COMMONWEALTH ORGANIZATIONI IS NOTHING BUT A SOCIAL CLUB ONLY AND NOTHING MORE.
…AMERICANISM GAINED ACCEPTANCE WITHOUT AMERICA HAVING THE NEED TO CREATE THE ‘ASSOCIATION OF LACKEYS AND NEO-COLONISTS OF AMERICA’ OR ALANACA.
By Mansor Puteh
THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETINGS (CHOGM) ARE NOTHING BUT A SOCIAL GATHERING OF LEADERS OF THE 50 COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES WHO MEET TOGETHER FOR A FEW DAYS TO SAY HOW THEIR COUNTRIES WERE LUCKY TO BE UNDER BRITISH COLONIAL RULE, SO THEY COULD BE INVITED TO ATTEND THE MEETING THE NEXT TIME.
I THOUGHT THE LEAST THAT THEY COULD DO WAS TO GET RID OF THIS COLONIALIST MENTALITY AND STOP THE ORGANIZATION CALLING ITSELF THE COMMONWEALTH AND CREATE A NEW ORGANIZATION OF FORMER BRITISH COLONISTS BY NOT INVOLVING BRITAIN.
IF THE COMMONWEALTH WANTS TO STAY RELEVANT, THEY SHOULD STOP GETTING ALL THE HEADS OF GOVERNMENTS TO MEET WHERE THEY SAY THE SILLIEST THINGS ANYONE COULD IMAGINE.
ON THE OTHER HAND, THEY SHOULD BE THERE, BUT ONLY TO LISTEN TO THE SPECIALISTS IN ALL FIELDS, ESPECIALLY THE CINEMA AND THE ARTS, FOR THE CINEMATIC AND ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES ARE THE TYPES WHICH CAN UNITE THE PEOPLE OF THE COMMONWEALTH – IF THIS IMPORTANT TO THE LEADERS.
MAYBE IT IS NOT; SO THEY WILL END UP ATTENDING ONE CHOGM TO THE NEXT WHERE THEY SAY THE SAME DARNEST THINGS AND BE CONTENTED WITH THEMSELVES, WHILE THE ORDINARY FOLKS IN THE COMMONWEALTH REMAIN WHERE THEY HAVE BEEN ALL THIS WHILE.
What’s the real use for such an organization of countries which were once under British rule?
Are the leaders of the countries merely saying it was good for their countries to be under British colonization for many decades, with some for many centuries? And that’s it?
I was shocked when I heard part of a speech of one of the heads of state of the Commonwealth countries when they were meeting in Trinidad and Tobago last week, who insisted that the Commonwealth was still relevant.
What relevance does it have in the world?Clearly and obviously, the Commonwealth has failed. And it has failed miserably. It should not be allowed to continue, since it does not know what else that it could besides having the biannual meeting of heads of states which they called CHOGM or Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that moves from one of its member countries to the other.And what have they been meeting and discussing about that is good for the member countries? Nothing.
The only significant matter they discussed at Trinidad and Tobago concerns a matter which is not of pressing concerns to any of their member countries.
Clearly and obviously the Commonwealth has failed and it has failed miserably. And how so?It can be seen in comparison to what Americanism has managed to achieved, and it was able to do so even without forming any organization at all, yet, all the countries in the world, including all the Commonwealth countries are eagerly embracing it.
And Americanism has managed to gain acceptance even without America ever forming the ASSOCIATION OF LACKEYS AND NEO-COLONISTS OF AMERICA OR ALANACA.
Whereas, the Commonwealth with a few other agencies which are linked to it has failed even to encourage the development of the Commonwealth Cinema and common market for Commonwealth films.
So much so, we see an influx of American or Hollywood films in all the countries in the world.
This is just one proof to show how the Commonwealth has failed all the member countries.
And it is inappropriate for its leaders to group together every two years at exotic locales which were once British colonies and where many of the Natives and other locals had died in defense of their countries, especially in the years leading to the independence of their countries from the tight and repressive British rule.
The leaders of the Commonwealth countries do not have anything intelligent to say or do. They meet over the weekend and have galas with the Queen of England attending the opening ceremony and they go home to a dull life and country to lead.
Yet, two years later, they meet again in another country to do pretty much the same.
