A JUBILEE OF SOME RARITY.
It's not every year that the United Kingdom, or indeed any Kingdom can boast of a Diamond Jubilee. Queen Elizabeth II has been on the throne now since 1952. Although her function, as a Constitutional Monarch, does not include any form of governance, the incumbent Prime Minister has a weekly meeting with the monarch to keep he or she informed. The Queen, or King, has to give the Royal assent to bills passed in the Houses of Parliament, purely as a matter of routine; the monarch does not oppose decisions made by her/his Government, but may make comment in an advisory capacity. The Queen has now been performing these duties, along with official visits and openings for all that time. Had she been in receipt of air miles, she wouldn't have been around for the recent celebrations. But the Queen is always there, and has been for all of her sixty year reign.
The overwhelming affection for the monarchy is still very much apparent, mainly due to the Queen and Prince Philip, who is invariably is at her side. Unfortunately, he had to succumb to an infection during the weekend celebrations. He will be 91 years old in a few days time. The author likes Philip in particular, he is what I call 'blokish'.
There is, nevertheless, another side to the last 60 years, not the fault necessarily of our Royalty, which is very much a downside. Abuse of so many things, drugs and the law in general. Education has deteriorated dramatically, but young folk are told that they are clever, something that is backfiring on the nation, particularly in the work place. Whether or not people work for their self respect, everyone appears to think that they are entitled to whatever is on offer. Many will spend a lifetime in the world of dependency and benefit, paid for out of the labours of others. Add to this the fact that many major companies have either disappeared or been swallowed up by foreign companies, very often with borrowed money, which I'm sure will not bode well with what could happen in the world of high finance in the very near future.
Are we a better prepared nation now than we were in 1952? I'm not convinced that we are. We pretend that we are, but from every aspect, we are living in denial, living beyond our means as individuals, and as a nation.
SERIOUS DECISIONS ARE OVERDUE.
The overwhelming affection for the monarchy is still very much apparent, mainly due to the Queen and Prince Philip, who is invariably is at her side. Unfortunately, he had to succumb to an infection during the weekend celebrations. He will be 91 years old in a few days time. The author likes Philip in particular, he is what I call 'blokish'.
There is, nevertheless, another side to the last 60 years, not the fault necessarily of our Royalty, which is very much a downside. Abuse of so many things, drugs and the law in general. Education has deteriorated dramatically, but young folk are told that they are clever, something that is backfiring on the nation, particularly in the work place. Whether or not people work for their self respect, everyone appears to think that they are entitled to whatever is on offer. Many will spend a lifetime in the world of dependency and benefit, paid for out of the labours of others. Add to this the fact that many major companies have either disappeared or been swallowed up by foreign companies, very often with borrowed money, which I'm sure will not bode well with what could happen in the world of high finance in the very near future.
Are we a better prepared nation now than we were in 1952? I'm not convinced that we are. We pretend that we are, but from every aspect, we are living in denial, living beyond our means as individuals, and as a nation.
SERIOUS DECISIONS ARE OVERDUE.
posted by minister | 08:51
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