White House Chronicle

News Analysis With a Sense of Humor

  • Home
  • King’s Commentaries
  • Random Features
  • Photos
  • Public Speaker
  • WHC Episodes
  • About WHC
  • Carrying Stations
  • ME/CFS Alert
  • Contact Us

The Case for American Knighthoods

June 14, 2015 by Llewellyn King Leave a Comment

I may have a faded English accent, but I am a true blue American — and I have been for five decades. I do not think that everything that comes across Atlantic from Britain ought to be adopted here.

I do not believe that there is any virtue in driving on the other side of the road. And I do not believe that every British television program is unassailably wonderful.

While I think that the House of Commons is a fabulous entertainment, but it is not necessarily the best way to govern the United Kingdom, particularly in this time of nationalist stress. I have lived in London, but I do not yearn to take up residence there again.

However, there is one feature of British life that I think would benefit the United States substantially: the introduction of an honors system to reward exemplary people in our society.

What titles we have in the United States are clung to. Former senators still call themselves senator; governors, governor; and ambassadors, ambassador. A few Ph.Ds persist in calling themselves Dr., and most people would like to have a title other than Mr., or Ms. in front of their name. Even firmly republican countries in Europe, like France and Italy, have clung to their aristocratic titles.

Well, we do not want an aristocracy here, but it would be grand if we could single out contributions to our well-being with a nifty title. Various eminent Americans have been awarded honorary titles, but they can not use them. What is the point of a title, if you can not call a restaurant and say, “Sir John Doe, here. I would like a table by the window.”

Here are some exceptional people who I would make honorary knights or dames:

Arise, Sir Brian Lamb, creator of C-SPAN and a massive contributor to television and the understanding of American politics.

Arise, Sir David Bell, a dedicated general practitioner, who treats victims of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, in the northwest corner of New York state. Bell has tended indigent patients since the disease broke out in the village of Lyndonville, NY, in 1985.

Arise, Sir Joe Madison (The Black Eagle), activist and broadcaster, who has championed the cause of justice for African-Americans and has fought modern slavery in Africa.

Arise, Dame Marin Alsop, music director of the Baltimore Symphony, who is a visionary conductor and a great contributor to the public good through her promotion of American music and classical music, her mentorship to young musicians, and her founding of OrchKids, a music education program for inner city Baltimore children.

Much of the British system of honorary titles should be left in Britain. Twice every year, on the Queen’s birthday and at New Year, a list of new honorees is published, and long-serving but unrecognized civil servants and military personnel hope to be on the list. The types of honors include: Knights and Dames, The Order of the Bath, Order of St. Michel and St. George, Order of the Companions Honor, and Orders of the British Empire. Just in case you are getting confused, these honors do not include the ancient titles of duke, marquess, earl or lord. But the monarch does mint a title now an again, like Her Highness Duchess of Cambridge, conferred on Prince William’s wife, Kate.

No, you have to keep the honorary title simple: knight or dame, awarded for exemplary achievement or service. On my honors list I would include distinguished people in the arts and sciences, educators, entrepreneurs and inventors, humanitarians, retired politicians (provided they promise not to run for office again). I think we should have Sir Bob Dole, Lady Olympia Snowe, and, if she were alive today, Lady Barbara Jordan.

On my watch list for recognition are Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Wynton Marsalis, and Dean Kamen. If you would want to recognize someone in journalism, Sir Llewellyn King has a nice ring. 

Email, RSS Follow
Email

Filed Under: King's Commentaries Tagged With: Brian Lamb, dames, Dean Kamen, Dr. David Bell, Elon Musk, honorary titles, honors list, Joe Madison, King Commentary, knights, Marin Alsop, Rep. Barbara Jordan, Sen. Bob Dole, Sen. Olympia Snowe, Warren Buffett, Wynton Marsalis

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

White House Chronicle on Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube
Silicon Valley and Its Unique Challenge to Freedom of Speech

Silicon Valley and Its Unique Challenge to Freedom of Speech

Llewellyn King

H.L. Mencken, journalist and essayist, wrote in 1940, “Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one.” Twenty years later, the same thought was reprised by A.J. Liebling of The New Yorker. Today, these thoughts can be revived to apply, on a scale inconceivable in 1940 or 1960, to Big Tech, and to […]

The Capitol Enshrines All the Best of Our Aspirations

The Capitol Enshrines All the Best of Our Aspirations

Llewellyn King

Cry, the beloved building. I have been lucky and have walked the halls of the Houses of Parliament in London, visited the Elysée Palace in Paris, the Bundestag in Berlin, and the Kremlin in Moscow. But it is the Capitol, the building on a hill in Washington, that fills me with awe but it isn’t […]

Big Tech Should Be Left Alone While It Is Still Creating

Big Tech Should Be Left Alone While It Is Still Creating

Llewellyn King

When it comes to invention, we ain’t seen nothing yet. The chances are good, and getting better, that in the coming year and the years after it, our world will essentially reinvent itself. That revolution already is underway but, as with most progress, there are political challenges. Congress needs restraint in dealing with the technological […]

Face Masks: What’s Good for Us Isn’t Good for the Geese

Face Masks: What’s Good for Us Isn’t Good for the Geese

Linda Gasparello

When I lived in Manhattan, I pursued an unusual pastime. I started it to avoid eye contact with Unification Church members who peddled flowers and their faith on many street corners in the 197os. If a Moonie (as a church member was known derisively) were to approach me, I’d cast my eyes down to the […]

Copyright © 2021 · White House Chronicle Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in