How could such a major organization such as the Commonwealth which was once or initially called the British Commonwealth be reduced to such a stature?
They can only be proud to have the Commonwealth Games which has been recognized as being the second largest games in the world, after the Olympic Games.
Other than that there is nothing else.The Commonwealth Institute in London is just sitting pretty in Kensington, without doing anything.
I would have thought the early leaders of the Commonwealth countries would have proposed the creation of the Commonwealth Cinema so every year they could have the Commonwealth Film Awards to highlight interesting films that deal with matters and issues pertinent to the people in the Commonwealth countries.
But nothing of this sort has happened.
So we continue to have Hollywood dominating the film-going activities in all the countries in the Commonwealth. And this is despite the fact that American activities and influences in those countries were of fairly recent nature.
The British had been in the Commonwealth countries for much longer and in more ways than the Americans, yet, Americanism is rampant and influential in the daily lives of the people.
We would have also thought the economic activities of the Commonwealth countries can be better regulated so all the natural resources and human capital could be better utilized to ensure the citizens of the Commonwealth countries get to enjoy a better life.
Sadly, many of the countries which are in the Commonwealth are still in poverty. And their leaders still do not know how to take their people out of poverty.
When they meet for CHOGM, they discuss issues that concern those countries which are already developed.
There is also the secretary-general of the Commonwealth, but what does he actually do? Does he have the same stature as the secretary-general of the United Nations (UN), for instance?
He should have if the Commonwealth organization has been turned into a better organization. Since it is not an interesting or important organization, therefore, its secretary-general is also equally uninteresting and unimportant.
The Commonwealth leaders and the thinkers in the member countries ought to do a soul search to find out what is really interesting and important with the organization.
If they cannot find anything interesting or important to it, they just admit and say that it is nothing but a SOCIAL CLUB for all the leaders of the countries in the Commonwealth who gets to meet each other every two years at exotic locales in countries which were once a British colony.
The Commonwealth has failed to create a bloc of all sorts. Therefore, its say in the wider international arena is very weak. Its influence in the UN, too, is insignificant.
So not surprisingly even a few days after the last CHOGM in Trinidad and Tobago, with all the leaders of the Commonwealth countries having returned to their own countries, nothing has happened.
It is as though they had not been to Trinidad and Tobago. And no common projects or goals have been set. It is as thought the CHOGM there did not happen at all.
By Mansor Puteh
THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETINGS (CHOGM) ARE NOTHING BUT A SOCIAL GATHERING OF LEADERS OF THE 50 COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES WHO MEET TOGETHER FOR A FEW DAYS TO SAY HOW THEIR COUNTRIES WERE LUCKY TO BE UNDER BRITISH COLONIAL RULE, SO THEY COULD BE INVITED TO ATTEND THE MEETING THE NEXT TIME.
I THOUGHT THE LEAST THAT THEY COULD DO WAS TO GET RID OF THIS COLONIALIST MENTALITY AND STOP THE ORGANIZATION CALLING ITSELF THE COMMONWEALTH AND CREATE A NEW ORGANIZATION OF FORMER BRITISH COLONISTS BY NOT INVOLVING BRITAIN.
IF THE COMMONWEALTH WANTS TO STAY RELEVANT, THEY SHOULD STOP GETTING ALL THE HEADS OF GOVERNMENTS TO MEET WHERE THEY SAY THE SILLIEST THINGS ANYONE COULD IMAGINE.
ON THE OTHER HAND, THEY SHOULD BE THERE, BUT ONLY TO LISTEN TO THE SPECIALISTS IN ALL FIELDS, ESPECIALLY THE CINEMA AND THE ARTS, FOR THE CINEMATIC AND ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES ARE THE TYPES WHICH CAN UNITE THE PEOPLE OF THE COMMONWEALTH – IF THIS IMPORTANT TO THE LEADERS.
MAYBE IT IS NOT; SO THEY WILL END UP ATTENDING ONE CHOGM TO THE NEXT WHERE THEY SAY THE SAME DARNEST THINGS AND BE CONTENTED WITH THEMSELVES, WHILE THE ORDINARY FOLKS IN THE COMMONWEALTH REMAIN WHERE THEY HAVE BEEN ALL THIS WHILE.
What’s the real use for such an organization of countries which were once under British rule?
