Are you happy with the direction your country is heading?

[HigherThanTheSun]

As above. How do you feel about the direction your country is moving in? This isn't specific to any particular issue or subject.

Also, how closely do you feel your views tally with the population at large? Do you find yourself more often in the majority or the minority?
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Shut up mate you're boring!

[HigherThanTheSun]

For me I suppose I'm reasonably content with where we're going. Attitudes regarding gender, race, sexuality etc are all becoming more and more liberal, generally people just care less and less which is great. The UK has always been one of the most liberal countries but I think the change in attitudes we've seen over the last few decades is remarkable, in the context of history 30/40 years is quite an insignificant period of time yet the social change and change of attitudes within that time has been massive. Long may it continue.

We've been moving to the right since Thatcher but I feel the population has nearly had enough of that sort of politics, whether that's a short term feeling caused by the recession or the start of a general trend is hard to say though. The Conservatives tried really hard to convince everyone they'd changed and it worked, I mean fair play them they are less socially conservative than they used to be (at least at the top of the party), but they didn't win the last election on the agenda of privatisation privatisation privatisation. I suppose everyone should have known, them being conservative and all, but I don't think anybody really expected them to go as far as they did and know everyone's seen it it's looking unlikely they'll get anywhere near a majority next time round. I mean when Ed Miliband (puking emoticon?) is beating you in the polls you're really not very popular. David Cameron's worked hard to improve the Conservative's brand image but underneath they're still the same.

Interesting thing I read a while back is that 51% of the population want Britain's rail network fully nationalised and you wouldn't have heard that a few years ago. The public anger over tuition fees and bringing in more private involvement to the NHS and police forces goes to show (I think) that the population are rejecting 'free market' economics and the move in that direction we've seen over the last three decades.

As for the BQ, well I sort of answered it already. I'm happy because more and more often I find my opinions shared by the majority and it feels comforting.

BQ2 (lethal probably won't like this ): How much do you love your country? I think the UK is fucking great, wouldn't ever live anywhere else. LOVE IT. Hows about you lot?

Thanks all, bedtime now.
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Shut up mate you're boring!

[Polythene Pam]

Question one: I am not sure New Zealand is really moving in any direction at all, every few years the government switches from a centre left to a centre right and not a lot changes. The Green party received a substantially increased vote percentage last election, although that was almost exclusively at the loss of the centre left part anyway, still they promote socially liberal politics, so maybe the country is moving forward... A little.

Question two: I haven't meet a single person in New Zealand who agrees with my political views. So I am probably in the minority there.

Question three: I only go back to New Zealand if I need a new toothbrush or something. (They have the best toothbrushes)

[Jackwc]

1. Canada hardly moves politically. We're spent the better part of the last century sitting at just-center-of-left, semi-socialist government. With lenient drug laws. Works for me.

We tackle social issues pretty quickly because our hillbillies don't vote.

2. I'm socially liberal while more financially conservative. I don't know whether or not I'm of the majority or the minority because I don't talk to people about politics unless I'm looking to start a drunken bar brawl.
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A dick that's bigger than the sun.

Music sucks. Check out my favourite movies, fam:
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[Guest]

Don't get me wrong, I love Britain. I love how culturally diverse it is, especially in the cities I have lived in (Birmingham, London). I love our own cultural history, from great writers and thinkers, to great movies and television and, most importantly, popular music. More than anything else, I love pub culture. Nowhere else in the world can you sit in a pub for hours on end talking utter rubbish to friends and strangers over pints of quality real ale.

However, I think on the whole that I am at odds, politically, with the majority of the UK. I'm a socialist, and whilst the facts and figures brought up in the OP are encouraging, I don't think that they're enough to implement the sort of change we need.

And, whilst I said in my first sentence that I love Britain, you will never catch me saying that too loud in public. Because there is a large section of British society who are boorish, nationalist twats who believe that loving Britain means loving the monarchy and the empire. I fucking hate the empire. I hate the British opinion that we made these countries "better", and that instead of moaning about colonisation they should be thanking us. What a load of patronising bollocks. I have supposedely left-wing mates who often reel this shit out - "whether we were wrong or right to colonise them, without us they'd still be stuck in the dark ages". a) it's no fucking excuse and, b) where's the proof? It just really pisses me off. And why are we so desperate to be seen as a world power? Who gives a shit? I'm quite happy for America to fucking ignore us - we're fucking tiny. And yet we pay so much attention to a 'special relationship', or to trying to keep up with France and Germany (two countries for whom our dislike is questionable at best, at worst horribly outdated racism).

Anyway, fuck it. Bottom line is I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. But am I proud to be British? Fuck no.

[alelsupreme]

I'd say Britian is a pretty awesome country and that we're certainly getting better.

[19loveless91]

I don't think Slovenia is heading in any direction. We're still stuck somewhere in WWII. Communists vs collaborators. If you're not with us, you're against us. It doesn't help that most of the politicans received their education under communist regime. So they have to identify the external and then the internal enemy (someone within their ranks who doesn't follow the leader 100%). Then they announce them to the voters, who aren't much better than them.

I consider myself as a liberal with some conservative tendencies. Thus I am an unique specimen in Slovenian community.

[alelsupreme]

[junodog4]

[Le_Samurai]

I'm not really sure. I realize that there are a lot of benefits to living in America, but I feel like my generation (I'm a month from 18 ) isn't going to be anywhere nearly as successful as my parent's and I feel like the politicians are more focused on getting the older citizens votes and continue to ignore the issues that are important to young people. The debt battle has just shown that both parties are unwilling to do what is really necessary to get the debt under control because they refuse to cut from their respective programs. It also appears to me that the "Conservative" (that word is used very lightly here) candidates are also itching for a war with Iran that my generation will be forced to fight for reasons we don't agree with and I really think America doesn't need any more fighting for a while. The government is also finding more and more ways to watch us, getting information from cell phone companies about our conversation. There is also the militarization of our police forces, with more and more police departments getting tactical teams when they don't really need them and drones like the ones they use to kill terrorists. I also feel like the Citizens United ruling has been a major blow to our democracy, as it has allowed just a few people to dominate the issues in the election and basically almost silenced those (basically everyone) who don't have millions to give to Super PACS and the such. I don't' agree with a lot of Obama's policies, but I have to admit, when he first got elected, I did really buy into the whole "Hope" thing. We needed a change after the Bush years, but now it's become clear that Obama has decided to continue on with many of Bush II's right's violating policies and just steal from the Republican platform of 20 years ago for many of his policy decisions. And now, with the election this year, I'm even less hopeful. I really hate Romney and Obama, well, he doesn't seem like much of an alternative either.