The Royals, Sally Hawkins, Blokes, and Birds

Congratulations:

I wish to extend my best wishes to Prince William and his fiancée Kate Middleton. May you both have a long and happy life together.

That being said…

…I don’t understand all the fuss in the UK over the royals. Princess Diana, pomp and circumstance, legacy, tradition, paparazzi…all of it. You might say, “Well, you’re a Yank. How could you understand?”

That’s true, although I hasten to add: “I think the most ideal form of government is one headed by a wheel-turning sage king.” There! And you thought I was going to say: “Democracy.” For most of my life, as a properly indoctrinated citizen of the US, I would have said just that – “Democracy.” But then I became a Buddhist and actually started thinking about stuff. A lot of stuff I’d taken for granted.

For starters, no one in the US really believes in democracy. Not really. I mean, how could they? We have one of our three branches of government consisting of one man. And yet, nobody thinks that odd. Hmm…one man, eh? I guess we have our own version of the royals.

And then there’s the filibuster (how democratic is that?). Not to mention routine denial of one-man, one-vote: As manifested by congressional committees chaired by the upper-echelon of the seniority system. [Observation: If your congressman is more powerful than mine, simply because he’s been reelected more frequently, that means (in effect) that your vote is more profound than mine and you get more “representation” than I. Again, denial of one-man, one-vote.]

And then there’s gerrymandering, the two-party system monopoly, judges appointed for life, the undue influence of special interests, elections sold to those with the most money (er, I meant to say, “political contributions to offer”). And on and on.

All this considered, and the fact that most US citizens are too busy, indifferent, overwhelmed, bullied, or ill-informed to really support democracy…well, monarchy starts to look pretty good.

Back to the Royals

I’ve seen photos of Kate Middleton and Princess Diana. The word “wow” comes to mind. But actually, my tastes tend more toward the girl-next-door; regarding them, “double-wow” comes to mind. I’ve never been much of one to be impressed with a title or birthright. Case in point: Sally Hawkins.

Ah, Sally Hawkins. Saw her recent film, Made in Dagenham. Marvelous performance by an actress obviously dedicated to her craft. Hawkins isn’t what is crudely referred to as Playmate of the Year beautiful. She’s actually better than that because she uses what she has to great effect. And it’s so obvious that she puts heart and soul into her portrayals. Her earlier movie Happy Go Lucky also testifies to that.

Sally Hawkins is a self-created royal.

And there’s another royal who comes to mind: Geoffrey Rush – well-known for his role as Captain Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean. As soon as I bore witness to his Barbossa, I thought, “That’s one fine actor.”

The irony in calling Rush a “royal” lies in his role as a speech therapist who helps a stuttering King George VI in the upcoming movie The King’s Speech. A commoner helping a king?  That’s rich. Or is it something else? Dare I say, it’s actually rather commonplace? That’s it, really, for no king truly stands alone. Without the support of many fine and dedicated subjects, a king becomes no more than an empty crown.

And then there’s Joan* to consider

Lest you think I focus only on movie stars, I’ll mention one more name: Joan of Arc, the Most Royal of Commoners. I can do no better than to quote Mark Twain, who had written a book entitled Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc. I own a copy of that book, which I consider a prized possession, in which these quotes appear:

Attributed to Louis Kossuth: “Consider this unique and imposing distinction. Since the writing of human history began, Joan of Arc is the only person, of either sex, who has ever held supreme command of the military forces of a nation at the age of seventeen.”

From Twain’s essay, which appears at the end of the book: “Taking into account, as I have suggested before, all the circumstances … she is easily and by far the most extraordinary person the human race has ever produced.”

From Mark Twain himself (on the back cover): “I like Joan of Arc best of all my books, and it is the best; I know it perfectly well. And besides, it furnished me seven times the pleasure afforded me by any of the others; twelve years of preparations, and two years of writing. The others needed no preparation and got none.”

Mark Twain’s book reads like a long and elegant poem, which I was moved to read after seeing that stunning silent movie (1928), The Passion of Joan of Arc.

All you blokes and birds – you are the royals

All you blokes and birds (or, as we’d say in the US, “guys and gals”), you are the royals. But our biggest problem (I say “our,” since I’m just a regular bloke myself) is, we don’t know it. Over and over again, I see moments of self-deprecation in the presence of one’s “betters” [as if…]. Or a waiting-to-see what the leaders are going to do.

Don’t wait. We can’t afford to have you wait. Bless us with your genius. Don’t worry that your words won’t be adequate. If you’ve got something to say, say it – even if it’s rough hewn and incomplete. And say it again tomorrow. And the day after that. You’ll find the words and tap into a reservoir deeper than you dared imagine.

I draw inspiration from these two quotes:

“Two Jews, three opinions.”

“Israel is a land of 6 million presidents.”

That last is poignant – meaning, “every [Israeli] thinks he should be in charge.” And why not? Why should we [Israelis and everybody else] continue listening to voices telling us we’re not qualified or not good enough? Ha! “The world is lucky to have us” – that’s a creed every so-called commoner should embrace. But be sure to tell that to your fellow commoners. We all need a little encouragement from time to time. You’ll be glad you did.

Steven Searle for US President in 2012

Founder of the Independent Contractors’ Party

“Maybe peace on earth will become more commonplace once we commoners start to find our voices. The voice does the Buddha’s work. In the beginning was the Word.”

  * If you’re interested in a preview of the book, Mark Twain’s 12-page essay entitled Joan of Arc is on-line at (among many other places):  http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/stj05003.htm