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From: shindman@utcs.UUCP
Newsgroups: can.politics
Subject: Re: The Commonwealth
Message-ID: <1986Jul21.112335.10261@utcs.uucp>
Date: Mon, 21-Jul-86 11:23:35 EDT
Article-I.D.: utcs.1986Jul21.112335.10261
Posted: Mon Jul 21 11:23:35 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 21-Jul-86 11:23:44 EDT
References: <8091@watrose.UUCP> <2354@hcrvx2.UUCP>
Reply-To: shindman@utcs.UUCP (Paul Shindman)
Distribution: can
Organization: University of Toronto Computing Services, general purpose UNIX
Lines: 28

In article <2354@hcrvx2.UUCP> jimr@hcrvx2.UUCP (Jim Robinson) writes:
>
>When I think of the Commonwealth I think of the monarchy, and when I 
>think of the monarchy I think of an archaic institution that has
>about as much relevance to the 20th century as does the buggy whip.
>
Au contraire....the Commonwealth always amazed me as a collection of
former colonies who found it worthwhile to maintain their ties instead
of severing them.  Instead of a few dozen colonies having their local
wealth and health robbed and raped by the imperialists, today the
nations that have replaced them find it better to keep their colonial
friends around (as well as old imperialist England).

Each time the Commonwealth gets together, a whole bunch of very diverse
people get together to find some more common ground to work on.  I find
this very worthwhile.

Looking at the problem of South Africa, if there were no Commonwealth
there would be much *less* pressure on England to do something about
it.  I kind of like the attitude expressed by one of the Commonwealth
Games organizers last week: instead of everybody boycotting the games
because of England, the Commonwealth should just ban England from the
games.
-- 
-----------------
Paul Shindman, U of T Computing Services, Toronto (416) 978-6878
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