Don't be so quick to cast off the monarchy. We did, and look where it got us -- rich and hated by most of the world.
Is it a coincidence that many of the nicest countries seem to have hereditary monarchs? I'm not talking about take-over African "kings," but about countries with stable monarchies like England, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Lichtenstein.
Not that there aren't a few other highly civilized and very nice countries that don't have monarchy. Switzerland, Norway, Iceland come to mind. But in general, I can't think of a country with a stable hereditary monarchy that is a real bitch of a country. While I can think of lots of non-monarchies that are.
Cause and effect? Who knows. But think of it this way. When people are incessently fighting over the top spot, things are bound to get ugly. When the top spot is filled, and people are only fighting over the rest, there's not the same need to get ugly.
Plus, when you have somebody who's not involved in day to day down-and-dirty political struggles who can go around representing your country, it's bound to be a plus. What we have is a President who one day has to fight a highly publicized battle with Congress and the next put on a reception for a visiting head of state. The two are bound to intertwine, to the detriment of both. |
