Ninety seconds of pageantry was enough for me.
I find it boring.
But it isn't silly. It serves a purpose. The ceremony shows that everyone is on board acknowledging that Charles is the legitimate king.
I watched Charles sitting there on his throne and thought about his 74-year-old bladder and worried for him. Does he get a bathroom break? I wondered if his robes and regalia would get in the way of that. I was thinking about the wrong thing, I realized. The minister was calling on the public to pledge allegiance to the new king. That was the important thing.
Nothing the minister said meant as much as the coronation spectacle itself. Charles had the crown, the throne, the special robes, the scepters, the swords, the 350-pound historic rock underneath the throne, and the buglers. Everyone was on board, dressed as required, sitting and watching.
Trump refused to participate in the inauguration of Joe Biden. That, too, was unmistakable body-language. In the weeks between the 2020 election and inauguration he directed his executive agencies not to assist in the post-election transition. The General Services Administration refused to allow office space and facilities for the Biden transition team to start the background checks and financial disclosure procedures that would allow staffing of the 4,000 appointments. Criticism that this endangered national security finally forced the GSA to obey the Presidential Transition Act.
I had under-estimated the significance of legitimacy in conferring power. I know better now. I had fair warning from watching the power of Trump's "birther" accusation against Obama. The idea that Obama is "other" and not "one of us" has appeal to a significant block of voters, and Trump tapped into that. The doubt lingers. A YouGov poll in December, 2017, almost a year after Obama had served 8 years as president, revealed that 51% of Republicans still think Obama was born in Kenya.
Trump understands political combat. You undermine political opponents by attacking their legitimacy. Never concede. Never give up your accusations. One undermines their argument by first undermining their identity. One's friends want to believe you, not evidence, not third parties, and all one is asking them to do is doubt. A Monmouth poll taken eight months ago shows that 61% of Republican voters still say they don't believe Biden won the 2020 election. One doesn't need proof to undermine legitimacy; a leader needs to raise questions and never be satisfied with any answer. People who have full faith in the legitimacy of their own birth certificate doubt documents issued by the state of Hawaii for Obama. Examination of the records in Hawaii are of no avail. Maybe Hawaii lies. The team leader has doubts.
Republican candidates elected in 2020 accept the validity of their own elections, but claim widespread fraud in the election of Biden elected with the same ballots. Forensic audits, recounts, and hand counts don't matter. The team leader is adamant there was fraud. That makes the issue "doubtful."
The royal coronation is body language of legitimacy. Potential rivals in the royal family, the government, the church, the extended body of courtiers, and the media are on board with the coronation. Even people who think Charles is a wacky environmentalist and an overdressed, adulterous fop married to an ugly usurper, have a spectacle to watch. It is a show of overwhelming force and unanimity.
Prince Charles is now King Charles. For real. Like it or not.
[Note: to subscribe to the blog and get it delivered by email every day go to: https://petersage.substack.com Subscribe. The blog is free and always will be.]
23 comments:
Yes, but you omit one salient point.
Despite all the pomp the British King has no real power.
This reveals the flaw in our system. The "President" is for all intents a king, and arguably has more power than the actual head of the British government, the Prime Minister. While the founders attempted to design a balance of powers arrangement, the Presidency has too much power which jeopardizes the whole thing. The UK parliament has shown to be able to moderate the influence of the other branches more effectively than Congress has here.
The other flaw, this one more serious, is the electoral college which we now know destabilizes democracy. No one imagined a party so corrupt that they would attempt to install illegitimate electors, a plot which hopefully will earn long prison sentences for the perpetrators.
Though many in the UK would abolish the monarchy altogether, it remains extremely popular with a majority and so is here to stay for the time being. Its role is mostly ceremonial and as entertainment. The reverence of the monarchy has been described as cult like and the lives of the "Royals" followed with rabid interest. It also is a tourist attraction.
Oh, and....Depends all around, I suspect.
Peter is too right, but I’m sure so-called conservatives will consider his reliance on facts evidence of liberal bias. The Oregon Republican Party declared the 2020 insurrection “a red flag operation” intended to make Trump and his party look bad, as if they needed any help. Jackson County Republicans declared Biden to be an “illegitimate president.” Republicans in Congress have done everything in their power to prevent Trump and his co-conspirators from being held accountable. They’re not just deplorable, they’re proud of it.
They accuse us of intolerance for not considering their “alternative facts” – projection is a common personality disorder. Or they try to change the subject – but, but, but whatabout wokeness or whatever. Benjamin Franklin was reported to have said, “It’s a republic, if you can keep it.” We obviously need to try harder or it would never have come to this
As a history freak, I relish the preservation of all the pomp of such a monarchy. A living artifact of what was once the way society organized itself. Gone, essentially, are all the other grand monarchies (Russia; Spain; Sweden; France; Italy; Greece; Denmark). Only England has retained the grand ceremony, and for that I feel grateful. And so, yes, it is at best a tourist attraction or, maybe, a focus of national unity. In more ways than not, I think Great Britain's monarchy is a great thing and worth preserving as an animated relic. And that seems to be what has been done, and many seem to believe it's just fine. Too bad about Harry....
