It is, of course, very easy to get very, very , very angry at Politics. Indeed, just yesterday, I became incandescent with fury upon reading the news that Prince Charles letters to Government MInisters were not to be released (under Freedom of Information Legislation) but were to be kept from public view to protect the Prince's future ability to do his job as King. For those not familiar with the story, HRH Prince Charles has, for many years, been writing -unsolicited one presumes- to various Government ministers, expressing his opinion on varius matters. Under the non-constitution that the UK has, HRH's role is supposed that of a neutral figure head, "above" politics, an icon of Britishness showing us all what we should aspire to and wherein the values of the country are vested (Elizabeth is still head of the Protestant Church), if of course, it is possible to 'vest' values, although I would argue that it is possible to divest oneself of values and therefore the opposite should be admissable. Because of this neutral position, the Crown - by a sort of agreement/convention/unwritten rule - is not supposed to meddle in politics. Its actually a very British arrangement: it looks a bit muddled, antiquated, quaint, somewhat charming and represents 'something' about "old values", something thats "good old fashioned....." . The '.......' you fill in yourself. Under this apparently shambolic, cute and good old fashioned traditional set of arrangements, clever monarchs such as Prince Charles's mum have spent their time making what she calls "The Firm" (her family and the monarchy) much, much richer, and it has 'worked' for over a thousand years (Elizabeth can trace her ancestry back to Alfred the Great).
Fortunately, since this news broke, the second US Presidential debate has occurred and this diverted my anger. Many people say that there is not - in real terms - much between the candidates, and in effect-on -ordinary , there possibly is not much difference in how American lives would be immediately affected whoever wins. But my instinct is that if I were to offer Romney and Obama an imagined future in which their heirs and descendants formed a dynasty that lasted for a thousand years as rulers, my guess is that one would readily welcome that dynastic vision as a good thing, upholding of the natural order - there are some people who are 'born' leaders and some families where that trait is passed on genetically. This would be the Mormon perspective. The other, I would guess, while wanting to establish his family materially and socially, no doubt, is probably not quite as messianic. It is admittedly an obscure reason for voting, but if I were allowed to vote in the American election, I would vote Obama on the grounds that if I could vote for him, it is unlikely,as a result of that vote, that in a Thousand Years a Princess Michelle will be interfering with road building
Fortunately, since this news broke, the second US Presidential debate has occurred and this diverted my anger. Many people say that there is not - in real terms - much between the candidates, and in effect-on -ordinary , there possibly is not much difference in how American lives would be immediately affected whoever wins. But my instinct is that if I were to offer Romney and Obama an imagined future in which their heirs and descendants formed a dynasty that lasted for a thousand years as rulers, my guess is that one would readily welcome that dynastic vision as a good thing, upholding of the natural order - there are some people who are 'born' leaders and some families where that trait is passed on genetically. This would be the Mormon perspective. The other, I would guess, while wanting to establish his family materially and socially, no doubt, is probably not quite as messianic. It is admittedly an obscure reason for voting, but if I were allowed to vote in the American election, I would vote Obama on the grounds that if I could vote for him, it is unlikely,as a result of that vote, that in a Thousand Years a Princess Michelle will be interfering with road building
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