Pride

Today while England played their last match in the World Cup the Euro Pride march came to a close. And throughout self-expression meant accessorising, whether with your St Georges cross flag or hint of pink Union Jack, your shirt or lack of it.

When did it all become about the accessories?

Is this how we show our pride? What are we proud about? Our struggles against oppression? Our football teams? Some pride seems more justified, earned almost.

Pride seems to be able to be positive and negative. If it comes with negative attributes such as arrogance and vanity it can engender negative behaviour as in when national pride turns to xenophobia.

As Charles Dickens put it, 'Pride is one of the seven deadly sins; but it cannot be the pride of a mother in her children, for that is a compound of two cardinal virtues -- faith and hope.'