Nobody Remembers

For those of you who have been following the blog, you may have noticed the, always contentious arguments of amfortas and I. He being a proud British subject, loyal to the Queen, and me being the cantankerous American, loyal to my country, and my ancestors. We have often argued our case, neither one coming out the winner, although, we both give it a good try.

Sometimes I feel as if the revolution is still being fought. And yes, I am proud that Americans won against the great British empire, but amfortas doesn’t see it that way. To him, we were recalcitrant children—-spoiled and ungrateful brats.

But I had to laugh today, as I see, the attitude of the good amfortas was fostered not in this century, but in way back in 1705. Surprisingly, (or not) the attitudes of the good British citizen has not changed.Image may be NSFW.
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I was just reading about when I came upon Robert Beverley, an early historian of Virginia, who was asked by an English book dealer in 1703, to appraise the British Empire in America. Here’s some of what he had to say:

I can easily imagine that this, as well as all the rest of the plantations was for the most part first peopled by persons of low circumstances and by such as were willing to seek their fortunes in a foreign country. For its not likely that any man of a plentiful estate should voluntarily abandon a happy certainty to roam after imaginary adventures in an New World.

He goes on to explain that first, just the single men came over. And since it was such a hardship to get a woman that could “carry sufficient certificate of their modesty and good behavior” they ended up buying a wife at the price of 1oo pounds and hoping for a bargain.

And then he adds an explanation as to why the rather less than desirable British stock came over.

Thus in the time of the Rebellion in England, several good Cavalier families were thither with their effects to escape the tyranny of the usurper. And so again, upon the Restoration, many people of the opposite party took refuge there, to shelter themselves from the King’s resentments.

So, as it sometimes happens in every country more often than not, the King is rotten, and the poor citizens flee. America was a nation founded by people of “low circumstances” and I think that’s pretty much how amfortas sees me, as a commoner, lowly person on the lower end of caste, while he, on the other hand, is born of the higher bred of Royalty.

And, so…speaking from a DNA point of view, he is absolutely right.

He is proud of his British superiority, and well he should be. But I contend that some very great persons of very low circumstances, took the heritage that they got from the motherland, and made a glorious nation…although it is sinking fast.

And for that, the British motherland should be very proud of their ‘offspring.’ Are they? I really don’t think so. Image may be NSFW.
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Right now, both mother nation and her disobedient offspring are on the brink. While America has committed her amount of sins, Great Britain doesn’t have a clean slate either.

And so we remain, at a standstill. No doubt, we will carry the argument to our graves. Pointless, but never boring.

One of the complaints about John Adams, was that after he spent so many years in England as ambassador, when he came back to his own country, he was convinced that people WANTED to have the pomp and circumstance of Kings and Nobles, etc, and they made fun of him in Congress when he, as Vice President, wanted to call the office of the Presidency “His Royal Highness ” and other high sounding names.

The Congress mocked him, and put him in his place, thank God. All those years spent in Paris and England rubbed off. John was always trying to figure out political systems, and no doubt, since he was born in America, the whole European aristocratic system gave him lots to think about.

It might please amfortas to know that.

And so the fight goes on still: Should there always be a ruling class that knows better how to rule people? Or should, the persons of low circumstances, take back their lives from the aristocrats and oligarchs of the world?

And since there are no more free lands to run to, where do the lower circumstances go, and is it even possible for western civilization to join together once again to fight the upcoming war between Islam and Christianity?

Just wondering. Nobody Thinks, if we want to survive we must.