Thanks. I agree that Americans tend to see the "British" and the "English" as meaning the same.

The problem with doing this was driven home to me when I traveled throughout the U.K. in the months after 9/11. I'd so often seen the kind of anti-Americanism you describe among posh Brits that I half expected some people to think, "Well, the Americans had it coming."

Then, in Edinburgh, I had a chance encounter with a group of Scottish schoolchildren, who said that in Scotland (and maybe throughout the U.K.), there was a moment of silence in schools on the day after 9/11 to support America and the victims. The children were so proud that knew about 9/11, had done something to support us, and could tell me about it. It was really touching to see how much they cared. For me it was an example of the warmth toward America that you see among some Scots that I have seldom encountered among upper-class residents of England.