“Passing over, for the present, all the evils and mischiefs which monarchy has occasioned in the world, nothing can more effectually prove its usefulness in a state of civil government than making it hereditary. Would we make any office hereditary that required wisdom and abilities to fill it? And where wisdom and abilities are not necessary, such an office, whatever it may be, is superfluous or insignificant.
Hereditary succession is a burlesque upon monarchy. It puts it in the most ridiculous light, by presenting it as an office which any child or idiot may fill. It requires some talent to be a common mechanic; but, to be a king, requires only the animal figure of man – a sort of breathing automaton”.
When will the House of Saud feel safe?
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1 comment:
Tom certainly was a Paine in the ass for the despots and autocrats of his day. Definitely one of my heroes.
The use of foreign troops as a body guard for the ruling elite goes way back, of course. Some Pharoahs employed outsider body guards as did some Roman Emperors.
I hadn't thought of the non-Saudi troops in Saudi Arabia that way, but it certainly makes sense. My thanks for that insight.
Of course, you know how I feel about religious fanaticism...I'm pretty sure that I'd be imprisoned and tortured if I went around Saudi Arabia proclaiming
"There is no God but man", whether the Saud monarchy ruled there or not...
Thomas Morton is another of my heroes. In fact, if I had to choose between Paine and Morton, I'd take the pagan libertine.
So, I dunno what the answer is for places like Saudi Arabia - but I know I'd never want to live there.
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