The British Empire Was A Force For Western
Civilization (And That’s Why They Hate Her)
The Federalist,
by
Christopher Bedford
Original Article
Posted By: earlybird,
9/19/2022 2:09:08 PM
Hong Kong and Singapore; India and Pakistan; Egypt and South Africa; Australia and New Zealand; Canada and the United States.
These far-flung countries are all the powerhouses of their regions of the world, both politically and economically.
They have histories of law, order, and general liberty that, though certainly troubled and far from perfect, tower above those of their neighbors.
(snip) all once major colonies of the British Empire. (snip)Queen Elizabeth II (snip) had little to do with this impressive history. She ascended to the throne just 70 years ago — as the empire was winding down in every respect. That didn’t stop the enemies of civilization from attacking her, of course.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Ashley Brenton 9/19/2022 3:53:43 PM (No. 1282104)
Before and during WW2, Britain was the World Cop. After WW2, depleted and spent and weary of the job, that job passed from them to us.
Too bad there isn't someone we can pass the job to. It would be nice to take a break.
11 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Newtsche 9/19/2022 3:56:59 PM (No. 1282109)
It's quite true but the elephant in the room? "..was"
As we speak, our betters are working overtime to rejigger the notion of "civilization", batten down the hatches.
8 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
DVC 9/19/2022 4:17:42 PM (No. 1282118)
I once spent about 36 straight hours with an Indian IT engineer, running some huge engineering problems on one of his company's supercomputers as a final pre-purchase test. So, we had to stay up the whole time, monitoring systems performance periodically, and if one job completed, quickly starting another.
In any case, we got to talk a lot during the wee hours of boredom. He told me how much of a huge debt of gratitude that he felt that India owed to the British empire. I asked why, and he explained that the Indian rail system, the Indian system of schools and colleges and the English language are what had made dozens and dozens of disparate kingdoms under warring maharajas, speaking 200+ distinct languages pull together into one country.
He said that once the maharajas were deposed, they were connected by rail for transportation, speaking a common language and able to get a top quality education to raise them up, they could start to become a country, not a mess of warring tribal regions.
I listened and learned. And later, I traveled to India for a few weeks, and saw exactly what he meant. And a coworker's daughter met and married a Christian Indian, and through his photos and stories of the trip for the wedding, meeting the groom's family, I learned of a substantial Christian portion of India on the SE coastal area. That was done by British and American missionaries over many, many years....another good thing.
16 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
NorthernDog 9/19/2022 4:31:13 PM (No. 1282134)
Some former colonies like Singapore capitalized on the colonial days and built prosperous societies. Others, like Zimbabwe, chose to ravage any civilizing efforts and are now basket cases.
12 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
earlybird 9/19/2022 5:12:08 PM (No. 1282149)
Hate comes easy to the ignorant.
12 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
kono 9/19/2022 8:02:54 PM (No. 1282258)
It's been the way of many empires through human history to imprint their culture onto the people of their empire. The Ptolemys and Selucids aggressively Hellenized the people in Alexander's empire. The Holy Roman Empire also spread Christian culture during the centuries that it dominated the Western world. American culture went a long way towards Americanizing the world during the 20th Century. It's been a mixed blessing for most of these examples, which leveraged short-term oppression into long-term civilization, growth, and prosperity.
Ireland had a more complicated experience of British rule, and America's Founding Fathers were quite intentional about shaping their newly-independent nation around non-English rejection of royalty and privilege. (A radical notion of individual liberty and self-governance away from which we seem to be turning now.)
2 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
skacmar 9/19/2022 8:13:50 PM (No. 1282261)
Dwelling on the past, which can not be changed, will do the nations who resent their colonial past no good. Rather than enjoy all of the advantages that the British occupation of their territories have provided their nations, they dwell only on negatives. You can embrace the past and the advantages your country gained through it's British affiliations (like Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia), or reject the colonial past and become an economic and cultural basket case like many African nations are and what South Africa is quickly devolving into. They would rather go back to their tribal structures run by warlords where everyone lives in poverty than acknowledge their affluent past because of "their culture". If your culture is being poor and illiterate with a dictator, go for it. Your people are foolish.
6 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
MDConservative 9/19/2022 9:39:34 PM (No. 1282291)
Culture is a funny thing, as is historical perspective. For many in former "colonies" things were just ducky until the interlopers arrived. No one has ever greeted conquerors with open arms...they disrupt the cultural routine, if they don't treat their new subjects harshly. The exceptions prove the rule throughout history.
How willing are you to be subjugated by Chinese commies, for example? Hardly, I imagine. Others elsewhere share your "willingness", even if what you're bringing them is "freedom" and "modern civilization".
0 people like this.
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Comments:
Diifficult to post structurally and because it had to repeat the ugliiness and vitriol spread by activist so-called “academics” and the likes of TV host Sonny Hostin. Midgets when compared to this incomparable queen.