Xenophobe's Guide to the English

About this book

Never overstep the markModerationa treasured idealmeans a lot to the English. Their respect for it is reflected in their shared dislike of any person who goes too far. Irrational rationalityThe English can admire something without enjoying it or enjoy something they suspect is fundamentally reprehensible. You can never be sure which stance they are going to takethe reassuringly reasonable or the wildly irrational. Im fine reallyStoicism the capacity to greet lifes vicissitudes with cheerful calm is an essential ingredient of Englishness. Push-me pull-youTwo equally fundamental but contradictory English characteristics are a love of continuity and a yearning for change. In the English character these two opposite desires vie with each other constantly which produces some curious behavior patterns and several characteristics most usually observed in the classic split personality.