The Ultimate Answer to Kings: The irony gets a little thick sometimes.

They say that Louis XIV had the inscription Ultima Ratio Regum cast into all the cannon of the French Army. It means "The Ultimate Argument of Kings," and that always struck me as one of the most honest and up-front things any ruler or would-be ruler ever said. "We can dress it up prettier than this, but when it comes down to the unvarnished truth this is what it's about: You'll do as I say or I'll send my goons to kill you."

I thought about that for a long time. If there's an ultimate argument, it seems only logical that there must be an ultimate answer. For years I thought the ultimate answer must be the bullets in my rifle, but it never seemed quite right. I've got bullets - he's got frigging Cannon Balls. I mean, if there were three hundred million rifles throwing bullets at him, then maybe. But we all know that's not going to happen. So if there's an ultimate answer to his ultimate argument, it sure as hell ain't bullets.

It finally came to me - and that's when I left the city, abandoned a goodly percentage of my goods, and gave all that was behind me a good, stiff Randian Shrug.

The ultimate answer to kings is not a bullet, but a belly laugh.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The irony gets a little thick sometimes.

Barbara Tuchman would be very disappointed in them. Wilhelm II rolls in his grave.

Who* in 1935 would ever have thought the Germans would end up being the grown-ups of Europe? And they still can't get any respect.

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*Besides Germans, that is...

3 comments:

Tam said...: "Besides Germans, that is..."

And Henry Ford.; May 30, 2012 at 6:44 AM
Joel said...: Tam-

Touché.; May 30, 2012 at 10:20 AM
Anonymous said...: "Culture is everything."~VDH
Boy Howdy!; June 2, 2012 at 5:54 AM