Richard the Third, Prince Charles, Magna Carta: Institutionalised Deference

t’s a Marcusian unification of opposites thing yet again, I suppose,

The ‘One Dimensional Man’ state of neutered beatitude

That arises from an appearance of liberty and illusion of freedom:

For example, everyone beyond the ‘Mail, UKIP, the Sun and Telegraph

Is at last opposed to institutionalised racism, institutionalised sexism, et al,

But we live in a society with, to coin a phrase,

The worst case of institutionalised deference in the world:

Don’t even think about Etonians deigning to be prime minister,

Don’t even think about the House of Lords,

Don’t even, for just a moment, think about our contemporary monarchy;

Instead, let’s ponder on two historical commemorations,

And what they say about our craven nation.

First Magna Carta and 1215:

A national celebration of a document

Which formalised relations between the monarchy and the barons,

And left the masses where they were before:

One small barefoot step away from serfdom.

Whoo hoo. Bring out the flags.

Next, the jaw dropping hullabaloo surrounding

The burial of you know who –

‘King Richard, may you rest in peace …

Welcome … back to Leicester, now greeted by us with honour and dignity’

(Don’t mention the two and a half million quid it all cost).

Next, the heir to the throne,

Who thinks he should have the right to intervene in the affairs of state

Of a democratically elected government with secret letters -

Letters that should remain secret, his cronies argue,

Otherwise his constitutional impartiality would be tarnished.

If this isn’t an oxymoron, I don’t know what is.

(Don’t mention the 300 million quid.)

Really, the general election is almost a side show.