Bernard Crick, as quoted in Believing in Britain: The Spiritual Identity of 'Britishness (2007), by Ian C. Bradley, I.B.Tauris, p. 34
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To be British seems to us to mean that we respect the laws, the elected parliamentary and democratic political structures, traditional values of mutual tolerance, respect for equal rights and mutual concern; that we give our allegiance to the state (as commonly symbolised by the Crown) in return for its protection.

— Bernard Crick on British people

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "To be British seems to us to mean that we respect the laws, the elected parliamentary and democratic political structures, traditional values of mutual tolerance, respect for equal rights and mutual concern; that we give our allegiance to the state (as commonly symbolised by the Crown) in return for its protection." in the context of "Bernard Crick, as quoted in Believing in Britain: The Spiritual Identity of 'Britishness (2007), by Ian C. Bradley, I.B.Tauris, p. 34" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "British people" (Quotes, C) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Bernard Crick

About Bernard Crick

Sir Bernard Rowland Crick (16 December 1929 – 19 December 2008) was a British political theorist and democratic socialist whose views were often summarised as "politics is ethics done in public". He sought to arrive at a "politics of action", as opposed to a "politics of thought" or of ideology.