Britain has been floundering under the illusion of being ‘Great’ for many decades. To determine what was ever meant by that word, let us look at the dictionary definition.

The first meaning is ‘large’. As an archipelago in the North Sea, the area of Britain is not as large as France or Spain, and against the super-powers like China and Russia, it is small.

Perhaps it is ‘good’ then, another meaning for ‘great’. If we take good as meaning ‘of high quality’ rather than benevolent, then Britain has produced many high quality goods and intellectual ideas and ideals. That is something to be proud about but hardly enough to warrant a title for the country of Britain. A prime example of passed engineering excellence is the SS Great Britain designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It marked the transition from wooden sailing ships to iron hulled ships with steam engines and a single propeller. That was a ‘great’ move forward for the entire world and Britain’s place in it.

Through dominating sea trade and it’s naval power, Britain became an ‘important’ world player, and I think this is closest to the meaning of it’s present appellation. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Britain ruled the waves and in doing so, ruled a large number of countries. Empires, however are historically prone to collapse and the British Empire was no exception. Now the Empire not boasted about and has been reduced to autonomous Commonwealth Countries. This includes such countries as Australia who are on the edge of losing patience with a absent, non-Australian, Head of State.

Britain is still a player in world politics, but I would argue it hardly deserves to continue to call itself ‘great’. Some British Citizens think that by leaving the European Union, the UK will be important again. By what merit? I expect it is more likely to sink in the ranks of minor world powers rather than be elevated. Where will it’s influence with it’s immediate neighbours be, let alone countries further away? Without a say in Brussels, it will be lesser rather than greater, I think.

Perhaps the Brits have been leaning on the laurels of their great, great, great grand parents for too long. Greatness has to be earned, not assumed by an illusion of ‘national pride’ and ‘jingoism’. The solution for Great Britain, in my view, is to drop the ‘Great’ and call itself ‘The United Kingdom’.

Consider America. There is another nation that has become rather mixed up in what to call itself. The current president uses the term ‘America’ as short hand for ‘The United States of America’ – as do many. Worryingly some geographical accuracy is lost in the use of the word America. America is after all, a continent stretching from the far north to the far south and includes many other countries, apart from the USA.

Perhaps we should also be worried that Mr. President is going to use the cliché, make America great in his re-election campaign. I wonder whether his use of the abbreviated title of his country, is a kind of bluff that the USA is physically bigger than it is? Is he planning to invade Canada and South America? Or perhaps he is using the ‘great’ adjective to describe importance rather than size. He needs to clarify this if he wants votes from people who think before they vote. Or perhaps not, since most of those who voted him into power are……….(you complete this sentence please).

It is the character of Malvolio, in Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night, who said, ‘Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.’

Britain achieved greatness, as did the United States of America, that is clear. The problem for both is, not so much recognising how they became great nations, but when they stopped being so. Pride is a dangerous and humorous affliction and if you don’t believe me, watch the play. Be warned, Mr. President and you folks who voted Brexit.

Your great, great, great grandparents achieved great things by hard graft. If you have done nothing to earn your ‘greatness’ you will be found out, and that is true for both people and nations.