Not to bring up politics but…I relate this ending scenario
of Camelot to today’s political problems. Today I see our political world as
broken, quarrelsome, and a complete mess. Funny how today, we can still easily
relate to the medieval times of King Arthur and the Round Table.
From Malory’s excerpt explaining the downfall of Camelot,
their opposing views and sides that each knight choses to be on (Lancelot or
King Arthur) creates a large dispute. This dispute broke the world which they
all once thrived in. Sir Gawain says to King Arthur, “My good uncle, it was my
pride and my stubbornness that brought all this about, for had I not urged you
to war with Sir Lancelot your subjects would not now be in revolt” (Malory 519).
The anger and opposing opinions lead to the death of many important characters
that we have been following.
Also, like our political world today, people of higher power—the
knights of the Round Table—betray their position in which they serve and create
worse situations. Sir Modred should have never betrayed his own father like he
did.
In my opinion, I believe Camelot will never come back from
such a tragedy due to the destruction in their system and the loss of their
King.
I too also refrain from speaking on politics at all! But I like the connection you made to our greater society. It is often opposing opinions that bring about confrontation and war. It's never a matter of who deserves the power but who has more of it to control. Of course we can still relate to it today, it's part of our human condition.
ReplyDeleteI do not like talking politics because I also believe that it separates people and I believe that it shouldn't matter who I vote for verse what you vote for. However your comparison is very true that it does come down to what side you pick and you have to stick to it.
ReplyDeleteI think it is NECESSARY to be able to apply the stories that we read to our present moment (whenever we live). Good stories hold up over the centuries. Good leadership (and bad!) is recognizable outside of its context. Those lessons are broad and important and we should never shy away from making those points even if they can be tricky or feel divisive. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI think that this was an interesting comparison. These stories were written a while ago and it's crazy to think how it applies to today. History repeating itself is something that many people warn about and here we are comparing the narrative of Arthur's downfall to the current political landscape.
ReplyDeleteI don't like to talk about politics but I'm also a pretty firm believer that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I think the fact that theres so many issues happening in this story, that we can all see happening today in modern societies just shows we've been making the same mistakes since around 1450.
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