A dinosaur rears it's head

[simplythebest 0]

Why not? - and, be warned; this is your last chance to say something....anything... sensible. If you fail to cut the mustard on this one, you and me are over. finished. done.

 

The American system of electing a President doesn't appeal to me, especially with the modern day political corruption etc. The Queen isn't a politician and the powers she has are pretty much symbolic, the people elect the parliament that run the country. I'm proud of the history and tradition we have with the royal family, it creates pretty large unity and feel good factor. And it's not just an English thing by any means, The Queen loves Scotland and sees Balmoral as an escape from Buckingham Palace life. Charles is pretty fond of us as well.

 

Skeptics may discuss the cost but I imagine a President and the elections involved wouldn't be cheap, plus the royals bring in millions from tourism. I won't pretend to be an expert that can throw exact figures about off the top of my head, and while I believe they do the economy more good than harm my support for the monarchy is largely about patriotism. If the worst comes to the worst with the independence referendum I'd at least hope to see that element of British identity retained, and it is the SNP's policy to do so.

 

I'll ignore the patronising stuff.

[The Real PapaBear 0]

The American system of electing a President doesn't appeal to me, especially with the modern day political corruption etc. The Queen isn't a politician and the powers she has are pretty much symbolic, the people elect the parliament that run the country. I'm proud of the history and tradition we have with the royal family, it creates pretty large unity and feel good factor. And it's not just an English thing by any means, The Queen loves Scotland and sees Balmoral as an escape from Buckingham Palace life. Charles is pretty fond of us as well.

 

Skeptics may discuss the cost but I imagine a President and the elections involved wouldn't be cheap, plus the royals bring in millions from tourism. I won't pretend to be an expert that can throw exact figures about off the top of my head, and while I believe they do the economy more good than harm my support for the monarchy is largely about patriotism. If the worst comes to the worst with the independence referendum I'd at least hope to see that element of British identity retained, and it is the SNP's policy to do so.

 

I'll ignore the patronising stuff.

 

 

Ok, to summarise.

 

1. You want to keep the monarchy because the American election system is corrupt. Why not, being a European, look at similar European countries? Is the German system or the French system corrupt?

 

2. You want to keep the monarchy because "the Royals bring in millions from tourism".

 

No. 1 tourist destination in the world? The Republic of France.

The Republic of Italy is 5th

The Republic of Germany is 6 and the UK is 8th.

 

I'm keen to know two things;

1. why tourists would stop coming to gawp at castles just because the queen no longer lives in them. (Have you ever tried to visit the palace of Versailles?)

2. How Scotland befits from people coming to visit Buckingham Palace and Windsor castle?

 

Lifted this from 'yahoo answers' as it was voted the best reply:

 

"The major benefit of the Monarchy is they bring in massive amounts of tourism. Millions of tourists come to England to see the Monarchy per year, and many shops in London thrive on this tourism. If the monarchy was abolished, it is highly likely that Many london shops would fail, and London's economy would flop.

 

Also, the Monarchy is insepereably linked with the English Nobility, and the many grand Noble houses across the county also attract huge numbers of tourists, both from within the UK and other countries. It would be diffiult to maintain the Nobility without the Monarchy, so losing the Monarchy would also lose the money brought in by visitors to nobility houses."

 

Yep.

 

3. You want to keep the monarchy because the Queen has no powers and people elect the Parliament to run the country. If you simply want a powerless symbol as your head of state, why not elect an ampersand?

 

4. You want to keep the monarchy to give Her Maj a country escape from the pressures of doing fuck all for the rest of the year and so that prince Charles has someone other than his plants to patronise?

 

I'm going to show you two images. Guess which one came first.

http://www.google.fr/imgres?imgurl=http://www.brynashley.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Cinderall-vs.-Royals.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.brynashley.com/royal-wedding-vs-cinderella&h=550&w=469&sz=59&tbnid=0AlaNfYVTqszgM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=80&zoom=1&usg=__wHqlV3dHC3RnS_nmAgPrM03PisY=&docid=5bJD-D7JsgYrhM&sa=X&ei=S834UeLUF7Cf7ga99YHYCQ&ved=0CC4Q9QEwAA&dur=13667

[andy steel 0]

I'm going out on a limb here TRPB...is it possible you're not a Monarchist?