Well said. In addition, the British Monarchy is a symbol of their national pride. What, in this country, brings us all together to witness as (United States) Americans?
The institutions of this country have lost legitimacy over the past few decades, because they screwed over and/or failed to protect or care about too many of the people they are supposed to serve. The “facts“ that matter to most people are the facts about how their lives are going, not abstractions about democracy.
The United States is a grand experiment in how to allow human nature to flourish in productive ways; not human nature as we wish it were, human nature as it actually is.
When people get screwed over, negative aspects of human nature start to emerge, and you end up with things like coups and revolutions. Trump and Jan 6 are best viewed as information: a warning about how badly wrong things have gone for so many in this country. Brexit was a similar warning for Britain.
The legitimacy of a social system depends on how happy its people are. Polls about trust in the government and the media and corporations tell the story.
We need smart, enlightened leadership that can focus the psyche of this country on productive goals with wide appeal. But it wasn’t Trump, and it ain’t Biden.
The institutions of this country have lost legitimacy over the past few decades, because they screwed over and/or failed to protect or care about too many of the people they are supposed to serve. The “facts“ that matter to most people are the facts about how their lives are going, not abstractions about democracy.
The United States is a grand experiment in how to allow human nature to flourish in productive ways; not human nature as we wish it were, human nature as it actually is.
When people get screwed over, negative aspects of human nature start to emerge, and you end up with things like coups and revolutions. Trump and Jan 6 are best viewed as information: a warning about how badly wrong things have gone for so many in this country. Brexit was a similar warning for Britain.
We need smart, enlightened leadership that can orient the psyche of this country towards productive, widely shared goals. But it wasn’t Trump, and it ain’t Biden.
As Peter said, the warning came from “watching the power of Trump’s ‘birther’ accusation against Obama.” Trump and Jan. 6 are best viewed for exactly what they are, a serious attempt by a president and current head of the Republican Party to overthrow the government of the United States. His attempts to delegitimize Biden’s presidency is ongoing, and the majority of Republicans have swallowed it hook, line and sinker. No amount of rationalization can change the damage this is causing our republic.
The king doesn’t need to worry about his 74 year old bladder. Did you know that the prostate starts growing at puberty, and god, or whoever, carefully designed it to work perfectly for life, which used to be only 30-40 years old? Now, anyone who lives to be 60-70 will likely have prostate problems, which can result in all shopping trips to town revolve around where to find public bathrooms.
Men with halfway decent insurance, or fat savings accounts, usually have TURP, aka transurethral resection of the prostate. It is no fun, but the result is great-being able to hold your water like you used to!
Happy TURPing, all you old farts!
A big, expensive, theatrical show. Looks kinda ridiculous to me.
Keep the monarchy, if that is what the British want. But it needs a more modern look.
In case anyone is confused, other countries in Europe still have monarchies. Off the top of my head, I think the list includes: Sweden, Belgium, Spain and Monaco. Someone can correct me if I am wrong and/or add others to the list.
My feeling is that it’s best to look past the surface of what’s going on, and attempt to understand the underlying mechanisms that created that surface. There might even be productive conversations about that. Or, alternatively, we could dismiss such attempts as “rationalization“ and continue to beat each other around the head and shoulders with ideological rhetoric.
Would we rather attempt to understand “the other side,“ or spend our energy focusing our hate on “those bad people“?
I will add this person to my "comments to skip list."
Michael, it seems like you believe the lack of adequate protection of the Capital building somehow CAUSED the insurrection. I must be wrong, though.
According to Wikipedia, also: Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Andorra and Vatican City.
My feeling is that with Trump and company, what you see on the surface is what you get: a sociopathic narcissist desperately clinging to power and a political party aiding and abetting him. If they gave a rip about the American people, they wouldn’t be trying to screw us over by delegitimizing our choice for president. I’ve tried to understand “the other side,” but since they live in an alternate reality where the election was “stolen” (among other delusions), I’ve found it requires a descent into madness. There’s no reasoning or compromise with crazy.
I miss the me medieval practice of beheading at the slight of thumbing ones nose at the transfer of power be it to a king, queen or reigning regent.
Mike said:
I’ve tried to understand “the other side,” but since they live in an alternate reality where the election was “stolen” (among other delusions), I’ve found it requires a descent into madness. There’s no reasoning or compromise with crazy.
