TALK ABOUT TOM AND THE QUEEN OF OZ
This talk is based upon the life and legacy of the most influential political figure the world has known, Thomas Paine.
Why Tom and the Queen of Oz? It is complicated, that is why there is a talk explaining the song! When we look at the world today, we find that the wheel of fate has come full-circle and, while America, once (thanks largely to Tom Paine) a beacon of democracy, is now a plutocracy struggling with racial conflict yet Australia, America's colonial successor, has a functional democraticy and an elected monarch. What went wrong? Where do we go from here?
In English schools we were not taught about Tom Paine. Memories cast a long shadow and the Establishment has never forgiven or forgotten that Thomas Paine preached very cogent sermons against the Church, Parliament and the Monarchy because he saw that they were enemies of the people. Long before he was granted citizenship of America and France, Tom regarded himself a citizen of the world and his object was to do good. Although the Establishment will never admit it, Britain has learned the lessons the Tom Paine preached.
Here we are in 2020, two hundred and one years after Tom's death and, in his home town of Thetford, the monument to his memory was provided by descendants of the people who listened to his message, Americans.
Diss was celebrating Tom's bicentenary in 2009 and I became besotted with Paine. So much so that the chorus of a song came into my head...
Tom, Tom Where are you now
Turning in your grave
I mentioned this to the festival organiser, Basil Abbott, manager of Diss Museum, and he pointed out that here was another fascinating circumstance. Nobody knows the location of Tom's remains.
The song became a cryptic history lesson spanning the period from the English Civil war to the present day. To help crack the code there is a single-line preface to each verse and in this talk I will explain what lies behind each stanza.
The first half of the song is about Tom and the British establishment of his day. The second half considers the current political situation, in America and worldwide, and wonders what Tom might make if it.
Intro
Tom always appealed to reason. Among many other works, his pamphlet The Age Of Reason attacks the Bible book-by-book and two of his major work, The Rights of Man and Crisis (in the thirteen colonies) are referenced here.
Instinct, pure Common Sense (another title of Tom's) and memories of the English Civil War probably saved Britain from plunging into revolution. We had rid ourselves of the monarchy and reinstated it on our own terms!
Sadly, common sense has been completely undermined by Political Correctness. I am sure that many of today's mental health battles are fought between what we know intuitively to be correct and what is presented as politically correct.
Verse 1
Three of his books have changed the world
Despite of the philanthropic intent of his works - Crisis,Rights of Man and Common Sense - his books and active support for the Thirteen American Colonies in the War of Independence branded Tom a traitor to Britain. America was grateful and gave him a farm. He was now a landowner and, for the first time in his life, entitled to vote. He died and was buried in America.
Verse 2
America free, he turns to France
The French revolution did not happen suddenly. Discontent and anti-monarchy risings had been simmering away for years before the storming of the Bastille. Althought an aristocrat, a brilliant young soldier, the Marquis de La Fayette, had lent his considerable skills to the Americans. He was back in France and acted as an "honest broker" between the revolutionaries and the King. Tom had served alongside Lafayette in the Amercan War of Independance and they were great friends. Tom's work was well-known in France and he was invited to help guide the revolution.
Despite poor health, Tom accepted. Perhaps his Quaker upbringing in Thetford had set his mind against unnecessary slaughter of men, women and children, not all of whom were aristocracy. So, Tom was branded an enemy of the Revolution and sentenced to death by guillotine.
By a trick of fate, his cell was open when the next day's executions were marked upon the doors. Consequently, the "warrant" was on the inside of the cell when the guards came by to load the tumbrills in the morning. Somehow, Tom was smuggled back to America.
Verse3
Could his coffin spark revolt?
Today we have "trolls" on the internet who make up stories and "fake news" to ruin a person's reputation. In the eighteenth century, with the right incentives, nespapers and word-of-mouth used to do a pretty good job and a lot of the disrepute has lasted to this day!
While Tom was still in England, one of his critics was William Cobbett. Witnessing the way in which the establishment dealt with the complaints from the thirteen American Colonies and the subsequent conduct of the war, Cobbett realised Tom had been right and obtained permission to exhume his body for repatriation - presumably as a focus for revolution.
Although shipped from America, there is no record of Tom's body reaching Britain. My theory is that the Excise men boarded the vessel and dumped Tom's remains overboard!
Verse 4
Modern Australians chose their own Queen
With America breaking free and France shedding the shackles of monarchy, why was there little appetite for revolution in 18th century England?
Memories cast a long shadow and in the same way that, two centuries after his death, Tom is still vilified in Britain it is easy to imagine that, during his lifetime (1736-1809), families would still be telling stories recollecting how brother was set against brother in the English Civil War of 1642-1651.
Oliver Cromwell had demonstrated that the monarch could be overthrown and the will of the people, well the rich ones, could prevail. After Cromwell, the monarchy was restored and subsequent monarchs, for the most part, have been careful to identify themselves with The People and not The Government. Indeed, Victoria's consort, Albert, set a wonderful example in public service. George V, as soon as it was possible, started broadcasting directly to the public. George VI cemented the love of the people by keeping his family in London during the Blitz of WW2.
