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SCOTT ISAACS

Transplanted Kentuckian living in Ohio - GO BIG BLUE!
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Britain's Place In The World: Discussion On Dean Acheson's Thoughts

Sun Jun 21, 2009 8:06 AM EDT
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By Scott Isaacs

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Has Britain finally found its place smong the post-WWII order?

View Results
  • 44772
    Yes, they know what their role is
    33%
  • 44773
    No, they still want to be biggeer than they are
    67%

VoteTotal Votes: 6

The old Union Jack

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When giving a speech at West Point on December 5, 1962, Dean Acheson said "Great Britain has lost an empire and has not yet found a role."

This is a list of all the holdings that the British Crown possessed at one time or another and the years in which they had to yield independence to them. They had to give up what is today known as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in 1947. They gave up Burma in 1948. They gave up Ireland in 1948 as well with the exception of Northern Ireland. They ceded Palestine in 1948. It had to give up Tanzania in 1961. The British Empire is a shell of its former self.

In light of all this, has Britain finally found its role and their place in the world? The role that comes after amassing an impressive empire and then having been part of the winning coalition you have to give most everything back. Has Britain found that role or are they still in an identity crisis?

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Irritated-538644

Firstly. There is no British Empire, it's a Commonwealth.

Britain is like your grandparent snoozing in their bathchair on your porch. The nation of past glories. No longer a true power player on the world stage, but unwilling to admit it.

I say this as one who was born and bred in England (left in the mid- nineties, couldn't bear to watch the nation tear itself apart any longer).

However in saying all of the above, my money would always ride on Britain to survive and recover. We were/are at the core a bloodyminded, stubborn as a mule union of countries who have never really understood the concept of defeat.

  • 1 vote
Reply#1 - Sun Jun 21, 2009 8:47 AM EDT
sleuth

imo 60-70 years is sufficient for the Brits to identify their lesser place in the modern world, but might still be short in getting the empire out of their minds, cause, past when better than the present, always makes you miss it, and its difficult to stop thinking about it. That hampers a nation's growth for sure, cause a large chunk of the youth lives in their own dillusion of a past scheme of things that still exists, while some adopt the violent route to eliminate things or people they think are responsible for the troubled current state.

All the countries that have played the telling roles in our history, civilisation and development have really gone down pretty bad when faced with the tough times. This has been evident since the bronze ages and maybe even before that. And this article seconds that.. India, Greece, Iran(Persia), Italy etc. are a few examples of countries which have historically been the torch bearers at different times and have laid the foundation to the development of modern civilisation and society , but all the same, none of them holds a key place in deciding the matters of global importance. Britain should take heart in the fact that the Azurris who inititated the growth and development of Britain, modelling it along the lines of the Great Roman empire and made them into such a dominant force, didn't get to rule it themselves.

The Brits still produce great movies though, especially comedy ones..

    #1.1 - Sun Jun 21, 2009 5:55 PM EDT
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