The suggestion by their Prime Minister that New Zealand should remove the Union flag from their national flag has put the country in a "flap" [boom boom!]. The idea is that removing the Union flag from the top left corner of the flag would "New Zealandise " it. But would it really? No. All it would do is make it almost meaningless.
If they want to change it, they should do so fully - take the Canadian flag. They went from the Canadian Red Ensign to the Maple Leaaf flag we know today. New Zealand should, if they make any change at all, go from the defaced Blue Ensign they currently use to the simple, but effective, and New Zealandish [it's a word if I say it is] symbol used by the All Blacks - a silver fern on a black background.
The idea that changing the flag would cause them to forget their British traditions is utter bollocks. Just rubbish. They have history books and history teachers, after all! A flag does not make a nation, but a nation makes a flag. A flag does not matter - it is nothing but a bit of brightly-coloured fabric - unless it is given meaning by the people of that nation.
If the people of New Zealand want a different, more "New Zealandish" flag, then they should have one. But is it really worth bothering? That's up to the New Zealanders.
Source: The Telegraph
Showing posts with label Nationalism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nationalism. Show all posts
01 October 2007
The Flag Of New Zealand
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