Born to rule, born to serve
Analysing the drama of the Queen’s death and the most elaborate rituals of mourning, including the “queue”, several thoughts went through my mind. Number one is that we are not just dealing with a brilliantly designed piece of royal propaganda. It is part of the habitual self-promotion of the crown, no doubt, but there is more. There are “the people” too. And here, things begin to get difficult. For some, there were quasi-religious or spiritual sentiments involved. This group did feel the need for adoration and veneration. Others succumbed to the temptation of subjugating themselves to the will of somebody else, usually by minimising one’s own self and maximising that of this heroic figure - queen, king, leader or so. This is a voluntary act and a questionable one too. It can only work if we transfer value to these heroes - whether they really have value and virtue or not. The unquestioned mantra invented for this purpose was that the Queen did all her life “service” to the people (even “sacrifice”). A much fairer assessment, however, would be to say that the people have always served the Queen. Royalty in the UK is the embodiment of social inequality. The Queen was and now the King is, a hereditary billionaire. Over the decades, the royal family has exempted itself from many pieces of legislation to its own advantage, reserving privileges to themselves and claiming sovereignty (born to rule, being independent of the people). Why, then, do so many of us see royalty as the cement holding everything together in the UK? The short answer, very unfortunately, is that everything else is falling apart.
Fuji X-E3 plus Helios 44M-7 wide-open.
Born to rule, born to serve
Analysing the drama of the Queen’s death and the most elaborate rituals of mourning, including the “queue”, several thoughts went through my mind. Number one is that we are not just dealing with a brilliantly designed piece of royal propaganda. It is part of the habitual self-promotion of the crown, no doubt, but there is more. There are “the people” too. And here, things begin to get difficult. For some, there were quasi-religious or spiritual sentiments involved. This group did feel the need for adoration and veneration. Others succumbed to the temptation of subjugating themselves to the will of somebody else, usually by minimising one’s own self and maximising that of this heroic figure - queen, king, leader or so. This is a voluntary act and a questionable one too. It can only work if we transfer value to these heroes - whether they really have value and virtue or not. The unquestioned mantra invented for this purpose was that the Queen did all her life “service” to the people (even “sacrifice”). A much fairer assessment, however, would be to say that the people have always served the Queen. Royalty in the UK is the embodiment of social inequality. The Queen was and now the King is, a hereditary billionaire. Over the decades, the royal family has exempted itself from many pieces of legislation to its own advantage, reserving privileges to themselves and claiming sovereignty (born to rule, being independent of the people). Why, then, do so many of us see royalty as the cement holding everything together in the UK? The short answer, very unfortunately, is that everything else is falling apart.
Fuji X-E3 plus Helios 44M-7 wide-open.