One of the many great things about the British is their humor. Witty, sometimes naughty, and often satirical, it never disappoints those who appreciate it.
Good humor contains a healthy dose of truth, and it helps us to expand our point of view. The comedic opera H.M.S. Pinafore, or The Lass That Loved a Sailor, by Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert is a good example. Like all classics, it has as much relevance today as it did when it opened in 1878.
The character of Sir Joseph Porter, who was the First Lord of the Admiralty (Secretary of the Navy), had nothing in his background that qualified him for the job. How like some of our leaders today.
A few handpicked stanzas of “Sir Joseph Porter’s Song” from Pinafore show that, in some ways, things have not changed much, since the late 1800’s:
When I was a lad I
served a term
As office boy to an Attorney's firm.
I cleaned the windows and I swept the floor,
And I polished up the handle of the big front door.
I polished up that handle so carefullee
That now I am the Ruler of the Queen's Navee!
Of legal knowledge I acquired such a grip
That they took me into the partnership.
And that junior partnership, I ween,
Was the only ship that I ever had seen.
But that kind of ship so suited me,
That now I am the Ruler of the Queen's Navee!
I grew so rich that I was sent
By a pocket borough into Parliament.
I always voted at my party's call,
And I never thought of thinking for myself at all.
I thought so little, they rewarded me
By making me the Ruler of the Queen's Navee!
Now landsmen all, whoever you may be,
If you want to rise to the top of the tree,
If your soul isn't fettered to an office stool,
Be careful to be guided by this golden rule —
Stick close to your desks and never go to sea,
And you all may be rulers of the Queen's Navee! [1]
Let’s take a hint from Gilbert and Sullivan
when we go to the polls in 2024. The
same old thing is getting the little guy nowhere.
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