Stirred to Action

Ah ... something new to write on ... the 'great debate' to be a constitutional monarchy or not to be tis finer to ...

Okay so there is a limit to how long I can sustain that form. There has been much debate this week in the press here regarding whether or not we should become a republic. Reasonings by and large fall into the world of philosophy. A republican structure would more accurately reflect our democratic traditions of government by and for the people. A monarch at the top of this little pyramid is, I admit, anachronistic. We can vote for everyone in our political system except for the person who is at the very top of the muck heap. How does that work? Well according to one commentator this allowed us to have a better kind of person at the head of our government but, when challenged was unable to clarify just how on earth being born to your mother and father made you a better kind of person. Absolute snobbery to be honest.

I then came across the following in The Weekly - April 29 2011 page 12 ... give you the details since I'm just about to pinch it all ...

Ruling class is all about self-interest

There was a time when the wealthy and the powerful of this country "advocated social decency out of self-interest", says E.J. Dionne Jr. "Good fortune imposed an obligation: to reform and thus preserve the system that allowed them to do so well." An enlightened ruling class understands that it can get richer and its riches will be more secure if prosperity is broadly shared. Somewhere along the line, the American ruling class "stopped being concerned with the health of society as a whole" and became entirely obsessed with itself. America's rulers now devote their time "to utterly self-involved lobbying" with one aim: to slash taxation on the wealthy. The influence of the ruling elite comes form their position in the economy and the ability to pay for political campaigns. This allows them to wield at least as much power as our elected leaders. By abusing that power and being only in it for themselves - rather than investing in productive projects that "lift the whole society" - the American ruling class isn't only failing us, it's failing itself. "Noblesse oblige sounds bad until it doesn't exist any more."

I can't agree more. While I fully understand and agree with the argument that we should embrace our democratic heritage and have a head of government who is, by citizenship, one of us rather than one who is delegated as representative of someone who by birthright is citizen of another nation and who holds that position based solely on birthright, I do not embrace a political system that is not truly democratic. Where personal wealth is becoming more and more often an indicator of fitness to rule can a republic truly be considered democratic? I know that there is not a magic rule that states "If thou has 5 billion in assets then you can stand for election", but seriously, when was the last time in the world someone who was poor or even truly working class and who emerged from a trade based profession risen to the lofty heights of "Leader of THIS Free Nation"? Thus, when to be elected as Leader of this Free Nation means that I need by birthright to have had the luxury of being born into a wealthy family, to have attended tertiary education (these days seemingly in fields of business or law) and thus have worked in a field that by dint of area of expertise rather than actual expertise become wealthy enough to become elected then, no, that republic is not truly democratic.

While money is less of a factor in my humble country, it does still play a part, as does seemingly the nature of the educational opportunities embraced by that person along with their willingness to 'sell their soul' to their factions, to the media, to the 24 hour news cycle. Will directly electing our Head of State (or indirectly electing if we went to a model where the HoS was elected by the elected members of the Parliament) guarantee us a 'better kind of person' than our current arrangements of hoping that our monarch does not take on despotic tendencies? No, it wont. If you think it will, you are kidding yourself. Just take a moment to think about the politicians who currently reside in our political system. There will be a number who you consider bumbling fools, idiots and incompetent. Being elected does not make you a better person just as being born to your parents does not guarantee you will be a better person.

The only guarantee that being a republic brings is that the person who carries the illustrious title of "Leader of THIS Free Nation" will have the same citizenship as everyone who is a citizen of the nation. The only guarantee that remaining a constitutional monarchy brings is that our Head of State will have a different citizenship to the citizens of this nation. Currently our HoS leaves us alone to bumble along. Our politicians on the other hand desperately engage in shenanigans to try to get our attention, to avoid someone else's views being posted first to the evening news and hope thus to get elected for a second term at the end of which they can retire on a cushy package for the rest of their mortal lives.