Kings and Queens

I was thinking that the current national anthem of Great Britain, and a few other places, is no longer "God Save the Queen" since the Queen died. It is now "God Save the King". But that thought has me thinking in truly republican terms: since the only real difference between a republic and democracy is that the republic doesn't have nobility.

That means a democratic monarchy can have a hereditary head of state who can be totally out of it, which in the case of Britain was King George III. Republics can have out of touch heads of state as well. Case in point: the United States for most of this century.

The truth of the matter is that the US Constitution was a waste of time and paper since the reality is that it is meaningless. Most people have no idea what it means. Toss in that there are dangerous sections which have been misinterpreted to the detriment of public safety. Yet, the Judges did not say this was a case of desuetude, but reinterpreted the constitution.

The reality is that there will not be a bloody civil war between parliamentarians and those who wish to keep the old system in the US as happened in the Commonwealth period under Cromwell. It may be more of a Glorious Revolution where the people make the changes from the bottom up.

Having idiots and  lunatics as leaders has shown that the executive is pretty much a ceremonial post, the way having a King, Queen, Duke, Duchess, or other ceremonial leader is in a monarchy. The real power is in the legislature. And, as Tip O'Neill said, "all politics is local".

The way to really get change is to elect local legislators who are committed to change.

And the documentation will follow.