My home - ENGLAND.

[Kitosdad]

ENGLAND, " a home fit for heroes ", as the late Sir Winston Churchill once stated.

I wonder if he would use the same words today. I personally very much doubt it.There are those people in " very high places " who would no doubt agree with Sir Winston, but I think the general populace would see things differently.

Long gone are the days when jobs where plentiful, and an apprenticeship was something to be avidly sought by the young school-leavers, A chance to be taught by master-craftsmen. Men who were proud of the work that they did, and passed on the secrets of their skill to eager young would-be's. Where are they today?

England, who introduced football to the entire world, and who were considered unbeatable by every team they ever met.

England, whose universities were open to only the very best scholars, and who produced some of the greatest minds ever.

England, who built the finest and fastest ships afloat.

England, whose NHS was the envy of the entire world of medicine and care..

England, renowned as the finest steel-makers on earth.

England, whose justice system was copied by courts around the globe.

England, my England, what have you done to yourself, with your greedy politicians, your feeble and inadequate laws, your twenty-four hours drinking , your indifferent policing, your ever-falling standard of basic education and your loss of empathy toward the poor and the aged? These are only the tip of an ever-growing iceberg.

This is not my England of yore, and so I turn my back on you and yours.

I turn my back on you because you no longer have the respect of other nations. A respect that you once so richly deserved, but no longer do so.

Kitosdad.

TOEFL listening discussions: A conversation between a bookstore sales clerk and a student
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Keep it simple ... Keep it interesting.

[MrPedantic]

To reply to some of your points:

1. ENGLAND, " a home fit for heroes ", as the late Sir Winston Churchill once stated. ] I think it may have been Lloyd George (in 1918 or thereabouts), who said something similar; while "homes fit for heroes" was the slogan of a post-WW1 house-building programme.

2. I think the general populace would see things differently. ] They would certainly see things differently if they had to return to outside toilets, etc.

3. Long gone are the days when jobs where plentiful ] I am not sure which period this refers to. To take relatively recent history, it could not be the 1930s, the mid 1970s, or the 1980s, for instance.

4. England, who introduced football to the entire world, and who were considered unbeatable by every team they ever met.] I'm not sure this statement accords with the facts; England's international history has been quite ordinary. If any teams considered England unbeatable at any point, it was only because they were unfamiliar with our record. Against Scotland, for instance, we have won 45, and lost 41; the early years, when we were "introducing football to the world", make particularly dismal reading. On the other hand, things look modestly hopeful at the moment.

5. England, whose universities were open to only the very best scholars, and who produced some of the greatest minds ever.] While England's universities have always offered scholarships, they were never open only to "the very best scholars". You could pay for an education at Oxford or Cambridge for most of their histories, for instance. As for producing "some of the greatest minds", that would be a difficult claim to verify; though some prominent "minds" may have passed through them.

6. England, who built the finest and fastest ships afloat. ] Again, the history of English shipbuilding is quite varied; you would need to be more specific.

7. England, whose NHS was the envy of the entire world of medicine and care. ] If the NHS has ever been the envy of the world (a doubtful claim), it is only because the world has never had to endure the NHS's attentions.

8. England, whose justice system was copied by courts around the globe. ] "England, whose justice system was introduced into some countries around the world", perhaps. (The influence of e.g. Roman or Islamic law puts things into perspective.)

9. I turn my back on you because you no longer have the respect of other nations. A respect that you once so richly deserved, but no longer do so. ] I am not sure a lack of respect from X would be an adequate reason for "turning one's back" on Y; X may have been misinformed, for instance.

Nonetheless, though I mostly disagree with you, it was an entertaining post.

All the best,

MrP

[Kitosdad]

Good morning Mr.P, why let the facts get in the way of a decent essay? :) :)

Kitos.
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Keep it simple ... Keep it interesting.

[Gray]

Hi Bill, one thing is missing there ... "English" :)
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First lesson - English, not english. I, not i. ~A student of English