Posted by Radu
on 29/10/2009, 19:30:05, in reply to "I think it's inevitable "
131.111.135.188
--Previous Message--
: The long term future of the monarchy in places
: like Canada,Australia and New Zealand is
: just unsustainable.it is a relic of a
: by-gone imperial era when all those
: countries were part of the former British
: Empire.That era is long gone and the
: monarchical ties are just becoming more and
: more anachronistic and increasingly
: perceived to be so by citizens of those
: countries.If I were a Canadian,I too would
: be calling for the swift replacement of the
: monarchy with a Canadian head of state.
:
: The plain fact is that this particular
: monarchy is British and it is only of real
: relevance to Britain and the British
: people.Pretending that it has the same
: relevance for other countries doesn't work
: anymore.Canadians and Australians are
: increasingly convinced that an absentee head
: of state located in a country thousands of
: miles away
: has become an absurd political
: anachronism.They want their own political
: system,however flawed, to be at least
: entirely their own.
:
: In my view,it would be a good thing for
: everybody concerned if the British monarchy
: simply returned to being just that...a
: British monarchy.Then we could effect
: necessary reforms to the institution without
: the handicap of having to consult and obtain
: the sanction of these other countries (which
: is the excuse always used to delay making
: reforms) while Canada,Australia,New Zealand
: et al can get on with being themselves and
: forging their own identities.
I for one have never understood how you can just forge an identity as if it were a new pair of keys. Especially when - as it is the case with the three Commonwealth realms discussed here - you don't have anything to forge it from, anything really specific. This whole Canadian/Australian/ New Zealander(?) national identity thing will always seem bizarre to most people. I know I'll get boos for this, so I won't even respond.
:
: Putting an end to the anachronistic
: connection with our monarchy should not
: necessarily result in the lessening of any
: bonds of friendship and shared history that
: we have with each other.On the contrary,it
: may serve to actually strengthen such ties
: by bringing them up to date and focussing on
: the future.
:
: After all,the break with the monarchy that
: occurred in 1776 does not seem to have
: reduced the interest in it that many
: Americans on here and elsewhere seem to
: show!
:
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