The Ugly ... Briton?

On September 11, 2001, when nearly every important figure was being asked for a comment, the one that touched me most deeply was from a person for whom I previously had no great affection: Lady Margaret Thatcher. She said about Britons and Americans, "We are the same people."

But is that becoming more true that ever before?

According to this article in the New York Times, which came out while I was on holiday, British tourism is way up -- and while the locals are happy to take their pounds sterling, they're not so thrilled with the seeming disappearance of the famed English decorum. In fact, English holidaymakers are acting more like football hooligans from 1970s than the sterotypical upper-crust adventurers with their traveling tea sets.

The article puts forth a cartload of theories about what makes the British so boorish. And I've got a couple of my own. Unlike the supposedly polite Germans and French, we all speak the current lingua franca and can expect to be understood all over the world. So no matter what trouble we get in, we're bound to be able to talk our way out. What's more, in spite of recent missteps in the the Middle East, we're hardwired to have nothing to apologize for. It seems our two countries can do what they wish (for now) in the far-flung lands, but it's not like we caused World War II or set up up a Vichy government. This might also be the reason why our two peoples are known for having outrageous senses of humor ... again, nothing to apologize for.

Then there's the fact that most Britons aren't sleek stylemakers from London, but regular "folks" as we'd call them here. On The Office, Gervais and Merchant had the Dawn's unsophisticated lout/fiance, Lee, move to Florida ... I said to myself, "Of course."

So, as long as the pound is up and the dollar is down we're likely to hear more about that new breed ... the cousin of the ugly American ... the ugly Briton!