The Pendragon's Hall

A conservative columnist wrote yesterday that Bush's last chance to rescue his legacy is to remove the UN from its headquarters in NYC and remove the US from the UN's list of members. In exchange, the United States will form its own global coalition of democratic regimes around the world, no dictators, no theocracies, no terrorists. It couldn't hurt--our money could go to something more worthwhile. But by "democratic regimes" we must understand "regimes that serve the interests of their people." A committed conservative Republican, the Pendragon nevertheless echoes an older time when monarchy was thought to serve the interests of the people. Certainly a king who does what is best for his people is better than a president who serves only his narrow, political self-interest. The Pendragon is far from convinced that Britain, for example, should continue its policy of demotion until its royal head is finally and absolutely a figurehead. It seems to me that in a day where the King had some wiggle room, he (or she in the case of a Queen) might rise above politics and lead their country in a way that kept with its national self-interest. The more a professionally political Parliament takes over, the less a monarch has to do that's real, small wonder the royal family becomes a playboy group dedicated to their own pleasure above all. They've never been taught to value their position or their country. But a real, vibrant monarch, with an elected body of advisors to keep him or her attuned to the needs of the people, may well serve their interest far better than an elected government. The Pendragon would like it noted that he is not arguing for the demolition of functioning democracies to make room for a monarch, but a few years ago Fareed Zakaria suggested, echoing Aristotle centuries before him, that the US should promote a culture of liberalism, of government within the realm of law, and not necessarily the ballots and outer trimmings of democracy which more often than not revert to the same strong men who ran the country in its dictator days. The US, if it ever does form an alternative global community, should use these kinds of standards and not the standard of democratic election to determine worthy candidates for entry.