[Thinker 887]

Ok, to summarise.

 

1. You want to keep the monarchy because the American election system is corrupt. Why not, being a European, look at similar European countries? Is the German system or the French system corrupt?

 

2. You want to keep the monarchy because "the Royals bring in millions from tourism".

 

No. 1 tourist destination in the world? The Republic of France.

The Republic of Italy is 5th

The Republic of Germany is 6 and the UK is 8th.

 

I'm keen to know two things;

1. why tourists would stop coming to gawp at castles just because the queen no longer lives in them. (Have you ever tried to visit the palace of Versailles?)

2. How Scotland befits from people coming to visit Buckingham Palace and Windsor castle?

 

Lifted this from 'yahoo answers' as it was voted the best reply:

 

"The major benefit of the Monarchy is they bring in massive amounts of tourism. Millions of tourists come to England to see the Monarchy per year, and many shops in London thrive on this tourism. If the monarchy was abolished, it is highly likely that Many london shops would fail, and London's economy would flop.

 

Also, the Monarchy is insepereably linked with the English Nobility, and the many grand Noble houses across the county also attract huge numbers of tourists, both from within the UK and other countries. It would be diffiult to maintain the Nobility without the Monarchy, so losing the Monarchy would also lose the money brought in by visitors to nobility houses."

 

Yep.

 

3. You want to keep the monarchy because the Queen has no powers and people elect the Parliament to run the country. If you simply want a powerless symbol as your head of state, why not elect an ampersand?

 

4. You want to keep the monarchy to give Her Maj a country escape from the pressures of doing fuck all for the rest of the year and so that prince Charles has someone other than his plants to patronise?

 

I'm going to show you two images. Guess which one came first.

http://www.google.fr/imgres?imgurl=http://www.brynashley.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Cinderall-vs.-Royals.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.brynashley.com/royal-wedding-vs-cinderella&h=550&w=469&sz=59&tbnid=0AlaNfYVTqszgM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=80&zoom=1&usg=__wHqlV3dHC3RnS_nmAgPrM03PisY=&docid=5bJD-D7JsgYrhM&sa=X&ei=S834UeLUF7Cf7ga99YHYCQ&ved=0CC4Q9QEwAA&dur=13667

 

This is probably going to sound like a weak argument, but there has to be more to changing something so fundamental about our country's identity than comparing our situation to others' and saying "I'd rather do it like them". Personally, I like being a citizen of the United Kingdom, despite all its quirks and failings - It's part of who I am. The thought of the UK or the monarchy ceasing to exist fills me with the same kind of dread that I felt during admin when it seemed that Rangers might be gone forever.

 

Maintaining traditions for tradition's sake is daft, but maintaining traditions because they're familiar and people like them is surely forgivable. For example. why do I celebrate Christmas? I'm not a Christian, I don't believe in Santa, and you could easily trash my rose-tinted view of it with talk of commercialization and waste. You could probably perform a similar hatchet job on why giving up my hard-earned cash to support a football team full of highly paid young ingrates is logically and ethically flawed. I still hope to find a selection of over-priced Rangers merchandise under the tree this year.

 

Also, sorry that this thread has veered so far off-topic. Maybe we could shunt it out of the way of the folk who want to talk football?

[simplythebest 0]

Ok, to summarise.

 

1. You want to keep the monarchy because the American election system is corrupt. Why not, being a European, look at similar European countries? Is the German system or the French system corrupt?

 

2. You want to keep the monarchy because "the Royals bring in millions from tourism".

 

No. 1 tourist destination in the world? The Republic of France.

The Republic of Italy is 5th

The Republic of Germany is 6 and the UK is 8th.

 

I'm keen to know two things;

1. why tourists would stop coming to gawp at castles just because the queen no longer lives in them. (Have you ever tried to visit the palace of Versailles?)

