What is a Country to Do?In recent times, the throne of Scotland has been filled with very small men. Theseso-called sovereigns have abused their God given power to their own pitiful ends insteadof using it the way it was meant to.
They spend our taxes foolishly so that they can live insplendor, chase their enemies to the grave, and insure that the common man cannot riseagainst them. They live in fear of falling from power to the point where any who questionthem are imprisoned, killed, or simply disappear. It is only because we are currentlybetween kings that I feel safe to speak my mind on the subject. These half-baked monarchssit in chairs of inscrutable power, hiding behind walls built on the backs of those they aremeant to serve, their days filled with plans to cement their positions as absolute rulers ofHeaven and Earth. In this edition of my column I beseech the people reading this to take astand against the corrupt nobles and demand that we get the king that this land of ours hasneeded for so long. The one who we trust with the appointment of governing us must stand up to acertain measure in my opinion.
He must be no more important than any other man underGod, but he must also be able to fill the duty that no other is qualified for. I have a list ofspecific qualities that such a man must posses if he wishes to be my king, here in this issueis that list. The man who is to be king must be both loved and respected by the people. He mustdo what he can to please them but not give in to shameless gimmicks to appear that he isdoing what is right. He must be a role model to our children and an inspiration to us all. Hemust listen to the plights of his people and do what is in reason to fix the problems that weface on a daily basis.
The one who is to be king must be always ready to change his policies, but not tothe whim of popular opinion. He must be flexible, after all, if the mast of a ship cannot bebent in the wind then it shall crack and break under the force of a major squall. He mustn’thave his ideals so set in stone that they would be the undoing of the nation, for his voicespeaks to others for us. He must be able to handle many affairs at once, both domestic and international, buthe must also know when to delegate his work load so that he is not commanding our armyand sweeping the streets at the same time. He must have a team of trusted advisors whoseopinions are appreciated but not always taken at face value. He must be a family man to insure that his bloodline is safe to avoid a scrambleamong the nobles for power on his deathbed.
He must at all costs be noble and faithful tohis wife so that there is never a scandal that would disgrace himself or his country. Inraising his children, he must instill in them the same standards that he himself lives up to. He must prepare his sons fully for the task that one of them must undertake when he has pastto God. The man who wears the crown must do so, proudly, during the best of times and theworst of times. For any man can do his job when it is pleasant and calm, but he proveshimself when the day turns on him.
The fates can bring us many things such as war, famine, and pestilence, our king needs to stand unfaltered to all of these and more without thethrone getting uncomfortable. He must be able to meet with triumph or disaster, and treatthose two impostors just the same. He must be able to forget that he is a man so that he doesn’t spend his days plottingthe demise of his enemies. He must not be spiteful but also bring real traitors to the hand ofjustice.
He must be fair when dealing with those that would defy him and never act toorashly when dealing with such men. He must be able to know when he is at fault. Too many kings mistake themselvesfor being as infallible as God, and react as such as soon as someone tries to question them. As a journalist, my colleagues and I feel this more than others. I can remember far too manyof my friends being thrown in prison just for saying an unfavorable word about the king.
While he should not be an object of ridicule, he should be able to accept the criticism andright himself without biting back. Many of the items on this list have opposing stipulations, that is the whole point. The king must not lean too far to the right or left, he must stay more or less in the center. For he is the representative for our country and must therefore show the average of whatpeople think. That is why we must search far and wide for a man who meets thisdescription, if we do not take a stand we have only ourselves to blame.
