What, Me Worry?

 

  I don't like to worry, so when dark clouds approach I always come up with theories to blow them away. There's plenty to worry about these days. We hear that if a certain candidate is elected it will be the end of democracy in the U.S. I say balderdash, but no one can predict the future. Maybe we are entering an age of concentration camps and gas ovens for the disloyal. That would not be nice.

  I comfort myself with the thought that like will produce like: that children tend to resemble their parents and that the pendulum always swings back, though many heads may have to roll before it does. For example, Putin is like one of the czars who ruled Russia by decree. Xi Jinping is like a Chinese emperor who ruled the country by discerning the will of the people. And here at home we have the president wrestling with Congress the way the kings of England wrestled with parliament. 

  When the land is well governed, the people do not know who is in charge. Some Chinese sage said that. What the people want is safety. As long as no one invades their country and as long as they're allowed to go about their business, the people are generally content.

  The Vikings were a pain in the neck for the English back in the day. The barons allowed one of their own to rule over the whole country and put him in charge of security. The barons kept control in their own  mini-kingdoms, but in time of war the baron was expected to show up with his knights to help defend the homeland. The king had an army of his own plus lots of perks. If his perks started interfering with the barons' perks, there would be a revolt. 

  Some kings were good at keeping things in balance. The big flaw in the system was that kingship was hereditary. King Richard the Lionhearted might have made a good king but he spent most of his reign fighting in the Crusades until he was killed. His brother John was a poor king and the barons made him sign the Magna Carta in 1215 to protect their rights. He didn't abide by this document but died before the barons could do anything about it.

  John's son was only nine when he took over. When he grew up he also tangled with the nobles who insisted he summon the first parliament on this day in 1265. A stroll through British history will reveal this pattern over and over. Eventually the king lost out to the barons who lost to the industrialists who had to give the vote to the working man if they expected him to go down to mill every morning.

 After the American Revolution the Founding Fathers created a government along the lines of what they knew, an executive who had to work things out with a legislature representing the people. Our president has gained power over the centuries while the British monarch has become a figurehead. It's interesting that the British sovereign is immune from criminal prosecution or arrest, though I can't picture King Charles saying he could shoot someone in Trafalgar Square and get away with it.

Anyone can be president here