Tom Paine would not recognise today's British monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II has nurtured the British Commonwealth (is this name a coincidence with Cromwell?) and the monarchy has changed to the extent that on February 6th 1999 Australia, thought to be a hotbed of republicanism, voted 55:45% to keep the monarchy! Elizabeth has started to pay taxes, her sons and grandsons have (as she did in WW2) served in the armed services and her daughter has won both gold and silver Olympic medals.
A referendum that went against the media and all of the major political parties to free the UK from Europe was confirmed by a General Election win for the man they are still trying to undermine. Nonetheless, Britain has become a beacon of democracy and a magnet for the oppressed. The British Empire, guided Queen Elizabeth II, has become the British Commonwealth of Nations, many of which are republics! I wonder what Tom would have made of that?
Verse5
Twisted words hide crooked deeds
Tom's vision of democracy has evapourated. In America nobody can get elected without spending enormous amounts of money. Because of political correctnests and "fake news" ideals are soon distorted and used for totally different purposes. Many a good candidate has been forced to retire from the race because some minor indescretion has been blown up out of all proportion and, being comparatively honest, they know that a small lie can often lead to a large lie and before you know it, you are no better than the next crook.
Whilst the first version of this song was being written, a realistic idealist (if there is such a person) was being elected to the Presidency, He cited Tom Paine in his inaugural speech.
As the current version of the song was taking shape, a very different president was making mincemeat of Obama's minor victories in Congress and the Senate to dismantle the first steps towards more enlightened public welfare.
Verse 6
Fake veneers hide profiteers
Power today rests with The Corporations. Whatever the shade of government, the Corporations are in control. This is not always a bad thing. They learned by their early mistakes like recruiting a hit-man to join Rooseveld's cadre, not realising that he was fed up with killing. The dossier he prepared put his employers in jail, Rooseveldt lived and the "New Deal" went ahead.
They have learned to be patient and always make sure that they stay on the correct side of the law even if it means lobbying for years to obtain a change in the law. Europe is a prime example. Whilst always accentuating the freedom of the individual, step by step new accords have been reached that have undermined the power of the individual to effect any change.
What about China? Very cleverly, China has beaten the West at its own game: capitalism. Price is the driving force and, with limitless public funds, cheap labour, local raw materials, their marketing experts achieved maximum market penetration by selling cheap. With a few top-end exceptions China has dominated manufacturing for so long that other nations have, to all intents and purposes, scrapped their own facilities.
However, the Corporations pull all of the strings - which suits China because it is covert. Nothing is illegal because the influence of the Corporations reaches deep into politics and law-making right down to product regulations.
Verse 7
When might is right then mercy dies
It is nothing new for a more powerful nation to enforce its will upon a weaker one. Even wealthy companies, the forerunners of today's corporations, like the British, Dutch, or Portuguese East India Companies or the Hudson Bay Company could be very cruel.
The establishment of the United Nations in 1945 ought to have ensured world peace. Sadly, it has not. Worse still, political correctness has ensured that the resolutions that are passed hardly ever represent natural justice. So, wars are waged across the globe but never in the back yard of the corporations. Atrocities are committed. Sometimes, as in Kosovo, massacres take place right under the noses of the UN soldiers in their blue berets. There are ongoing situations where a small nation with the support of a superpower - Israel and the US, for example - continue to oppress a smaller one with impunity.
Close to my own heart is the situation in Cyprus where the UN, having made no effort to deter the genocide, decided that Turkey "invaded illegally" in i974 when the evidence shows that 50,000 troops were sent by the military junta in Greece to exterminate the Turkish Cypriot population. Turkey, as co-guarantor of the 1960 Cyprus Constitution, was fulfilling her oblgation, an obligation which Greece (unsurprisingly) and Britain chose to ignore. More of this in my Cyprus Today talk.
The plight of many of Cyprus' middle-eastern neighbours is more tragic still with civilians forever bearing the brunt of political and religious ideology that turns children into suicide bombers.
Verse 6
Believe your own eyes, destroy the lies
In todays world, we worship money. In the UK we see the crazy situation where the National Health Service, in desperate need of funds, is fined when it fails to achieve arbitrary goals.
And what has made these strange goals so important? Political Correctness. Justice has disappeared. We are no longer allowed to speak the truth for fear that we will upset some false sensitivity. One bad law leads to another and stupid decisions increase exponentially.
Mental health is of major concern in all age-groups today and Political Correctness must take a large share of the blame. Everyone is in a state of mental conflict to a greater or lesser extent. Most, fortunately manage to shrug it off but many do not. In the workplace we see people promoted ahead of more able colleagues simply to satisfy some political quota. One family is favoured on a housing list because nobody dares to point out that they have lied in their application form. In a court of law most witnesses swear to tell the truth on a Bible for which they have no respect. Police forces have to meet quotas and observe ludicrous procedures that seem designed to prevent the guilty from being convicted. What encouragement is there for youngsters seeking a purpose for their lives?
This revision of the song mentions the inaugural speech of President Trump. In it he said exactly what his red-neck voters wanted to hear and, to the terror of the liberal left, he has done his best to fulfill his promises - democracy at work, power to the people. Is this what Tom Paine had in mind? Will America take a less active role across the globe and concentrate on internal matters?