[Mid] re: "Earning" a peerage- philosophy and questions

Garlanda writes:
>
        <snip>
>
>First let me define what I think a peerage or a belt is (and I am
>speaking metaphorically, not in the physical, garb-accessory-you-can-
>touch sense). To be either a belted student or to be a peer is to enter
>into an unwritten contract on the role you are fulfilling, not just
>with your sponsoring peer (for the student) or with the Crown (for the
>peer) but with the populace around you. On the part of the wearer,
>these symbols are a public statement that the wearer accepts the
>responsibility to live a good and ethical life according to the tenets
>of chivalry, to act on those tenets in ways that benefit the world as a
>whole and not just the individual in specific, and a willingness to
>be judged by others on how he/she does this. The non-wearers accept
>this public symbol as such. They trust the wearers to live this way,
>and allow them certain opportunities in turn - such as the opportunity
>to lead, to fix problems, to nurture the people of the Society, etc.
>Both the belt and the peerage are a trust, and in that respect, can be
>earned. One earns them by one's behavior. Or lack thereof.

In Brief: These Ornaments Mark You as Public Property?

>
>In some ways, our culture has been incredibly, brilliantly sneaky. We
>have taken a difficult but necessary role and made it into something
>prestigious and sought after. (Think about that - for example, somebody
>had to protect the clan from the bears, but them bears got claws... and
>they EAT people! You mean you want ME to go stop the bear and maybe get
>eaten so you don't have to? SCARY!) We glorify these roles, make them
>sought after, make the traits that embody them something we all want to
>be. (Ooooh - look: that's the Bearcatcher. Isn't he strong and handsome
>and wonderful?) And we connect them to responsibility that makes the
>traits work for all of our wellbeing.
>
        <snip>
>
>I do pay a price for being a peer, and sometimes it is a very heavy
>one. Most of the peers I know, at some point, have felt like the burden
>of peerage is TOO heavy, and thought about laying it down and quitting.
>But we don't do it. Me, I hate pain. I can't bear the thought of
>unhappy people. I want people to be happy, to live and learn and grow
>and prosper. I can't bear the thought that they might be a little
>happier or a little healthier if I did some action or other, and then
>not do it. I will be that way whether or not I am a member of a peerage
>order. And my committment to that is how I "earn" the membership in
>that peerage order.
>

In Brief: Peerage is A Duty?

>This idea of "earning" a peerage is so integral to my ideas of what
>peerage is that I don't understand how others consider it. If you don't
>think a peerage is earned, would you tell me why? How does one get one?
>What does one do with it? Why does it exist? I truly mean this, and am
>not being sarcastic. Nor is this directed only at peers. I hope those
>of you who are not members of peerage orders will comment on it, too.
>In my view, my peerage exists solely for your benefit, and it belongs
>to you. If I can learn better how to serve you, I would be very
>grateful.
>

Soooo, try this on for size: Peerage is a burden of responsibility that
comes with the authority (which sounds fair.) You must discharge one to
attain the other, and this does not cease when you get the ornament of
rank. <Don't rest on your laurels! No feathering the nest! Forgo
chivalric backsliding!)

However, this still does not deal with the perception of payment for
peerages. More than once (which is far too often) peerages have been
granted to breast-beaters just to shut them up. Yes, they did work hard,
but their entire reason was to obtain the ornament of rank, and then they
ceased to function thereafter. That is why a price is perceived, perhaps.

SCA peers have ornaments of rank. Exemplars of virtue have respect. When
the two come together, is is a wonderful thing. You can demand an
ornament; you can try to demand respect. You may not get either.

salaam, durr

================================================================
D. E. Walter mailto:durr.al-jabal@iname.com Member # 02933
(Formerly, Smokey the) Baron Dur of Hidden Mountain
durr al-jabal al-mukhfi abu niifa ben durrah sultan al-Tabl
Orluk Oasis on the War Road of Aethelmarc
================================================================
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From: durr al-jabal <durr.al-jabal@iname.com>
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Received on Wed Jan 14 02:27:23 1998