Emily Perkins: There was something wussy about it
Posted by AlexT - 24/09/09 at 11:09 amThis article, ‘I wasn’t old enough to even think of throwing an egg at the Queen’ was written by Emily Perkins, a New Zealand writer. The full version appeared in the Guardian on 19 July 2002.
The word “Commonwealth” instantly conjures an image of a dusty, baking-hot classroom, last period on a Friday before the end of term, and a teacher in a beard, walking shorts and thick knee-length socks, pointing out a map which is still, essentially, a map of Empire, only now it has a different name. Thirty schoolchildren look on, none of them listening, all of them dying to get out and go for a swim and then hang around outside McDonald’s in the mall. The map is vast, and New Zealand, as ever, is right at the bottom of the world.
Being a member of the Commonwealth always seemed, to be honest, a bit like being in Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven, when the really big kids were in the Famous Five. There was some thing wussy about it – not simply the lack of American grunt, but a quality of innocence and inexperience based on still being tied to Mummy Britannia’s apron strings, being part of a disparate family who neither shared wealth nor had much in common other than former-colony status.
Category : Connecting with Young People, My Commonwealth, The Commonwealth's Relevance
Tags: classroom, Commonwealth, dusty, Empire, Guardian, New Zealand, Politcs
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September 27th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
nice reflections on the old days of empire
September 27th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
The British Empire seems to only ever be associated with “oppressive genocidal evil” or “wimpish innocent naivety”, never anything in between or anything realistic.
Unfortunate that the line between it and the Commonwealth isn’t painted clearly and positively.
September 27th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Couldnt agree more Invictus… I dont think the Commonwealth will ever get away from its association with empire. The same bits coloured on the map. London and the Queen at its head.
October 2nd, 2009 at 1:01 pm
The Empire of Britain seems to have diminished but definitely not dead. I do think to a certain extend it is a humanitatian empire as compared to the bygone eras’. As much as the empire try to show a totally different image now, to certain degree one can’t help but agree with Emily and Invictus_88.
October 25th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
I think the Commonwealth is far more relevant than La Francophonie (the Francophoney) as it is a cohesive organisation with a Head and uses the language of business – English. The Francophonie is France’s copy of the Commonwealth created in 1986 which is a completely useless organisation based on preserving the French language against the use of English as the language of business – and it is losing ground. la Francophonie has some totally tenuous members such as Romania and Egypt (where French is only spoken by the elite), and countries like Rwanda and Algeria (both French-speaking countries) are turning away from La Francophonie and going towards the Commonwealth. Obviously the Commonwealth offers more opportunities for them. The Commonwealth fares much better than La Francophonie because it has potential and can be an international giant if it reforms. La Francophonie is just a French reaction to the Commonwealth dreamed up to appease Quebec nationalists and should die as it is only based on language – French – a language which cannot compete with English in business. Even students in France are clamouring to learn English. Canada should drop its membership in La Francophonie and concentrate on the Commonwealth – the one that really has potential. The Commonwealth has one enormous strength – it uses the language of business – English. It can become an important business forum for trade and economic development, while La Francophonie cannot. Most Canadians have heard of the Commonwealth, but few have heard of La Francophonie – that speaks of relevance for itself.
October 25th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Further to my last point, if French, Spanish and Portuguese associations of nations are trying to copy the Commonwealth, then the Commonwealth must be doing something right.