People can be nuts in all kinds of ways. I think that if our elites had taken better care of the people, those people would be more involved in their own (better) lives, and less energy would be available for crazy ideologies or exploitation by demagogues.
I don’t think Trump could’ve happened in a healthier country. Blaming and denouncing folks who follow Trump is focusing on the symptom instead of the disease. And it doesn’t help; it just feeds energy into a feedback loop of anger.
Michael, it sounds like you are saying it's the "elites" fault (whoever they are) that Trump and his followers have created such chaos. By the same token, it must also be their fault that people rioted in Portland, and that we have so much gun violence. I suppose we shouldn't blame and denounce anybody for the harm they cause - it's all because of the "elites." On the other hand, we shouldn't blame the elites either. It just feeds energy into a feedback loop of anger.
Michael, a lot of good ideas there. I am interested in your thoughts on “better care of the people”. I doubt you’re referring to such things as welfare, food stamps, energy subsidies, etc, correct?
Are you aware of a parallel time of Trump-like madness, which called itself “America First”, and had an amazing number of beliefs and actions as we have with Trump followers? This happened in the late 1930s and early 1940s, if memory serves. I’m wondering if this earlier America First wacko movement was also caused by the elites failing to take better care of the people.
I also wonder if the trump movement will end the same way as this earlier America First did-at the ballot box.
Malcolm said:
Michael, a lot of good ideas there. I am interested in your thoughts on “better care of the people”. I doubt you’re referring to such things as welfare, food stamps, energy subsidies, etc, correct?
Correct. I am referring to things like having good jobs and a thriving economy in the places where they live, so that they feel like useful and productive members of society, capable of supporting themselves and their families. Being on the dole in some way does not give rise to feelings like that.
Are you aware of a parallel time of Trump-like madness, which called itself “America First”, and had an amazing number of beliefs and actions as we have with Trump followers? This happened in the late 1930s and early 1940s, if memory serves. I’m wondering if this earlier America First wacko movement was also caused by the elites failing to take better care of the people.
Yes, and I totally agree with you about why that movement happened at that time. You could also draw a similar parallel between Weimar Germany and the rise of Hitler.
Mike said...
Michael, it sounds like you are saying it's the "elites" fault (whoever they are) that Trump and his followers have created such chaos. By the same token, it must also be their fault that people rioted in Portland, and that we have so much gun violence. I suppose we shouldn't blame and denounce anybody for the harm they cause - it's all because of the "elites." On the other hand, we shouldn't blame the elites either. It just feeds energy into a feedback loop of anger.
The bad actions of Trump supporters and far left groups like antifa are their fault, and they should bear responsibility for their actions.
But especially in the case of Trump, it was our elites who created the bad socioeconomic conditions that Trump was able to exploit. As Malcolm pointed out, similar movements have arisen before in similar socioeconomic conditions. The actions of our globalist elites, who saw no problem in exporting our industrial jobs to China, created those conditions; they should rightfully bear the responsibility for what they have done.
You can condemn the followers of Trump, or the followers of those previous movements, all you like. But as those movements are actually happening, all it will do is make them even angrier. They will just take your condemnations and wear them with pride.
I have no problem blaming the elites for what they have done. They sold out our working class to inflate their profits. They told coal minors to “learn to code,” which particularly offends me because I know what it takes to learn to code, and I know that would not work for a significant proportion of coal miners. It sounded a lot to me like, “Let them eat cake”, and it produced dark thoughts in my mind about how if they want to be like Marie-Antoinette, it would be fine with me for that to get taken all the way.
One big difference, Michael: the first America First Movement was OPENLY anti black and Jews, and OPENLY trying to destroy capitalism with Communism.
Though it certainly appear that Trump, and at least some of his tribe were wanting the same things, most of them didn’t come right out and say it. And I certainly didn’t ever hear of Trump being that honest.
Also, I’m not an expert at all Re socioeconomic conditions pre WW II, so I can’t realistically blame them for the outrageous racism and pro commie effort of that time.
I certainly agree with your position about the “elites” (tho I’d use the term “ultra rich” or one per centers.) Or maybe even simply say the terrible redistribution (theft?) of wealth from poor to rich.
Michael, I also have to disagree with this: “You can condemn the followers of Trump, or the followers of those previous movements, all you like. But as those movements are actually happening, all it will do is make them even angrier. They will just take your condemnations and wear them with pride”
Regardless of these asses' anger and pride, we need to get the word out to the average American about what they are up to, so we can vote them out of office. As you know, it was the voting booth that turned the tide against the rascals in the pre-war days, and thank goodness! .
Michael: As Peter said, Trump and his enablers are deligitimizing Biden's presidency - that's their bad. As a result, 61% of Republicans don't believe Biden won the election - that's their bad. You're trying to change the subject - that's your bad. Comment about Peter's brilliant post for a while instead,
Post a Comment