Why DO so many young people sneer at Britain?

SINCE the Salisbury poisonings, something has become horribly clear to me: Britain has lost its patriotism. I’m not talking about all of Britain, but my generation – the much-discussed millennials. Among people my own age (I’m 29) there has been barely a squeak of outrage over Russian agents poisoning people on British soil. In fact, in 2018 it’s rare to hear any millennial talk about Britain unless they’re being sniffy about it. If you want to gain kudos at the dinner parties I go to, just say something like ‘Britain’s broken’, and everyone will probably clap.

I’ve actually heard several millennials say our country is as bad as Russia, almost causing me to spit out my avocado toast.

There are alarming numbers of young people who think Britain, capitalism and everything else associated with Western culture absolutely stinks.

Many now flirt with politics that threaten our country, with Marxist ideas increasing in popularity.

Some think it’s time to give Communism another try. I say, like Elizabeth Taylor with marriage, it was doomed after the first go.

These ideological delusions are why few care that Jeremy Corbyn barely batted an eyelid over Salisbury, nor that his first instinct was to doubt British intelligence.

They love him because he promotes and perpetuates the millennial mindset of hating Britain, as well as mistrust over anything the Government says.

In January, a group of university students stormed into a Winston Churchill-themed cafe in London, shouting and telling the owners to change their ‘offensive branding’. The owner said at the time: ‘As far as I am concerned, if you cannot celebrate Britain and great Britons you are just erasing history’. Never mind that Churchill saved us from Hitler, these young people despise everything, and anyone, representing Britishness.

Of course, millennials aren’t the first generation to be unpatriotic.

Back in the 1970s, punks called the monarchy a ‘fascist regime’. And in 1933, students at the Oxford Union famously voted that ‘this House will in no circumstances fight for its King and Country’.

But, when it came down to it, previous generations have been prepared to stick up for British values, even taking up arms when necessary. This would not happen nowadays, not least because millennials would be useless fighters, more interested in playing Pokemon Go on their iPhones.

Come World War Three, you’ll find them all hiding on Jezza’s allotment. Part of me understands why my age group doesn’t like TENS of thousands of students are graduating from British universities without basic maths skills, according to the OECD’s education director. Jeremy Corbyn will be delighted – it’ll make his dire economic plans much easier to sell. Britain very much, not least because I graduated two years after the financial crisis. It’s hard to feel passionate about a country where you can’t even dream of buying a home. We millennials definitely deserve our own violin orchestra at times.

But we are also products of modern universities, dominated by Left- wing professors encouraging suspicion about Western values.

On Twitter, there is a page highlighting what sort of topics degree students now study, most of which inspire warped thinking. One, for instance, examines the role of milk as a ‘symbol of and tool for white dominance and superiority’. Another examines ‘ecosexuality’ (no, I haven’t got a clue either).

There are countless other bizarre courses. Imagine how detached from reality these are making the young become.

To make matters more toxic, student teaching hours have decreased rapidly, so lots of the nation’s youngsters have hours on end to nurture their many grievances.

But, sorry snowflakes, it’s time to quit the self-pitying paranoia, and get with the real world.

There are so many advantages to living in Britain, which is why half the planet wants to move here.

WE CAN kiss who we want, write what we like, and spout our political opinions without being thrown into jail. That’s in contrast to Russia, where Pussy Riot protesters – mainly made up of women around my age – have been locked up. Earlier this month, one of the group’s male activists was allegedly poisoned.

Because we’ve been so cossetted, never having to face the hardships or horrors of previous generations, we millennials have lost sight of our luck. I just wish more would realise this. And that it’s not a nationalistic thing. Being British is simple. It probably means you like tea. And complaining. And you’re not very good at dancing.

But generally, what unites us are liberal values, with a large dollop of common sense. It’s time patriotism had a revival. It’s time it was cool to say I’m British – and proud.