On this day of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, it would seem to be a good time for some reflection as to why the British are still nominally tied to the monarchy, and why we, here in America, seem to care.
First it must be acknowledged that England is a monarchy in name only. England, like the US, is a Constitutional Democracy, a representative Democracy backed by free and fair elections.
The British, however, have wisely evolved into a government of more than just two dominant political parties. Their system requires a coalition of parties to form the government, not just a continuous feuding battle between the Big Two, as we have unwisely created here.
How did this happen?
It all started in 1215 with the signing of the Magna Carta at Runnymede.
Prior to 1215, Monarchies ruled by Divine Right, an anachronistic mistake of a concept, correctly assigned to the dustbin of History.
It was the British nobility who set the world on a better path.
The Magna Carta is a document, created by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the full name is Magna Carta Libertatum, or Great Charter of Freedoms.
Notice that in the picture the king is shown, seated at the table, and signing a document that he did not want to sign. The Barons are standing around him with their shields and weapons close at hand. The truce slowly took effect over the remainder of that century, but 1215 was the year that the unbridled power of the Monarchy in England began to take on a more freedom loving and freedom promoting tenor, not just in England, but throughout the world.
England chooses to honor the vestiges of the past, and, on occasion, the monarchy there does still exercise a powerful political role by being the Voice of the people.
Make no mistake, our Constitution and Freedoms stem from their Constitution and their freedoms. It seems, the British still have much to teach us.
Great Britain is a representative republic.
The Brits had the best culture, created by those dead white northwestern Europeans. They pioneered true liberalism.
As for democracy, an election is happening now in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. Majority rule, it’s not so much who votes but who counts the votes, might makes right.
Spreading the might took centuries of conflict. We reactionaries oppose those who concentrate political power.
Richard said, “The Brits had the best culture, created by those dead white northwestern Europeans. They pioneered true liberalism.”
I am quick to agree with the intent of your statement, Richard, and I have always attempted to say as much as a teacher of the humanities. We owe much to the progressive heritage of the Brits.
However, you step two toes over the line if you are implying that our debt is only to dead white northwestern Europeans. People of all colors participated and died.