Joan Collins gave a "wake up!" slap upside the head to fellow Brits Englishmen today, the likes of which we haven't seen since Alexis Carrington Colby belted Krystle Jennings. "I believe that when a country loses so much respect for itself that it can no longer even be identified by its historically correct name, insecurity and lack of respect filter down to its inhabitants," Collins wrote in Thursday's edition of the Daily Mail, deriding those who insist on erasing "English" for "British" and "England" for the "UK." Englishmen--not Muslims, not Asian street vendors, not Eurotrash--are destroying England from within. Pointing to bad manners, self-obsession, and "feral mobs" roaming the streets, Collins notes that the English aren't acting very English these days. "It's frightful how being told that you are no good makes you hate yourself, and hate others. And it's frightful how quickly a whole country of self-loathers can be bred."

Her sentiments could easily be applied to this country as well.

No doubt, asdf. Although we never acquired the English habit of good manners. As bad as we are at acculturating immigrants, it seems that we are better than England and other European nations. I'll get to experience all this in Joan Collins' homeland 48 hours from now.

I suppose that although the current history of both societies demonstrates the degeneration of ethics, morals and manners, it would be more obvious with regard to the British as they have been the harbingers of good manners and their American cousins have always been know to have a bit of a crude edge.

Unfortunately, we all seem to be heading in the same direction.

In this country, depending on what part of it you’re in, things seem to be getting worse. Unless you’re going in or out of a Dunkin’ Donuts, in which case people are polite only because they’re getting their fix.

And, what is it with this use of “the finger”?? It’s become endemic that people will casually flip the bird for just about any reason. Very un-intelligent and very low-class.

By the way Dan: enjoy England (London?) but stay out of the tubes and off the buses! The cabs are the best in World anyway.

If their government doesn't start getting tough with regards to the assimilation of their foreign residents, even those won't be safe.