry on. God save the Queen. Think of England.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jana-aston/hell-yes-keep-calm-and-carry-on-god-save-the-queen-think-of-england/) [Jana Aston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jana-aston/) ## More by Neal Ascherson > [It was a real revolution. But with one missing feature. That is the feeling in a people that "We have done it once, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/it-was-a-real-revolution-but-with-one-missing-feature-that-is-the/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [History--the product, not the raw material--is a bottle with a label. For many years now, the emphasis of historical discussion has been laid upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/history-the-product-not-the-raw-material-is-a-bottle-with-a-label-for/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [Who invented political tolerance? The English invented it, it's something which has taken roots with some difficulty in Scottish politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/who-invented-political-tolerance-the-english-invented-it-it-s/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [The way that words mutate reminds me of fashions in music. The word--the note--is a constant. But the setting and chord in which it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/the-way-that-words-mutate-reminds-me-of-fashions-in-music-the-word/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [To be defeated, but not to give in, is victory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/to-be-defeated-but-not-to-give-in-is-victory/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [Well, if there is a spectrum between ethnic and civic forms of nationalism, which is a rather schematic way of looking at it, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/well-if-there-is-a-spectrum-between-ethnic-and-civic-forms-of/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [Broadly speaking, most people lived their lives in a kind of unwilling conformity. The thing was that they were offered, as time went by,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/broadly-speaking-most-people-lived-their-lives-in-a-kind-of-unwilling/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [But the people did get it. They had lost something -- not exactly their fear, but their patience. Suddenly it seemed unbearable to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/but-the-people-did-get-it-they-had-lost-something-not-exactly-their/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [In Moscow, dim and green under the summer rain, columns of armour were waiting in the side-roads off the long avenue from Vnukovo airport.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/in-moscow-dim-and-green-under-the-summer-rain-columns-of-armour-were/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [“To be defeated, but not to give in, is victory. - Jósef Piłsudski”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/to-be-defeated-but-not-to-give-in-is-victory-j-sef-pi-sudski/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [When Tony Benn became a minister in the 1960s -- and I think this must be apocryphal -- he had a huge map of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/when-tony-benn-became-a-minister-in-the-1960s-and-i-think-this-must/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [There are many kinds of revelation. But the most powerful is the vision which transcends the mental boundary between life and non-life, and Scotland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/there-are-many-kinds-of-revelation-but-the-most-powerful-is-the/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [The very word "change" has changed. When I was young--and not just because I was young--we looked forward with confident impatience to change. Planned,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/the-very-word-change-has-changed-when-i-was-young-and-not-just/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [English stupidity is an organism so primitive that it is apparently impossible to kill off. It reminds me of Physarum Polycephalum, the gigantic slime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/english-stupidity-is-an-organism-so-primitive-that-it-is-apparently/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) > [I'm always interested in debunking myths if they are untrue. But it's also important to identify myths and how they function, what value they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/i-m-always-interested-in-debunking-myths-if-they-are-untrue-but-it-s/) [Neal Ascherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) [Explore all 24 Neal Ascherson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/) ## More England quotes > [Forcing modern speakers of English to not - whoops, not to split an infinitive because it isn't done in Latin makes about as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/forcing-modern-speakers-of-english-to-not-whoops-not-to-split-an/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-didn-t-want-to-do-fashion-police-because-i-thought-this-is-stupid/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [I'm from Europe, England, and I actually lived in Italy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/i-m-from-europe-england-and-i-actually-lived-in-italy/) [Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/) > [If I had been an Italian I am sure that I should have been whole-heartedly with you from the start to finish in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/if-i-had-been-an-italian-i-am-sure-that-i-should-have-been-whole/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > ['Downton Abbey' is my worst nightmare. I just hate that whole 'Upstairs Downstairs' thing, I think it's really lazy and it doesn't represent England,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-payne/downton-abbey-is-my-worst-nightmare-i-just-hate-that-whole-upstairs/) [Tom Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-payne/) > [Although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/although-i-don-t-have-anything-against-people-from-other-countries/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [These fledgling democracies in the Middle East, they're actually fighting for their freedom. And what are they rioting for in England? Leisurewear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/these-fledgling-democracies-in-the-middle-east-they-re-actually/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [In the olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-harding/in-the-olden-days-in-england-you-could-be-hung-for-stealing-a-sheep/) [Mike Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-harding/) > [“Of France and England, did this king succeed; Whose state so many had the managing. That they lost France and made his England bleed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/of-france-and-england-did-this-king-succeed-whose-state-so-many-had/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [In my view, fitness training isn't that important in England, as they all train with such intensity anyway and have a competitive edge when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudio-ranieri/in-my-view-fitness-training-isn-t-that-important-in-england-as-they/) [Claudio Ranieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudio-ranieri/) > [England expects every man to do his duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/england-expects-every-man-to-do-his-duty/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) [Browse all 4,190 England quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/england/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think England has been in the long-term damaged by Britishness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neal Ascherson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/i-think-england-has-been-in-the-long-term-damaged-by-britishness/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "England" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/i-think-england-has-been-in-the-long-term-damaged-by-britishness/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e68/neal-ascherson-24717_england_i-think-england-has-been-in-the-long-ter_1548556.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e68/neal-ascherson-24717_england_i-think-england-has-been-in-the-long-ter_1548556.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e68/neal-ascherson-24717_england_i-think-england-has-been-in-the-long-ter_1548556.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think England has been in the long-term damaged by Britishness.” — Neal Ascherson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Neal Ascherson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-ascherson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think England has been in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/i-think-england-has-been-in-the-long-term-damaged-by-britishness/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-ascherson/i-think-england-has-been-in-the-long-term-damaged-by-britishness/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```