A certain amount of self-criticism and cynicism is healthy and stops society from becoming complacent and sliding backwards. The more developed a country is, the higher the need for it is to maintain its status. As the US has shown in recent years, complacency erodes democracy, national status and personal quality of life.
To take the example of the NHS - it is constantly under attack by budget cuts, fragmentation and privatisation. Would it still be something to be proud of in a few decades if everyone stopped holding leaders to account?
I think you are arguing that some people are not genuine. If the price of progress is hearing people you don't care for virtue signalling, that's fine by me. I'd much rather have too much, and risk some of it not being genuine or warranted, than too little.
And I would argue that the people who genuinely want better demonstrate more national pride and a better understanding of their own culture than those sitting back and patting themselves on the back.
To take the example of the NHS - it is constantly under attack by budget cuts, fragmentation and privatisation. Would it still be something to be proud of in a few decades if everyone stopped holding leaders to account?
I think you are arguing that some people are not genuine. If the price of progress is hearing people you don't care for virtue signalling, that's fine by me. I'd much rather have too much, and risk some of it not being genuine or warranted, than too little.
And I would argue that the people who genuinely want better demonstrate more national pride and a better understanding of their own culture than those sitting back and patting themselves on the back.