麻豆视频

Pomp and circumstance?  Naw, not so much.

But, maybe we can explore the world of monarchy versus democracy via diplomacy?

As some have noted in the past, symbolism is sometimes elevated to substance levels and it’s here where we can maybe find some acceptance as Canadians who still acknowledge the British monarchy for what it is.  Then maybe we can discuss what it can be and what we, as Canadian citizens can be and maybe want to be.

We don’t have any constitutional monarchy holding us down, but when the royals come for a visit or make their presence felt, we may generally embrace the moments and recognize what they can bring to the table.

The U.K’s style of monarchy now backs us up. It doesn’t fiddle with our democracy, but rather chooses to add to it, when requested. And that is one major difference. Britain’s royalty knows when it’s not wanted or needed, but is happy to step into the light, when invited but is very reluctant to enter into any democratically induced fray we might have subjected ourselves to within the 10 provinces and three territories.

I mean hey, we don’t have to love the royals and they no longer expect us to. We’ve both learned lessons over the decades and centuries.

What I’m suggesting then is that while people like me are genuinely not Monarchists in nature and bearing, we maybe do see that the positives often outweigh the negatives when it comes to the royals.

Yes, when they arrive, we pay for the visit in terms of security and public functions or when we pay a salary to the Governor General and Lieut. Governors and staff, we are paying a price to still be involved. So, is it worth it?

I maintain yes. We’ve spent millions on lots of useless items and people and at least the royals try to do the right thing while delivering positive messages.

Mock the monarchs if you wish, but they can still tell us something and help us advance democracy and we don’t need to go overboard on that aforementioned pomp and circumstance thing.

For me, I’d rather invest in a royal carriage or a cleaned-up RCMP uniform, a polished military airplane or a King Charles coin than a $60 MAGA baseball cap, and a painful crypto coin paying tribute and direct cash to the wanna-be autocrat next door.

And yes, we’ve experienced good royalty and bad royalty over the generations but overall the crown has stood firm with a steady message of symbolism and support.

Autocrats don’t like that sort of thing and when they get traction their populations begin to disappear rather than thrive. And yep, under the early monarchies, it was much the same, but along the trail, as the years and educational forays exploded, the royals learned the lessons that democracy demanded of them. That’s why Canada was able to embrace democracy without a major fight as did a whole bunch of other nations large and small. There was a backup plan crafted by knowledgeable leaders. We were able to embrace the game-changers, not the game-breakers.

So, I suggest we continue to embrace the positives of royalty, even if it costs us a few toonies and loonies. They represent alliance, acceptance, tensile strength on the world stage and good governance.

When we request the services of a Lieut Governor or Governor General, they are genuinely agreeable to step up or step in and help in a significant manner without taking over. The help is there if we want it and ask for it to resolve any issue that deals with Canadianism and democracy. That’s a positive in my mind.

All we have to do is look at other countries that are not blessed with this kind of backup. When they hit a hard road they resort to making stuff up to fill their gaps in governance and that leads to disasters of their own making. I need not point out the obvious examples.

These are countries that end up moving backwards. They engage in movements that are sketchy and baseless. They have no democratic mentorships so their self-selected governments and agencies and armies struggle to serve the masses because there are no options, no history to rely on for corrections because the leadership ignores those elements. They are their own muses and geniuses.  

Autocrats serve themselves rather than react to a higher calling of serving the general populations. That would require positive, clear thinking and the autocrats don’t want to think about genuine leadership, they just want to serve themselves and their immediate family of acolytes and minions. They have no governance agenda, just yachts, private jets and hidden mansions (hello Mr. Putin). They cling to the old ruse of “me” not “we” and when they can’t be check-mated into a corner, they thrive, untested and out for perceived revenge.

The British royalty learned long ago that was a fateful path. They found the right path, and sans a few glitches along the way (hello Prince Andrew), have provided their former colonies with a spirited hell ya, we can help, but only if you want us!

After all, our national anthem is O’ Canada, not God Save the King. We have our own flag, and have saluted it for over 70 years, but we still like to show up and cheer a little bit when a royal representative arrives on our land to applaud us. I guess we might call it a mutual admiration society and just leave it at that.

It’s much better than the alternative I would think.