A Royal salute to common wealth free essay sample

When the British Empire and all of its colonies was broken up after the Second World War, the organization, the Commonwealth union, was founded. The organization consists of 54 independent member countries that are linked together by a common history and set of values, but by time the Commonwealth has been criticized for being an outdated and meaningless organization based on oppressive values. In his article â€Å"A royal salute to the Commonwealth† (2011), Peter Oborne responds the critique and gives an image of how an important and powerful role the Commonwealth will play in the future. Peter Oborne start commenting on Duke William and Duchess Kate’s first visit to Canada. Oborne followed them on their royal holiday when they visited Canada’s National War Memorial. The monument remembers the Canadian troops during the First World War and the Second World War, where they fought along with the British. Oborne perceive this visit as an affirmation of the still consisting link, which can be seen as a direct result of the Commonwealth union, between Canada and Britain. We will write a custom essay sample on A Royal salute to common wealth or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page After the Second World War when the British Empire broke down, the Commonwealth union was founded as an organization. The former colonies agreed to enter into a united organization with the purpose based on democracy and human rights but because of the financial crisis, these unions have been under a lot of pressure in the recent years. Oborne argues that the political leaders of Britain must realize how applicable the union is to play as an alternative and important part in politics worldwide. Osborne? s main accusations are that the leaders of Britain the past years have ignored their obligations to the Commonwealth union. According to Oborne the British leaders had their difficulties of accepting the Commonwealth because they see it as an expression of the former imperialism â€Å"For many years it has been automatic in progressive circles to sneer at the Commonwealth as a meaningless relic of our imperial past† (l. 19-20). Oborne sees this as an expression of aversion to face the country’s history. According to Oborne, the UK have ignored the relationship with the Commonwealth because the leaders have been busy acting lapdog for the U. S.  and the EU which for many years has emerged as the world’s most significant powers. â€Å"But I would argue that it is Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s poodle-like relationship with the United States, and the former’s slavish worship of the European Union, that now looks out of date† (l. 28-29). But Oborne sees an opportunity. As a result of the economic crisis, the U. S. and the EU today is under enormous pressure, and according to Oborne these former superpowers no longer will play such a dominant role in the future. This will provide space for alternative power structures such as the Commonwealth. In trying to explain his message, Oborne builds his argumentation on words, appeals and symbols of a special kind. First of all he uses negative loaded words in order to describe the British politicians, words like â€Å"The Commonwealth never fitted into New Labour’s relentless modernising vision. Blair regarded traditional British values and identities as xenophobic, if not racist† (l. 23-25) and when he describes the Commonwealth, he uses positive words connected to freedom, strength and democracy such as â€Å"Such is the invisible strength of the Commonwealth, the association of independent countries†. Furthermore, Oborne uses rhetorical features ex. logos, which appeals to the reader’s intellect and sense of logic, when he uses true facts that supports his cause: â€Å"Consider the facts: just under two billion people, approximately one third of the world’s population, live in Commonwealth countries† (l. 31-32). Oborne also uses pathos when he mentions the crown prince couple, William and Kate, as a symbol of the Commonwealth. Using something as extremely popular in Britain as William and Kate appeals to the readers’ emotions and feelings. In this way Oborne borrows the extremely popular couple to make his point: â€Å"The crowds who have flocked to see William and Catherine are surely sensing this profound link between our two nations† (ll. 10-11). It is clearly that the purpose of Oborne’s article is to criticize the British leaders. He criticizes them for their ignorance of the Commonwealth and he wants the readers to realize how great the union could play on the worldwide political stage. Oborne argues that the Commonwealth will come to play a major worldwide political role in future, but can the union do anything against the great powers such as China and the U. S? I highly doubt so. And does it actually even matter if the royal crown prince people makes an official visit to one of the Commonwealth country? What if they just visited Canada for pure pleasure? Either way the Royals should not interfere in politics at all, that is not their purpose. But who knows what will happen if the U. S and the EU looses their role as dominating factors of power after the financial crisis. The World’s power structures would turn upside down and we would have to face the future with new, powerful countries like India and China. At this highly hypothetical moment, the Commonwealth Union might come at handy after all.