Maybe we should keep them but take away their power and status.... (Should the monarchy be abolished?)

Member Name: strange_child

Product:	Should the monarchy be abolished?
Date:	27/02/02 (288 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: symbol, culture

Disadvantages: money, status, can't be a good life

I am not hugely against the Queen or the idea of monarchy, but then again I am not a fan of the whole system, here are my pros and cons of the monarchy.

Pros;
<Culture> We have had a King or Queen since before the beginning of this country, and therefore I think that it gives us a sense of history. One of the main things that foreigners think of when they think of Britain is the Queen, and she is the ultimate symbol of Britain in a by-gone era. I think that it's good for countries to keep some of their past - it is what makes them different from anywhere else, but these days there are other things that distinguish us from the rest of the World - Bigben, London buses, umbrellas!!

<Feminism> I suppose from a 'Girl Power' point of view, the Queen could be quite inspiring for women. I personally don't take much notice of her, and she wouldn't inspire me, but the fact that a woman is thought my many to be the most important person in the country is pretty kewl.

Cons;
<Money> It is so unfair that the Queen gets so much money and status, and all for nothing. Granted, she does make speeches and did offer to pay tax, but then you can think of those who spend their lives in a boring, monotonous job, doing about 10 times the amount of work she does, and getting about 1% of the money she has. It really isn't fair. If I was the Queen I would take some responsibility, and give most of the money that I didn't need to charities or to helping the country. The only think that she did right was to be born into the right family at the right time.

<How they got to power> Let's face it, the way the Royal family got to power in the first place was by having ancestors who were exceptionally good at winning battles and killing people. Would you really want a murderer or even the decendants of murderers to run the country? Thankfully these days the country is more democratic and we can vote for who we wan
t (even if it is only between to very similar people!).

<Status> Most of us are brought up to believe that the Queen is very important, and I did have the idea when I was younger that the Queen was 'the best person in the whole country!' While this may not be too important, I believe that everyone is as good as each other, but in different ways,m and this is not determined by power and status.

<Their life> To be honest I don't envy the Royal family. They have so much pointless ritual to go through, and it can't be particularly interesting. I would hate to be in Prince William or Harry's position and grow up with everyone knowing what I do, and what I'm like. It can't be easy.

In conclusion, I am not in favour of completely scrapping the Royal family. I do, however, believe that they must donate more money to charity, and help the people in their country. I think that they should be kept as a symbol of the country, but without any power (well, she doesn't seem to have much now).

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