by Maria C Collins

Created on: March 13, 2009   Last Updated: October 25, 2010

Any observer of the British people today would say that we are becoming more selfish as a society. Bad manners, rudeness and self-absorption are patently apparent. Stand by any urban road and observe how motorists behave; they break the law by speeding, talking on mobile telephones, shaving, applying make-up and reading the newspaper whilst driving. They must overtake the car in front because they are more important than and are completely inconsiderate of the needs of other drivers.

Yet on Friday March 13, 2009 the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) ran its annual charity raising appeal on radio and television. The appeal alternates yearly between Children in Need and Comic Relief, this year it is Comic Relief. Led by the comedians, people all over the United Kingdom will be doing something "Funny for Money" or giving of their time to arrange events or donating money.

The money raised helps with projects both in Africa and in the UK. The projects that the money raised by Comic Relief supports is truly diverse as the following examples illustrate. In Rwanda, Comic Relief are assisting the widows of the terrible genocide in, with training and micro loans, to assist them to set up small businesses. This enables them to support themselves and their children. In the UK, Comic relief supports clubs for child carers of disabled parents or siblings to allow them to be children for a few hours a month, or week, and to meet other children in the same circumstances.

People do all sorts of peculiar and comic things to raise money and are prepared to make themselves look foolish or to do difficult things to raise money for others. Everyone has a great deal of fun and, despite the recession, the expected total, as in other years, is expected to exceed the previous one.

It would seem then that there are anomalies in British society; on the one hand, society is selfish and on the other hand generous. Why is there this anomaly?

The British have made their children little Princes and Princesses; they have few limits and little discipline. Yet British children are the unhappiest in Europe. according to a recent survey. Families live a semi-detached lifestyle, both parents have to work long hours to be able to own a house and support a family these days. The church's influence declines year by year and, thus, the cohesion in society that it previously exercised.

Mrs. Thatcher, Britain's first female prime Minister told the people that there was "no such thing as society

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