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| Subject: The big question... | |
Author: Paddy (Scotland) | [ Next Thread |
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] Date Posted: 18:10:53 12/10/04 Fri In reply to: A 's message, "Not just the same process?" on 16:06:21 12/10/04 Fri I feel, as a result of travel in Australia & Ireland and as a result of many interactions with Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians, Irishmen and even some Pacific Islanders and West Indians, that these people are not really foreign. Dublin is no different in layout from any British city (well OK it is in most respects much more aestetically pleasing especially with all of the railings intact) and, culturally there are no real difference between the Irish and the British. I felt perfectly at home in Dublin, just as I did in Australia. As a result of these discoveries I really would have no problem if most of the high-street shops in the U.K. were "Irish" or "Canadian" etc... because I can interact with these people as if they were not foreign and therefore I would not consider them to be a threat to my identity. The Irish and British governments have differences for understandable historical reasons. Despite these differences the two nations have an "equivalence of citizenship" that gives full rights to the citizens of each country when they are in the other. A full F.C. is an extremely unlikely outcome in the future, just as would be a political union between the UK and Ireland. However, this does not remove the similarities between the peoples of CANZUK and Ireland. In practice I would be VERY happy to have an equivalence of citizenship and no barriers between the nations of Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK. If Ireland is afraid of being dominated by the British that is an understandable thing given the history, but from my observations there is little difference between Britain and Ireland looking at them NOW. I do not think that people in Britain think of Australians, Canadians, Irishmen and New Zealanders as foreigners. Ironically, Commonwealth protocol is such that the governments of Australia, Canada & NZ are not regarded as foreign by the UK and they exchange High Commissioners instead of Ambassadors, while the citizens are classed as foreigners. Legally Irish citizens are not foreign even though the govenment of Ireland is a foreign government. The big question is: are the British foreign to the others? If so, then yes British dominance would be worrying. If not, then there is no problem and the success of British companies in foreign markets is a triumph for us all. It is a matter of perception I suppose. [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| [> [> [> Subject: The British are not foreign to us - they nurtured our country | |
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Author: Jim (Canada) [ Edit | View ] |
Date Posted: 19:13:45 12/10/04 Fri [ Post a Reply to This Message ] |