It's something we all have thought of as children. So in this thread let us share what we wished for back then. And what we would do now - If we somehow were made King, or Queen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJiHDmyhE1A My own opinion as a child: To build my own version of the Hanging Gardens. But not on Earth (as the Earth my prove to be too small for the scale I envisioned). So I rather start from scratch in space, far away from the reach of all those who wish to harm plant life, and exploit nature at every turn... My opinion today, as a realist: I'll just be happy if things like loudly burping (right in the face of everyone else) after every meal could be socially excepted as a polite thing to do - Kind of like your right to "self expression", (to show exactly what you think of everyone else who are "fortunate" enough to be in your company)! Anyway, this was me. So what would you all do if you were suddenly made King? Your choice entirely, to either make this into a joke thread, or one where serious intellectual brainstorming would take place - Or we can try doing both at the same time!
I would have to abdicate also except it would be because I can't take the stress. Just dealing with my own family is enough! On the joke side, just cover your mouth when you burp, I deem that as polite. Not being polite is, while sitting in a restaurant, having to face the people at the next table shoveling the food in, chewing with mouths open while talking and seeing the food fall out! That's impolite!
Abdicate! Who needs the extra responsibilities, loss of privacy, ability to do what you want when you want and being "normal". I like being anonymous and my life is pretty darn sweet as it is.
Hummm... This is very interesting (and a bit surprising for me too). OK, so far 3 replies to my post have said that they will abdicate - And not a single one said anything about what they would like to do if they were given the opportunity. Now a person with my kind of mindset will automatically take this as a sign of no resistance - Should I ever take over by force! However, there is this interesting story that almost every kid learns of in childhood (in my area of the world). It's about Nizam Saqqa, the water carrier who one day saved a king (Emperor Humayun of India) from drowning... One day the Emperor (after getting defeated in a battle) was attempting to cross the river on the back of his horse. There used to be a bridge over there. However finding the bridge broken, Emperor splashed into the river astride his horse. Unfortunately, the horse floated away from under him and he was left bobbing in the water. At that moment a peasant who made his living by carrying water from the river to a nearby village rescued Emperor Humayun! Emperor was so grateful to him that he bestowed upon him the power of royalty for one day. Humayun ordered all his nobles to pay Saqqa homage like a king deserves. Nizam Saqqa was allowed to act as he liked. Even the national treasury was opened for him, to take as much from it as he liked... He was also free to promote anyone to a higher rank and to award according to his liking, (in case he wanted to uplift the social standing of his own family). But all this was extended to him only for a single day. So make hay while the sun shines is what everyone thought Saqqa would do. But history remembers Nizam Saqqa as the man who invented the concept of coins - His grievance was that he (as a water carrier) never got paid a steady amount. Sometimes he got more, and sometimes less. So the only thing he did as Emperor for a day - Was the establishment of a coin. As in a smallest denomination of standardized currency, which finally eliminated the concept of barter forever. And so insured a steady income for Nizam Saqqa, who went back to being a water carrier for the rest of his life! The word *Sekka* in Urdu language (spoken throughout Pakistan) means coin, and is actually derived from Nizam Saqqa - Saqqa, Sekka, get it? So this is what one person did, who was king for a day. After which he abdicated the Royal Throne back to the Emperor - Therefore I ask again, what would you all do, if suddenly you too were made King or Queen???
If you'd asked me this question 30 years ago you'd have gotten more of a fairy tale answer. Here is my cynically reasoning for avoiding being a monarch based on my experiences however faulty they might be. Having been touched by and involved with a bit of the politics I realize nothing easily happens even with complete power. The building of relationships, luck, and a lot of bull... goes into holding any position of so called power. Would Nizam Saqqa's idea flourished if others were not in the same plight as him? Doubt it. In my limited perspective even for the extremely wealthy there is a huge loss and disconnect. Maybe that's why so many dictators have been/are despicable people and resort to extreme violence. By the way, taking over by force is the surest way to fail completely, unless you have a huge number of thugs to back you (oh yes, here we go with relationships, luck and bull). Be careful judging apathy for lack of resistance. The quiet masses don't stay quiet if aroused. That's my 2 cents worth, some gained from personal experiences I've been careful never to repeat
Another story worthy of mention here, written by the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program - Dr. A. Q. Khan: "The obstacle in our path In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along, carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picket up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition! In 1976, when we were acquiring the site for the nuclear plant, we used to go to Kahuta regularly, park the army jeep at the entrance, where Gate No 1 now is, and walk to wherever work was going on. There were no roads there at the time, only footpaths through the fields. Like the king in the story, which I did not know until then, I wanted to test people and placed a big stone right in the middle of the main path. For three or four weeks nobody removed the stone and a new path was forming around it. I then removed the stone myself, remarking to Gen Zahid Ali Akbar, then a brigadier who was in charge of civil works, that this clearly illustrated the caliber of the people we had to work with to make an atom bomb. If I had read the story, I might have thought of putting a wallet with some money under the stone." So I guess a huge part of leadership is the ability to motivate people in a positive way (be you a King, Queen. or whatever) - Otherwise, the general default setting of everyone is to just let everything be as it is...
I don't like being in the spotlight either, I am always the one that gets there on time so no one will be taking an extra look at me if I walk in late...maybe you consider me shy. If someone calls me by the wrong name, I just answer. I do like the name Melody but no one has called me that yet. Usually Karen because it is close to Sharon. I wouldn't mind some help with the cleaning or really someone could do it all if I was queen...maybe a day a week would be enough.. Then I could just take photos all of the time and enjoy nature....but mostly let me sneak in unnoticed.
The only reply I could think of is the song the lion from the Wizard of OZ movie sings. It goes like this-- If I were KING of the forest, not Queen, not duke, not prince. My regal robes of the forest would be satin, not cotton, or chintz. I'd command each thing, be it fish or fowl. With a woof, and a woof and royal woof-growl. When I clicked my heals all the trees would kneel, and the mountains bow, and the bulls kowtow, and the sparrows would take wing--If I, If I, where KING. Each rabbit would show respect to me. The chipmunks genuflect to me. Though my tail would lash I would show compass. If I, If I, where KING.