Are the leaders of the countries merely saying it was good for their countries to be under British colonization for many decades, with some for many centuries? And that’s it?
I was shocked when I heard part of a speech of one of the heads of state of the Commonwealth countries when they were meeting in Trinidad and Tobago last week, who insisted that the Commonwealth was still relevant.
What relevance does it have in the world?Clearly and obviously, the Commonwealth has failed. And it has failed miserably. It should not be allowed to continue, since it does not know what else that it could besides having the biannual meeting of heads of states which they called CHOGM or Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that moves from one of its member countries to the other.And what have they been meeting and discussing about that is good for the member countries? Nothing.
The only significant matter they discussed at Trinidad and Tobago concerns a matter which is not of pressing concerns to any of their member countries.
Clearly and obviously the Commonwealth has failed and it has failed miserably. And how so?It can be seen in comparison to what Americanism has managed to achieved, and it was able to do so even without forming any organization at all, yet, all the countries in the world, including all the Commonwealth countries are eagerly embracing it.
And Americanism has managed to gain acceptance even without America ever forming the ASSOCIATION OF LACKEYS AND NEO-COLONISTS OF AMERICA OR ALANACA.
Whereas, the Commonwealth with a few other agencies which are linked to it has failed even to encourage the development of the Commonwealth Cinema and common market for Commonwealth films.
So much so, we see an influx of American or Hollywood films in all the countries in the world.
This is just one proof to show how the Commonwealth has failed all the member countries.
And it is inappropriate for its leaders to group together every two years at exotic locales which were once British colonies and where many of the Natives and other locals had died in defense of their countries, especially in the years leading to the independence of their countries from the tight and repressive British rule.
The leaders of the Commonwealth countries do not have anything intelligent to say or do. They meet over the weekend and have galas with the Queen of England attending the opening ceremony and they go home to a dull life and country to lead.
Yet, two years later, they meet again in another country to do pretty much the same.
How could such a major organization such as the Commonwealth which was once or initially called the British Commonwealth be reduced to such a stature?
They can only be proud to have the Commonwealth Games which has been recognized as being the second largest games in the world, after the Olympic Games.
Other than that there is nothing else.The Commonwealth Institute in London is just sitting pretty in Kensington, without doing anything.
I would have thought the early leaders of the Commonwealth countries would have proposed the creation of the Commonwealth Cinema so every year they could have the Commonwealth Film Awards to highlight interesting films that deal with matters and issues pertinent to the people in the Commonwealth countries.
But nothing of this sort has happened.
So we continue to have Hollywood dominating the film-going activities in all the countries in the Commonwealth. And this is despite the fact that American activities and influences in those countries were of fairly recent nature.
The British had been in the Commonwealth countries for much longer and in more ways than the Americans, yet, Americanism is rampant and influential in the daily lives of the people.
We would have also thought the economic activities of the Commonwealth countries can be better regulated so all the natural resources and human capital could be better utilized to ensure the citizens of the Commonwealth countries get to enjoy a better life.
Sadly, many of the countries which are in the Commonwealth are still in poverty. And their leaders still do not know how to take their people out of poverty.
When they meet for CHOGM, they discuss issues that concern those countries which are already developed.
There is also the secretary-general of the Commonwealth, but what does he actually do? Does he have the same stature as the secretary-general of the United Nations (UN), for instance?
He should have if the Commonwealth organization has been turned into a better organization. Since it is not an interesting or important organization, therefore, its secretary-general is also equally uninteresting and unimportant.
The Commonwealth leaders and the thinkers in the member countries ought to do a soul search to find out what is really interesting and important with the organization.
If they cannot find anything interesting or important to it, they just admit and say that it is nothing but a SOCIAL CLUB for all the leaders of the countries in the Commonwealth who gets to meet each other every two years at exotic locales in countries which were once a British colony.
The Commonwealth has failed to create a bloc of all sorts. Therefore, its say in the wider international arena is very weak. Its influence in the UN, too, is insignificant.
So not surprisingly even a few days after the last CHOGM in Trinidad and Tobago, with all the leaders of the Commonwealth countries having returned to their own countries, nothing has happened.
It is as though they had not been to Trinidad and Tobago. And no common projects or goals have been set. It is as thought the CHOGM there did not happen at all.
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