Broadway Legend Joined: 6/30/05
If someone awarded you a British honour, would you accept or decline it?
Why would you if you couldn't use it? If an American is knighted by the Queen they can't officially be called Sir or Dame in the US.
I actually know someone who is a real knight of the realm! Funny thing is he is like "I am a titled knight because I was born"
There is something else about earning the title.
I'd accept it in a flash. No matter how good, bad or indifferent you are you do get added respect.
I'd accept it in a flash. No matter how good, bad or indifferent you are you do get added respect.
It is like an honorary college degree. It means nothing in the real world, just acknowledges your achievements in the real world.
I cant imagine anyone offered a gesture of recognition for work done as world-class as this and saying, "Oh well, I cant use this in the US, so I think I'll give it a pass."
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/2/05
I would only accept if I were officially designated a Dame.
And Sean, people have declined honors for many reasons. Kate Hepburn refused the original offer of the Kennedy Center Honors because of who was president at the time.
Personally, I wouldn't want ANYTHING to do with it as it's tied into a caste system that I not only disdain, but have ZERO comprehension as to how it still exists in our world today.
Some people who have already been knighted are George Bush (the former president), Rudolph Giuliani, Steven Spielberg, Alan Greenspan, Bill Gates and Sidney Poitier.
Who would even know this if you did not look it up? None of them can carry those titles in the US. I guess it's a good conversation piece at parties.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/19/06
It's nothing to do with the US, it's countries outside the commonwealth.
I would accept the honour itself (in the case of a knighthood, this would be a KBE, DBE or GBE, as O-, C- and MBEs are not knighthoods). However, I would not take the title 'Sir'.
There is the option if you so wish to take the title. For example, Irish Rugby player-turned-businessman Sir Anthony O'Reilly insists on using his title, and everyone calls him Sir for that reason, and it is recognized. However, Bob Geldof could be a 'Sir', but doesn't use the title.
Although I love going to Britain, spending time there, and I know many people there and from there, I am not British. I would be honoured to be rewarded for whatever I've done, but as an Irish citizen by birth, heritage and passport, I would not take a British formal title.
I would accept it. I've done enough genealogy to know that I actually have British ties :) Plus like mom & seanmartin said, it's recognition of your accomplishments, what you have given to society. Whether or not you can/would use the title is irrelevant. Your work has been recognized
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/19/06
Well, my grandmother was English, adopted to here by an irish family, but I'm still Irish, regardless of my geneaology.
honey your ties are closer than mine lol. there hasn't been a true Englishman in my family since 1716 when the last one died
"It's nothing to do with the US, it's countries outside the commonwealth."
The last time I checked the US was outside of the commonwealth.
i think he meant it wasnt ONLY the US. meaning anyone from any country outside the commonwealth including ireland, wales, and scotland although they are considered part of the UK
Yes, also being from a Commonwealth country I happen to know this information. The US reference was just based on the majority of the people who are on this board.
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/19/06
I was just pointing out that most people here have said they couldn't because they're from the US, which strictly speaking isn't true, it's not just because they're from America, it's because they're not from the commonwealth.
And Ireland is not part of the UK, nor is it considered so. We are not part of the United Kingdom, not since 1921, and not part of the commonwealth since 1949. However, Wales and Scotland are both part of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth (as is Northern Ireland, which is a seperate entity) and so anyone from there can be a 'Sir' or 'Dame'.
sorry linnie. i'm studying history just not recent european history :)
Just to continue wit the history lesson the following countries are members of the Commonwealth:
Antigua and Barbuda
Australia
The Bahamas
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belize
Botswana
Brunei
Cameroon
Canada
Cyprus
Dominica
Gambia
Ghana
Grenada
Guyana
India
Jamaica
Kenya
Kiribati
Lesotho
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Malta
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
Nauru
New Zealand
Nigeria
Pakistan
Papua New Guinea
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Solomon Islands
South Africa
Sri Lanka
Swaziland
Tanzania
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tuvalu
Uganda
United Kingdom
Vanuatu
Zambia
Fiji is a suspended member
Former members are:
Irish Free State
Newfoundland (Used to be a separate country - is now a province of Canada)
Tanganyika
Zanzibar
Zimbabwe
google is your friend :)
I would accept the honor, whether or not I could use the title in the U.S. or not.
"google is your friend :)"
Yes it is. It also helped that I worked at a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting once.
hehe pab i said that cause every time i ask my husband a question that i expect he'll know the answer to, he tells me "google is your friend."
Oh I fully agree with our husband. I wish more people on here would learn to use it, and at the same time maybe they can also take a look at the search feature on this board.
hehe i hear ya. i wish my mother would learn to use it.
i just read your signature. that's funny. what's that from?
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