The Cavalier types might see the Roundheads as boring, narrow and judgemental. The Roundheads might see the Cavaliers as shallow, childish and selfish.
I think Boris Johnson and Trump (and much of the country) would happily fit into the Cavalier mould and would be happy to see themselves as the swash-buckling horsemen; as leading the party, taking high risk for high reward.
There's another element to the civil war split though, which doesn't go against that analysis but which is perhaps relevant to understanding the modern incarnation. One of the characteristics of the English Civil War, unlike other wars in this country before and since, was the extent to which it divided families. It was very common for the older brother to be for the King - cavalier - and younger siblings to be for Parliament. Going by the simpler analysis of cavaliers = party people and roundheads = killjoys, you would expect the older, responsible sibling with the weight of duty on his shoulders to be roundhead inclined. But the cavaliers were actually not really the fun party, they were the traditionalists who wanted to maintain ideas of privilege and birth-right, keeping wealth for the few and enshrining primogeniture in law. The roundheads wanted to break the privilege and pursue something closer to a meritocracy (not a true one, of course, no women or 'low born' men would benefit, only the younger sons of lords and earls). Now if you apply that logic to the present politics, then Johnson is absolutely a cavalier. He's also cavalier - with the truth, with the law, with women. And so is Trump. It reinforces the divide if you think of cavaliers as arrogant and roundheads as revolting.
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
It's interesting as to how people view themselves; what they feel entitled to; how they think society works best; what is the point of life; and how we should relate to other people. I think that in modern life both sides have their pros and cons.
My aunt grew up in miserable post-war poverty and she has worked hard to "drag herself up". Having been a kid through the bombs and rationing, she has lived a party girl life since, determined to squeeze every drop of fun, luxury and delight out of life. She absolutely refuses any attempt to be regulated or 'told what to do'. She believes we should pull ourselves up by own bootstraps and look out for our own. In that spirit she rejects vaccines, distancing and lockdowns. She regards the state as intrusive. If she wants to drink champagne on an exotic beach then she will book a ticket and go - isolating, govt, and other people be damned.
“Life is not a journey to the grave with the
intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to
skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly
proclaiming, 'Wow what a ride!.
I wouldn't take him as a model for any kind of living; causing havoc and dead in a ditch at 67.
I think she is blinkered. She thinks I'm a communist. 😆
Mind you, we know somebody in London who has dementia and his wife who now has Parkinson's is being looked after by her daughter in her home. Great, you'd think but the daughter has not been vacinnated as she believes "Jesus will look after me". How can you persuade somebody with a mindset like that.
Mind you, we know somebody in London who has dementia and his wife who now has Parkinson's is being looked after by her daughter in her home. Great, you'd think but the daughter has not been vacinnated as she believes "Jesus will look after me". How can you persuade somebody with a mindset like that.
Presumably, she doesn’t walk into the road without looking, eat gone off food, or jump into lakes if she can’t swim? Why is she relying on him to save her from a virus if she wouldn’t rely on him to stop her ending up under a bus? Does she never take medicines or antibiotics, but relies on him to ensure a complete recovery from every ailment? She sounds pretty selective to me. Someone needs to point out that if her relatives get infected and suffer, she’ll have been doing the Devils work.
The Richard Dimbleby Lecture tonight: a talk by Sarah Gilbert who lead the development of the AZ vaccine at Oxford. Should be interesting.
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I'm interested in estimations of current global death toll from Covid. Some strong sources put it at close to five million, others at closer to 20 million. Lack of strong mortality data from some countries and variations on how it's measured re Covid make it hard to be exact I suppose. @punkdoc
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Now if you apply that logic to the present politics, then Johnson is absolutely a cavalier. He's also cavalier - with the truth, with the law, with women. And so is Trump. It reinforces the divide if you think of cavaliers as arrogant and roundheads as revolting.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Well done, your aunt!
How can you persuade somebody with a mindset like that.
Why is she relying on him to save her from a virus if she wouldn’t rely on him to stop her ending up under a bus? Does she never take medicines or antibiotics, but relies on him to ensure a complete recovery from every ailment?
She sounds pretty selective to me. Someone needs to point out that if her relatives get infected and suffer, she’ll have been doing the Devils work.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.