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April 27, 2004
Are We Ready for Another Elizabeth?
By Georgie Bright Kunkel
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Recently I read the account of Elizabeth the First of England written from the viewpoint of a managerial specialist. As a woman CEO, Elizabeth had to try harder. She was tested early on in her life by hiding in the shadows after her own father had ordered her mother beheaded and declared her to be a bastard child. Her power rested in her brilliance which was sharpened by a superior education and her ability to learn from watching the successor of Henry the VIII make grave mistakes as she wielded the scepter of power. Elizabeth then rose out of the shadows to build a great empire.
As we look at George W. Bush, what comparisons can we make to the great Elizabeth? Well, he inherited his throne from his father, true. And he speaks often to his people as Elizabeth did in her time. He surrounds himself with sharp advisers who have the cunning and loyalty to serve his interests. He professes his love of God and attempts to bring his country together under one Christian faith. But there the similarity ends.
George W. Bush barely made it through a prestigious university. Elizabeth once presented an entire speech, delivered in Latin, at the greatest university in England which women had never before been allowed to enter. She would not talk ill of her adversaries whom she could have sentenced to death at any time she wished. Her every move was made not only for self-preservation as the monarch but with the understanding that she had an honorable role to play in helping her people to survive in a hostile world.
Recently, Mr. Bush dressed up in battle fatigues to appear in a created photo opportunity on a ship resting in a safe harbor. Elizabeth would not only don the armor of battle but would go onto the battlefield along with her soldiers to show that she was not afraid and that she appreciated their valor. She surrounded herself with the most intellectual minds of her time and would listen to their counsel, using what she needed to form her plan of action. After all, she realized early on what Harry Truman said much later, “The buck stops here.”
Elizabeth was no angel even though she created her own image patterned after the Virgin Mary of the Catholicism her father had outlawed during his reign. But nothing that she did could compare with Bush’s violent aggression directed at Afghanistan and Iraq, bringing forth terrorism against those charged with occupying these countries and the few allies that sided with Bush.
Queen Elizabeth walked amongst her people and nurtured the arts, which she believed were replenishing to their souls. The Bush administration cut funding to the arts and speaks of not leaving a child behind while at the same time doing just that. In a world that revered maleness as the only avenue to power, Elizabeth became a skillful and powerful presence in England and respected throughout the world. Perhaps we need another Elizabeth in our time to bring us out of our horrific deficit, unemployment, and newly incurred billions in war debt. We certainly need a president who can restore respect for this country around the world and use peaceful means to help create harmony amongst the nations. If the most brilliant and capable leader available happens to be a woman, we must not let prejudice and outmoded tradition overlook this modern Elizabeth. She could possibly establish a diplomatic brilliance in our White House, which has been besmirched by arrogance and power mongering for far too long. Ridding the world of war as the way to solve problems will take every responsible person reaching to the highest level of peaceful participation. Are we ready for that?
Georgie Bright Kunkel, author and speaker, can be reached at gnkunkel@comcast.net .
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