2. How Scotland befits from people coming to visit Buckingham Palace and Windsor castle?

 

Lifted this from 'yahoo answers' as it was voted the best reply:

 

"The major benefit of the Monarchy is they bring in massive amounts of tourism. Millions of tourists come to England to see the Monarchy per year, and many shops in London thrive on this tourism. If the monarchy was abolished, it is highly likely that Many london shops would fail, and London's economy would flop.

 

Also, the Monarchy is insepereably linked with the English Nobility, and the many grand Noble houses across the county also attract huge numbers of tourists, both from within the UK and other countries. It would be diffiult to maintain the Nobility without the Monarchy, so losing the Monarchy would also lose the money brought in by visitors to nobility houses."

 

Yep.

 

3. You want to keep the monarchy because the Queen has no powers and people elect the Parliament to run the country. If you simply want a powerless symbol as your head of state, why not elect an ampersand?

 

4. You want to keep the monarchy to give Her Maj a country escape from the pressures of doing fuck all for the rest of the year and so that prince Charles has someone other than his plants to patronise?

 

I'm going to show you two images. Guess which one came first.

http://www.google.fr/imgres?imgurl=http://www.brynashley.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Cinderall-vs.-Royals.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.brynashley.com/royal-wedding-vs-cinderella&h=550&w=469&sz=59&tbnid=0AlaNfYVTqszgM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=80&zoom=1&usg=__wHqlV3dHC3RnS_nmAgPrM03PisY=&docid=5bJD-D7JsgYrhM&sa=X&ei=S834UeLUF7Cf7ga99YHYCQ&ved=0CC4Q9QEwAA&dur=13667

 

So a nationalist and a staunch republican.

 

Is there anything about Britain you actually do like?

[simplythebest 0]

This is probably going to sound like a weak argument, but there has to be more to changing something so fundamental about our country's identity than comparing our situation to others' and saying "I'd rather do it like them". Personally, I like being a citizen of the United Kingdom, despite all its quirks and failings - It's part of who I am. The thought of the UK or the monarchy ceasing to exist fills me with the same kind of dread that I felt during admin when it seemed that Rangers might be gone forever.

 

Maintaining traditions for tradition's sake is daft, but maintaining traditions because they're familiar and people like them is surely forgivable. For example. why do I celebrate Christmas? I'm not a Christian, I don't believe in Santa, and you could easily trash my rose-tinted view of it with talk of commercialization and waste. You could probably perform a similar hatchet job on why giving up my hard-earned cash to support a football team full of highly paid young ingrates is logically and ethically flawed. I still hope to find a selection of over-priced Rangers merchandise under the tree this year.

 

Also, sorry that this thread has veered so far off-topic. Maybe we could shunt it out of the way of the folk who want to talk football?

 

Don't worry Thinker you're in a majority, even Scottish opinion polls vastly favour the monarchy.

[Darthter 542]

Don't worry Thinker you're in a majority, even Scottish opinion polls vastly favour the monarchy.

 

I'm definitely not a Royalist, but they are nice to have.....I would like to keep the Queen as head of state when we go independent.

[simplythebest 0]

I'm definitely not a Royalist, but they are nice to have.....I would like to keep the Queen as head of state when we go independent.

 

When.....?

[The Real PapaBear 0]

Personally, I like being a citizen of the United Kingdom, despite all its quirks and failings - It's part of who I am. The thought of the UK or the monarchy ceasing to exist fills me with the same kind of dread that I felt during admin when it seemed that Rangers might be gone forever.

 

Far from being a weak argument, it's the strongest you could make. You are quite simply happy with the way things are and have no desire to change. Fine - there's no argument against that.

 

If you had based your No vote on the usual nonsensical arguments put forward, 'we couldn't survive economically', ' we're too wee', 'the Queen likes us', 'bad things would happen', then it would be possible to argue why each of those isn't true."

 

I can't argue with: "no thanks, perfectly happy with the way things are".

 

I can, however, lament the fact you are a feeble-minded, lackey to the will of our English Overlords and that you are betraying your children's future and that generations of Scots yet unborn will curse your name in perpetuity.

[The Real PapaBear 0]

So a nationalist and a staunch republican.

 

Is there anything about Britain you actually do like?

 

So no comment on the images then?