The British identity crisis

Perhaps in response to evidence of alienation in British society, from yobs in hoodies terrorizing shopping malls to the subway suicide bombers, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government is trying to come up with a motto to bind everyone together, express the nation's essential qualities. The BBC and other news websites have been soliciting suggestions, which I excerpt here:

"Once Great: Britain"

"Americans who missed the boat"

"At least we're not French"

"usque conabor" (I will try my utmost), answered almost immediately by some pig/faux Latin,

"Dipso, fatso, bingo, ASBO, Tesco(neatly addressing the country's contemporary problems with alcohol, obesity, gambling, antisocial youth, and materialism).

and then, the priceless

"Get blotto, play the lotto, that's our motto"

If i were writing in the spirit of the above suggestions, I would probably offer, "Don't be a sap, mind the gap!" In any case, I think it's clear the British sense of humor, if not its "yearning" for national unity, is very much alive and well.