Thomas More Redux

It seems that, just when you thought that democracies have made monarchies irrelevant, along comes an aristocrat whose actions make you think again.

I present as a case in point, the Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, a man who lost his last vestige of actual power in his government through a great act of conscience. The Parliament of Luxembourg stripped him and his descendants of his executive veto because, in an unprecedented act of defiance, he vetoed a euthanasia law. The law was pushed for by Prime Minister Juncker (an EU shill), in opposition to his own party. The law passed narrowly, but the Grand Duke vetoed it for "reasons of conscience". As a reward for this moral act, Parliament under Juncker will strip him of his veto power.

Left: Thomas More, Right: Thomas "Craven" Cromwell

Personally, I believe that democracy is government only for virtuous people, for only a virtuous people can prevent the abuse of power that comes with what is essentially representative mob rule. Where the people are not virtuous, they ought to be ruled by a virtuous monarch. Or, they ought to be ruled by a tyrant, and both evil people and evil ruler will do justice to each other.

God bless the Grand Duke. It says a lot about our times wherein we have singular monarchs or aristocrats more virtuous than all of "the people" (or their representatives) that we so revere in our contemporary political literature. Here is a ruler who thought, "it benefits no man to gain the world but lose his soul in the process...but for Luxembourg?" 

Plus ultra! May more monarchs shame "the people" of our times and their pretensions to virtue! Unfortunately, one need only look at our sins to see a people crying out to be ruled with an iron fist. I only pray that the wielder of such a fist has a conscience like this Duke's.