UrbanFervour
Active Member
What kind of a self respecting country pledges symbolic allegiance to a long-dead empire and a magic old guy in a castle in ANOTHER country?
One that, when compared to most other countries in the world, enjoys a stable democracy, transparent government, broad civil liberties, tolerance of diversity and multiculturalism, high standards of economic freedom, quality of education and health care, and enviable standards of living. One that over 100,000 people sacrificed their lives for in two world wars. One that people from around the world are still lining up to emigrate to by the millions.
Maybe not by coincidence, it's also a country (and province) that inherited a judicial system, rule of common law, parliamentary democracy, business practices, and most widely spoken language - from Britain and the British Empire. Should we be ashamed of all these things as well?
Even if the so-called Royal Family is a ridiculous anachronism we should all pay way less attention to (it is, and we should), the crown is a useful legal fiction and symbol representing a thousand + years of state power - the exercise of which gradually devolved from a single all-powerful monarch (whether Celtic, Saxon, Danish Viking, Norman, Scottish, Dutch, German, or yes, English) to the broadest constituency. It's not only British history - it's the history that shaped our society as it exists. We shouldn't be ashamed of it.