THE TRUTH DENIED
WHEN it gets to the stage that Oxford University students vote to remove a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, because accusingly, Her Majesty has “associations with recent colonial history”, then any lingering doubts I had about the world going completely loopy were dispelled in an instant. Which “right on” bird-brained idiot has been filling Oxford students heads with such historically inaccurate prejudice? The history of Elizabeth II’s amazingly long reign bears little resemblance to the warped version of it that these so-called students appear to believe. For the benefit of these deluded inhabitants of what used to be one of the greatest universities in the world – here goes.
Yes, Queen Elizabeth’s father WAS Emperor of India as well as King of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, plus being the monarch of the independent “Dominions” of Canada, Australia and New Zealand . On the other hand, Her Majesty has NEVER been an Empress of India (or of anywhere else, for that matter).
By the time of her Coronation, India had gained its independence and the Queen was graciously and diplomatically presiding over the transition of the British Empire into the Commonwealth, a voluntary family of nations that spans the globe, which India, like many former colonies, went on to join (so much for colonial “hatred” of “wicked” Britain). Further, Her Majesty is accepted as Head of the Commonwealth by these 54 former colonies and consequently presides over an international body that is made up of every race, creed and religion you can think of. Fifteen of these Commonwealth countries even volunteered, on independence, to retain Elizabeth II as their Queen and Head of State (somewhat more graciously than the students). What other former European colonial power can boast such a warm and friendly imperial outcome as the Commonwealth? The French, the Spanish? (I don’t think so). The Belgians (definitely not)? What other Monarch can boast such a racially diverse domain, all held together by CONSENT, not force? What on earth is “colonial”, “imperial” or “racist” about any of that?
Like it or lump it, the British Empire took centuries to build. It was not just created by conquering armies, that was a rarity. It was mainly born of the most adventurous (or desperate) souls, often from the poorest sections of society, who left Britain and Ireland’s shores to carve a living out of largely uninhabited wildernesses, creating new countries, in the process. There would be no Canada, no Australia, no New Zealand and no USA, if the British Empire had never existed (no modern, democratic India either, for that matter). These British emigrants didn’t follow the British flag, the flag followed them, often reluctantly. Thank God it did. Imperial volunteers, of every race and colour, joined the British to defeat the far more rapacious empires of Nazi Germany and Japan in the Second World War.
Having said that, Empire was not all glory. The native Americans and the Australian Aborigines were swept aside, often pitilessly. Such exploitative examples are nothing to be proud of, but of one thing I am certain – world history, from the beginning of time, is littered with countless examples of technologically inferior civilisations falling prey to the technologically more advanced societies. It has always been that way and I suspect, however enlightened we now think ourselves to be, it always will be (this is no excuse for the inexcusable, it is an explanation of why these things happen and for the sake of the misguided students, it is far from being a uniquely British trait). Those Oxford university “snowflake” students who cannot get their heads around such stark-staring realities are simply in conflict with that reality, the first victim of their frightening delusion being the truth.
It took just a few post-Second World War decades for Britain to voluntarily dissolve the Empire, usually without bloodshed, but not always. Kenya, Palestine, Aden, Cyprus and Ireland being classic examples of a more violent British departure. India, just prior to independence, also falling into terrible religious, inter-communal strife before the republics of India and Pakistan emerged. Despite all that, no better example of imperial demise, anywhere in the world, stands out more successfully than the transition of the British Empire into the Commonwealth. These Oxford students should be celebrating such an achievement, not condemning their monarch for not only being the head of it, but being the very embodiment of the spirit which brought it about.
For goodness sake, you could not find a more humane, caring, dutiful world leader than Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, nor a more racially blind, religiously tolerant, inclusively minded individual, than her gracious self. Respected, it seems, the world over, except in the lecture halls and faculties of Oxford University. If anything about post-imperial history offends me, it is the demonising of such a great lady, by a bunch of airhead students and their so-called “tutors” who have filled their minds with such history-warping nonsense. It sickens me.
Empire IS dead and rightly so. It is the world of the past and that is where it should remain, but to understand and LEARN about it, the students of Oxford have to understand the thought processes and values of the generations that brought it about and the pressures of the world as it was THEN. Applying our modern values to an age gone by, is the ultimate mistake. It produces only ignorance. Judge the past by your own standards and you will never understand it. To my mind, it is also a rejection of the very basis of human nature, good and bad. Reality is not always pretty, but it remains reality. We can only change the future, not the past. Failing (or refusing) to understand the past, leaves us less well equipped to improve that future.
Centuries ago, disrespecting the monarch could get your head stuck on Traitors Gate.
Oxford University needs to remember that and thank God that we have moved on to better days, days that are embodied in Queen Elizabeth II. A modern monarch in every way. Respect her image. She deserves it, the students don’t.