Excavations


... nothing is more essential to public interest than the preservation of public liberty.

- David Hume



Sunday, October 30, 2011

On Canada's "Royal" Forces

Over the summer, after the official visit (their first) by newlyweds Kate and William, Stephen Harper re-introduced the term “royal” to the Canadian military.  He also ordered that a portrait of the Queen be placed in a prominent location in each and every Canadian Embassy around the world.  The Queen is our Head of State, but Etienne de la Boétie discerns other motives:

... it has always happened that tyrants, in order to strengthen their power, have made every effort to train their people not only in obedience and servility towards themselves, but also in adoration.

In other words, Harper is trying to enhance his own position by association.

Source: Etienne de la Boetie, The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude, tr. John Lothrop Motley (Kessinger Rare Reprints), p. 21.

No comments:

Post a Comment