There is absolutely no need to apologise for historical events but to ignore past failings in the name of patriotism is definitely not patriotism!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking pride in one’s country! People saying they are proud to be British, English, Welsh etc., is all good. However, intelligent people will agree that the buying and selling of human beings is not a good thing, regardless of the era. Accepting that some brutal acts of colonialism were awful doesn’t mean you love Britain less or are not proud of Britain. We can be as proud of our history as we want. But there is also nothing wrong with accepting that there were a number of things done over the years, that one cannot be proud of. That, doesn’t make you any less proud to be British

Now, there has been a raging, ongoing debate relating to flags, and flags being used to apparently mark out territory and to tell people that ownership of the country is by some? This matter should not be a matter for debate! Our flag is our national emblem that we all should revere and respect. Sticking it all over lampposts (many are made from tarty cloth with the colours not what it should be) may be mistaken for a show of patriotism, but I think we need to show a bit more respect to our flag! It needs to be mounted high on government building, embassies etc (as it is and has been) NOT hastily painted on roundabouts for cars to drive over it! For goodness sake! Let us show a bit of respect to the flag! Painting it in front of houses and sticking it all over the place, is turning it into a common cloth that anyone think they can just strap up anywhere! That, is NOT, a show of respect at all!
If anyone wants to fly flags on lampposts, they can create their own flag and type ‘British or English & proud’ on it. But to use the country’s flag in that manner, is counterproductive! They think they are displaying pride in the country, but they are actually disrespecting the flag by sticking it up on lamp posts as it is unlawful. Some of the locations could distract drivers, if the flag gets detached and blown onto windscreens as cars are driving by, it could cause accidents. There are several other safety reasons why such action is unlawful. We can’t all just start stringing stuff up on lampposts or painting roundabouts etc. There are reasons why it is unlawful. To then do it with our nation’s flag? Not respectful!