FadeTheButcher
07-15-2004, 01:07 AM
Oh well. Perhaps they should drop the pretentiousness.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/07/13/uk.honors/index.html
LONDON, England -- Britain should stop awarding knighthoods and damehoods within five years and scrap the Order of the British Empire, a committee of lawmakers has recommended.
Gone would be the government's ability to honor British citizens with the title "Sir" or "Dame" in recognition of their contributions to society.
Many figures from the musical, acting and political arenas have been awarded the titles, including Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sir Roger Moore, Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Mick Jagger, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Edward Heath and Sir Winston Churchill.
The call by the House of Commons panel for a major overhaul of the honors system was met with disdain by those who uphold British traditions.
Constitutional expert Lord St. John of Fawsley described the recommendations as "absurd," while Burke's Peerage -- the guide to Britain's titled and landed families -- said abolishing the titles would remove "much of the incentive for contributors to public service".
The Commons Public Administration Committee said it was making the recommendations in part to make the honors system more transparent.
"Such titles are redolent of past preoccupation with rank and class, just as 'Empire' is redolent of an imperial history," the committee said in its report.
"Their continued use strikes a false note (which is why some recipients now prefer not to employ them)."
The committee suggested replacing the Order of the British Empire with an Order of British Excellence, calling it a "sensible adaptation" and rejecting suggestions of "political correctness."
Obscure honors such as "Orders of the Bath" also should be scrapped, the committee's report said.
"Consideration should be given to ... a decrease in awards of knighthoods and damehoods, with the objective of phasing out the awards of knighthoods within five years," it added.
"The title 'Order of the British Empire' was now considered to be unacceptable, being thought to embody values that are no longer shared by many of the country's population," it said. . .
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/07/13/uk.honors/index.html
LONDON, England -- Britain should stop awarding knighthoods and damehoods within five years and scrap the Order of the British Empire, a committee of lawmakers has recommended.
Gone would be the government's ability to honor British citizens with the title "Sir" or "Dame" in recognition of their contributions to society.
Many figures from the musical, acting and political arenas have been awarded the titles, including Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sir Roger Moore, Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Mick Jagger, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Edward Heath and Sir Winston Churchill.
The call by the House of Commons panel for a major overhaul of the honors system was met with disdain by those who uphold British traditions.
Constitutional expert Lord St. John of Fawsley described the recommendations as "absurd," while Burke's Peerage -- the guide to Britain's titled and landed families -- said abolishing the titles would remove "much of the incentive for contributors to public service".
The Commons Public Administration Committee said it was making the recommendations in part to make the honors system more transparent.
"Such titles are redolent of past preoccupation with rank and class, just as 'Empire' is redolent of an imperial history," the committee said in its report.
"Their continued use strikes a false note (which is why some recipients now prefer not to employ them)."
The committee suggested replacing the Order of the British Empire with an Order of British Excellence, calling it a "sensible adaptation" and rejecting suggestions of "political correctness."
Obscure honors such as "Orders of the Bath" also should be scrapped, the committee's report said.
"Consideration should be given to ... a decrease in awards of knighthoods and damehoods, with the objective of phasing out the awards of knighthoods within five years," it added.
"The title 'Order of the British Empire' was now considered to be unacceptable, being thought to embody values that are no longer shared by many of the country's population," it said. . .