07.01.2011 08:19 AM

God save the Queen

Another royal tour, another bunch of opinion columns decrying the royals.

Look, I’m Irish and I’m a republican, and I have been since I read Yeats at the age of 13. But, honestly: why do some people get their kilts in such a knot about the Windsors coming to visit?

I mean, it’s not like they’re calling for the mass-murder of gays – like the “religious leaders” the Harper government permitted into Canada this very week. It’s not like they’re neo-Nazis – like haters the Harper government permitted into Canada a few weeks ago.

As guests go, and in comparative terms, they’re quite inoffensive. Sure, they cost taxpayers a lot, and they’re an anachronistic anti-democratic institution. But so’s the Senate – to which Harper appointed some of his defeated cronies just a few weeks ago.

See a trend, here? I say we should keep the Queen as our leader, and ship the Harper cabal over to Britain, to take up residence in the Tower of London.

Who’s with me?

19 Comments

  1. JStanton says:

    Whatever folks decide in the distant future is up to them – for now, however, the monarchy is an important structural component that underpins our society. If we remove it without replacing it appropriately, we risk weakening our society, and thus our security and economy.

    Our social structure is what holds us individuals together – clearly, most of us can’t stand one another, and wouldn’t willingly associate if you paid us!

    The monarchy, currently, allows us the basis of that association, and thus a country we call Canada. The Windsor’s, despite their quite understandable peccadilloes, fit their job descriptions pretty well.

    If it ain’t broke, lets rather focus on fixing stuff that is.

    .

    • Mike B says:

      To say that you are grossly exaggerating the monarchy’s position in our society is putting it mildly. People are all gaga over the Royals because they’re famous and on television, not because they are the least bit important in our lives as Canadians. How exactly is the monarchy an “important structural component?” We don’t answer to them any more then the Prime Minister answeres to a grasshopper. In addition, our nation was also founded on French institutions as well the cultures and traditions of the Indigenous people of this continent. Not to mention wave after wave of immigrants who really couldn’t care less. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a hate-on for the Royals, but I’m completely indifferent to their visit, as are the majority of Canadians. Just as the Senate is an archaic institution, so too is the monarchy and it’s time for Canada to move on. I hope the next individual to grace our twenty dollar bill will be a true Canadian who actually made a difference in this country.

  2. Anne Peterson says:

    I am decidedly with you. But may I say that my older teen grandchildren are indifferent to the royal visit. I think they have been inoculated against fanhood and this is probably a good thing. I am fairly indifferent too. But I agree the care and feeding of the conservative government is a much much worse thing than a couple of fairly nice young persons touring the country.

  3. Ted (not the other one) says:

    I’m with you on abolishing the senate. Definitely with you on keeping guys like Bilal Philips out too (Although he probably kept his Canadian citizenship). The royals are harmless, so they’re fine. The tower of London is a tourist attraction now, so I’m ok if Harper & Co. pay a visit.
    Happy Canada day Warren. Same to everyone else around here.

  4. dave says:

    Royal family shows us what is possible with a basic guaranteed annual income programme.

  5. Bill M. says:

    Happy Frackin’ Canada Day Y’all!

  6. Patrick Hamilton says:

    A monarchist I was born, a monarchist I shall die……

    A Happy Canada Day to all!…..warts and all, its still the best place in the world to live……

  7. Chris says:

    King Harper can’t be happy with how pudgy he looks next to the svelte young royals.

  8. MississaugaLibPeter says:

    I got nothing against the Royals, but Canada on our 150th Birthday should finally be free of having a foreigner as our head of state and on our money – or earlier to avoid Chuck.

    I have mentioned it here before, this is a Policy that the Liberal Party should embrace!

  9. Lipman says:

    They are a complete anachronism, and the idolatry expressed by many Canadians for W&K is sad. But more importantly, why the hell is Bilal Phillips allowed in the country when George Galloway isn’t!

  10. I keep saying this but Heather MacIvor’s pre-election analysis was right on the mark.

  11. allegra fortissima says:

    “Only so long as they stay, will the White Tower stand”

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/images/1728_people_places/492431_raven_tower_555x203.jpg

    Happy Canada Day and Long Live The Queen

  12. Michael says:

    Umm, our system of law and governance are all based on the existence of the Crown. All of our statutes and jurisprudence would have to be updated, amended, etc. That’s a major undertaking.

    I don’t think “structural component” with “structural” being the operative word, had anything to do with pop culture.

  13. Pete says:

    I noticed front page complimentary comments in Le Jounal de Montreal today along with almost a full page picture.

  14. Wannabeapiper says:

    The Royal families family, chopped off the heads of several of my Scottish ancestors. So I am at the least ambivalent.

  15. RN200 says:

    WK only loves them because W&K make sure his initials keep getting seen in print….

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