‽istis wonders whether it is just me… or ‘Coronation Blog, the Sequel’‽ (weekending May 13th 2023)
Last weekend and through the extra Bank Holiday (received
gratefully), all that gloriously lauded music (composed, arranged, rehearsed,
played and sung) old and new (and then there was the concert!), pageantry and
parading, costume and best clobber[i],
ritual, catering and picnicking, liturgy, spectacle, anointing, enthusiasm,
sword-holding[ii], policing and security, flag-waving,
television watching and radio listening, broadcasting and commentary, social
media posting, three-day community eventing, etc., etc… all that expenditure of time and
money[iii], all that effort…
But the ‘feeling out of sorts’ has lasted all week. Perhaps this could be called ‘corognative dissonance’? Or maybe the diagnosis could be ‘corona(tion)virus23’ (if it weren’t to burst the bubble of what can sometimes seem like a collective amnesia about the severity of things and to recall a really difficult, hugely frightening and desperately, desperately tragic time for so many across the world)?
Is it just me ‽istis wonders? What were we ‘celebrating’? What was all the fuss and bother about?
‽ One person: probably no better or no worse than most of us…
‽ One family: perhaps no less or maybe no more dysfunctional than
many of ours, who scrubbed up very well (but who wouldn’t in all those
uniforms, ennobled robbery or finest of finery)…
‽ One head of several nation states, historico-political
boundaries with perhaps the 'motherland' made ‘Great’ at the expense of others as
an Empire turns in to a seemingly diminishing Commonwealth, and some seek new
governance arrangements and many may seek apologies and reparations…
‽ One God – or the divine of many ‘faiths’ (being defended but not overly represented) in whose name an anointing was done and a religious service was devised that may or may not have presented as very spiritual: a Deity who/which some in the Abbey may even believe in, but just maybe either: a) non-existent and a human construct; or b) not happy with how things are but can’t do anything about it; or c) not happy with how things are but won’t do anything about it; or (maybe worst of all) d) is content with how things are… and was e) just pleased to be there, perhaps like many in attendance…
‽ Many armed service personnel: drilled to perfection, commanded
and organised in the clearest of ranked and insigniafied[iv] hierarchies;
uniforms immaculate; armed light for the day (with musical instruments the
acceptable sound of preparation for war) - but still organisations predicated on
the perceived need for a force to defend with force; people trained to take the
life of other people (generally from another nation state), to kill directly or
indirectly at gun or mortar or plane or missile or drone-bombs’ length, to
attack where attack is justified as the required way to defend… And in a palace garden the immortal cry was
heard: ‘Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray’ followed by the less
common: ‘Replace… headdress!’[v]
Is it just me? ‽istis wonders again before suggesting that, cost notwithstanding,
a day or weekend could be held that includes the sort of things that many
people seemed to think were the ‘best bits’ - perhaps none of which require a coronation:
gloriously lauded music (composed, arranged, rehearsed played and
sung) old and new, pageantry and parading, costume and best clobber, ritual,
catering and picnicking, liturgy (where the proof could be the product, showing
that people of every faith and especially of good faith can be sacred together),
spectacle, enthusiasm, flags of every hue waving, even television watching and
radio listening, broadcasting and commentary, social media posting, community
events, etc., etc…
What about a day or a weekend - maybe even once a year - held:
·
not in the name of a particular man from a particular
family
·
not in the name of nation states - or a hyperbolically-named
‘Great’ main union of countries and a dominant and majoritised culture
·
not in the name of one God – or even the divine of
many ‘faiths’
·
not supported by armed services…
What about a day or weekend held to recognise and celebrate:
·
all of us and the best in all of us - and loving relationships and nurturing families
of every shape and form
·
various ways of organising ourselves socially and
politically both locally and globally: to promote peace, justice and optimal
well-being for as many as possible; reflecting our rich diversity of cultures;
celebrating community and social and public and civil and voluntary services
·
sacredness in all its forms and wherever it may be
found – including perhaps in a recognition of the value of humanity within an
extraordinary system of interconnection of all that has life and breath on
this amazing planet, our mutual home, seemingly utterly unique, with no ‘Planet
B’…
…. and then the voice of the next national treasure / celebrity / commentator
/ interviewed-member-of-the-public (delete as appropriate) woke ‽istis up…
©‽istis
NB: further reflections and comments linked to this week’s theme and
past blog entries to be found on Twitter: replies, retweets (which don’t
necessarily indicate approval, sometimes the very opposite!) and ‘likes’:
@Pistis_wonders. ‘Follows’ and respectful comment and dialogue welcome...
[i] An
‘uncountable noun’? https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/clobber
[ii] Perhaps
just try typing ‘Penny Mordaunt sword’ into a search engine. ‽istis notes the
following results information: ‘About 5,670,000 results (0.35 seconds)’ E.g: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65543022
[iii]
‘King Charles’ scaled-back coronation set to cost the UK up to $125 million.’ https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/05/king-charles-iiis-coronation-set-to-cost-the-uk-up-to-125-million.html
[iv]
Yes, probably a made up word… but therefore rather like all the others that
we use…?
