The Queen Elizabeth II commenced the State Opening of Parliament on Tuesday this week. As a lover of all things British (note things, not necessarily thoughts and philosophies), I was admittedly curious as of to what she had to say. And I was not disappointed, I still long for the day when the once and future king will return to claim his throne. Notably, the speech was not written by Queen Elizabeth II, it was written by the new Prime Minister Gordon Brown and approved by the cabinet. This opening ceremony was performed in large due to tradition.

            There were some good points, and as an American and supporter of the war on terror, I was happy to hear that Britain wants to continue to fight against terrorism. However seeing as how they can currently only detain an accused terrorist for 28 days, and they are “considering” increasing that to 56, I was ashamed. This world needs protection, and they allow for their accused criminals to be released after less than a month. And then to top it off, the police aren’t allowed to question the criminals! This will also be taken in to consideration as of to whether or not they will allow the police to question them once again. Another note on the speech was their desire to be the first nation to have a legally binding framework to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.       

            There was more within her speech but by this point my mind was back on King Arthur. He didn’t ask for permission to detain an enemy, he didn’t need approval to question his enemies. Where are the men to lead this country? Yes there is the House of Lords, the House of Commons and the Prime Minister, but from what I can tell they all pander to one another (as is common within a democratic body especially along party lines, however that doesn’t make it right). When will the men stand up and say, I don’t care what you think needs to be done with terrorists, I’m going to defend my country and do it anyway possible, and if you have a problem with that, take a hike.

            Democracy is better than a monarchy, I don’t deny it. I love America and I am glad to see democracy in action. But some times my mind drifts back to the glorious days of the monarchs, when good men sat on the throne, like King David, King Solomon, and the tales we are told of King Arthur. Those were men who feared God, and led their country by that fear of God. None were perfect, and none claimed to be. They lived by their good convictions, and died by those same good convictions. They were men to be looked up to and imitated if only in their morality and belief in God both of which guided their convictions.