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in reply to a message by Anthony
The States of America used to be much more their own countries than they are now. The Civil War changed how much influence the federal government had in the decisions of individual states. State governments used to be first in power (people were from Massachusetts THEN America) but the federal government has much more power now, hch is unfortunate in many ways because people really are different in different states and should have more decision in their laws than current state governments are given. Especially considering the states that carry more political weight. It's not fair for people in California to decide how people in Rhode Island live.
Does that make any sense?
Sorry for the sudden veer into offtopicdom.
Michelle
Does that make any sense?
Sorry for the sudden veer into offtopicdom.
Michelle
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Replies
It's different in the uk. Everyone is Scottish, English, Welsh etc before british i think. It's certainly the case for most scots.
Scotland have their own laws and parliament that only affect scotland, but the parliament in London still has control over scotland in some matters. Every MP (member of parliament) can vote on a law that will only effect england and wales but the MP could be scottish. The law may affect scotland indirectly by altering their budget for something or more people applying to scottish universities.
In some ways it's like the USA but it is still very different. We aren't all english just because we're brittish. We all have the same queen and so were unified which in turn led us all to have the same government.
Ann
Scotland have their own laws and parliament that only affect scotland, but the parliament in London still has control over scotland in some matters. Every MP (member of parliament) can vote on a law that will only effect england and wales but the MP could be scottish. The law may affect scotland indirectly by altering their budget for something or more people applying to scottish universities.
In some ways it's like the USA but it is still very different. We aren't all english just because we're brittish. We all have the same queen and so were unified which in turn led us all to have the same government.
Ann
1
Although some people from Wales would call themselves British, as would some people from England, some from Scotland, and some from Northern Ireland, I think most of us would call ourselves English, or Welsh, or Scottish, etc primarily. I know that I *am* British, but I identify *more* with being English.
Having just spoken to my boyfriend (geography buff, lol) I can tell you that while Wales IS a country, Great Britain ISN'T. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are the countries which make up Britain. Britain is a geographical region.
And, just to make it even more confusing, the British Isles are the four countries already mentioned, plus Southern Ireland (Eire), and that refers to the whole island group, so tiny little islands like Orkney and the Scilly Isles are also part of the British Isles.
Having just spoken to my boyfriend (geography buff, lol) I can tell you that while Wales IS a country, Great Britain ISN'T. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are the countries which make up Britain. Britain is a geographical region.
And, just to make it even more confusing, the British Isles are the four countries already mentioned, plus Southern Ireland (Eire), and that refers to the whole island group, so tiny little islands like Orkney and the Scilly Isles are also part of the British Isles.
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