I signed up for Twitter and Facebook in 2009. I did it because back then it was au courant and I was teaching teenagers so I felt it was important to to keep up with technology. Back then I mostly used Facebook to play games (I’m still addicted to HOGs) so a lot of my earliest friends were ADD MEs. Most I have unfollowed, but a few are keepers.
There is one guy who shares a lot of interesting stuff and posts a lot sympatico memes. And royals. Lots and lots of royals, not just Queen Elizabeth birthday wishes and Meghan and Harry’s wedding, but every engagement or wedding or birthday of every European prince or princess. And he’s not just a fan. He’s made it clear he’s a monarchist. He believes western European democracies are stable because they have a figurehead who is not involved in governance. For a long time I thought, “Okay. Odd point of view for an American, but different strokes for different folks.”
Lately I’ve been thinking about figureheads. It is not only constitutional monarchies like the UK, Japan, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands that have a figurehead of state. Parliamentary democracies such as India, Greece, Pakistan, and Germany have a president whose role is largely ceremonial and a prime minister who is the working head of government.
I have been wondering if the fact that these two roles are combined in our system of government has anything to do with the fact that they seem to be confused in the minds of many voters. Can it account for people constantly proposing unsuitable candidates such as Oprah or Michael Avenatti for president? Can it account for people choosing unsuitable people at the voting box because they want someone to project their fantasies on, who excites them, who makes them feel good while cutting ribbons and handing out medals rather than someone who is merely competent at governing.
I’m not suggesting the United States should acquire a king or queen (especially when we currently have a president who thinks he’s a king). That’s an absurd counterfactual. I am not at all in favor of messing with the world’s longest surviving constitution. I just think people should give a little more thought to how the roles of figurehead of state and head of government are different and try to deconflate them in their minds.
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