Re: Duty(ies) of the Crown

[Lisa Lorenzin <lisa@trinet.com>]

from melys to the denizens of the merry rose, greetings!

this is kinda long, sorry.  i didn't realize i was going to rant until i 
got to the bottom...  *wry grin*

scripsit jonathan:

>      Question:  What IS the most important duty of the Royals?
>      ("What is best in life?" said the barbarian leader.)("Conan the 
>      Barbarian", for the film-quote challenged.)

"to crush your enemies.  to see them driven before you.  and to hear the 
lamentations of their women..."

seriously, tho.  from my perspective, the most important duty of the
royals is the same as that of any leader among us(*) - to have a vision (a
dream, if you will) and follow it, protect it, nurture it, spread it
amongst the populace and act as the living example and epitome of that
dream.  when they put on that crown(**), they are (in theory, at least,
and i've seen this borne out FAR more often than not in practice) putting 
aside their own personal goals and benefit for the good of the society. 

we may not always agree with them on the details of that vision or the
direction of the good...  but without our leaders, without strong hands
and strong hearts to guide us, what would we be?  a bunch of hobbyists,
studying the trees and never knowing that we lacked the forest. we may
band together to follow them, or we may band together to oppose them - but
we band together.  and they lead because we believe, but their leadership
gives form to the nebulous bounds of something in which TO believe.

i believe that of all of our various forms of leaders, the royals have 
the most difficult job (and i sincerely hope that it is, commensurately, 
the most rewarding).  would YOU want to try to bring consensus and 
forward motion to as diverse, cantankerous, and authority-questioning a 
crowd of independents as is gathered just on the merry rose, let alone 
within the kingdom?  i'd rather herd cats, thank you.  

and i know that if i mention names here i'm immediately going to lose that
portion of my audience (those of you who are still awake, that is!) which
has political or personal differences with the individuals in question,
but i can't resist.  talk to anton some time about the duties of a king. 
talk to bran about the duties of a baron.  they are (like so many of our
other leaders, male and female!) men with strength of vision and
dedication to that vision. 

we may not always agree with the particulars of the vision our leaders
present, or the methods by which they are striving to give it life.  so? 
it gives us the impetus to develop, share, and fight for our own vision... 
and somewhere in the middle, where all of these contrasting,
complementary, and occasionally conflicting visions meet, we find the
vital, dynamic force that binds us all together against the divisive 
forces of pettiness, politics, and the various frictions of human nature.
 
our dreams do, truly, keep us alive - and the "job" of the royals, more 
than any others, is to keep alive the dream, by whatever means they think 
best and of which they are most capable.

						in service, and mindful
						of the soapbox on which
						i stand,

							melys


* this applies whether they lead through:

	prowess (royalty), 
	talent (peerage), 
	charisma (heads of households), 
	duty (most group officers who couldn't run fast enough! ;) ),
	happenstance,
	or any combination of the above.

(you can tell you've been on the web too long when you start thinking in 
bullet lists...)

** coronet, medallion, household badge, gold key, etc.

lisa lorenzin                          april is the cruelest month, breeding
lisa@trinet.com                        lilacs from the dead land, mixing
http://www.privnet.com/lisa            memory and desire...   - t. s. eliot


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