1954: The Queen and The State
August 4, 2020
By AHNZ
New Zealand was fortunate back on 12 January, 1954, that Queen Elizabeth II herself was here to open Parliament.
After 113 year since becoming a British colony New Zealand’s Head of State paid their first ever visit. The Queen of New Zealand was in New Zealand.
From a pragmatic standpoint my own Anarchist opinion is that our Monarchy serves a useful purpose. It ties up destructive political energy into Dead Weight Loss that would otherwise be let loose on the people. The Queen is a power sink. And that’s not all bad.
Some of our best freedoms are a result of our politicians being too caught up in fighting each other and hoisted by their own Red Tape to be able to bother us. I like it when they fight. I like it when they use up their pillaging energy on each other rather than us!
Think of how much worse off we’d be if our Ministers and Prime Ministers were able to gather up a cult of personality more than they already can. The gowns, the budget, the jewels, the photo spreads, the palaces, the weddings, the lavish lifestyles, the cars, the horses, the wardrobes, the ceremonies….all these trappings make a ruler more powerful. Do you really want to see a Jacinda Ardern or a Judith Collins with their hands on such an arsenal?
We Commonwealth people are smart. We vest our regal wealth and power in useless people who aren’t permitted to use any of it. It’s a separation of Glamour and State. Tens of thousands of silly Statist voters who are readily seduced by regal soap opera magazine stories and pretty clothing are thus diverted from allowing these sentiments to have any political influence in our democracy.
We can’t get an Imelda Marcos or Eva Peron in New Zealand because that demagogue niche is kept in check by our impotent royals and benign Governor General. This is the State of the Art in constitutional technology for keeping The State small and in check. That’s why we need our Queen, and it’s why Republicanism is dangerous.
However, in the words of Kermit the Frog, I hope that something better comes along.
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Note: Doesn’t Prime Minister Holland look like a cuddly and friendly penguin in this picture handing QE2 her speech?
Image ref. Archives New Zealand
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