[Ravensfort] Perspectives...

[L T]

The following is an e-mail I wrote back in February of 1999.
Before became a Pelican, before I was heavy-duty entourage for Timotheous I and Alyson I.

It's been published in several newsletters (not ours) and many ranking people have
thought that it should be required reading for all Crown Tourney entrants....

I'm putting it here...now...because part of my job as Vicaress is to educate the populace
so that they can achieve in the SCA. Though this is geared toward those who have been Crown and
those who will be Crown...everyone who holds any office will face situations in which they will
have to ask themselves many of these questions.

Burden of the Crown 

A month or so back a gentle issued displeasure
about the way our crowns remain circumspect in
their dealings....

It got me thinking...

Potentially everyone of us has the ability to
be Crown or Consort and even if we don't think
we have that ability we expect certian things
of our Crowns...in my world view we shouldn't
expect things of others that we couldn't or 
wouldn't do ourselves so as an exercise: how do
you measure up to your expectation of what we
ask of our Monarchs or question what you think
you would do as Monarch...

Let's assume that the potential Monarchs are 
those who are interested in doing whatever
they can discern is needed for Ansteorra...
They want to serve the people and make sure
that those who deserve recognition get it...

To be of the people...you need to travel and
meet people... How many places have you traveled
and how many people do you know there, in how
many regions?...Do you
know enough people that when something goes
haywire in a group, you know people to call on 
to get other views than the ones yelling the
loudest?? 

Have you read kingdom law?? What about corporate?
or even Marshallate? Are you ready to uphold them?
Do you have enough basis
of knowledge to make a judgement on whether
a group is following guidelines or is really
digging itself deeper.

How much of our history do you know...
what have we gone through in the past,
what issues hit our hot buttons?
What is our glory??

Are you ready to deal with real legal issues
like rape, assault, or theft.

Are you willing to put aside friendships
and household ties in matters where 
you would normally be biased? Would you be 
able to put aside your dislike and decide
justly on an issue with a long time adversary?

How many people have you recommended for awards?
Do you know your criteria? 

Are you ready for a 9 month stint of everyone
in the kingdom wanting your ear, of being in the 
spotlight ...and are
you able to generally discern BS from bias, from
concern, from panic, from "truth" (which is always
relative)?

Are you ready to decide the fate of groups and 
individuals within the context of the SCA.

Can you go on smiling for "the people"
when someone you cared deeply about
just betrayed you?

Do you know who your true friends are?

Are you ready for some of the greatest thrills
when you see your people at their finest and
for some of your greatest disappointments 
when you see some of the people you
admire the most have feet of clay...

These are things I have asked myself
not because I really think I will
be a monarch, but because I realized
what I expected out of one...

I saw how much friends
of mine who have been monarchs have
gone through....the pain...the joy...
the exhaustion...always trying to
do the best for the kingdom and getting
tired of not being able to please
anyone (or at least it seems that way
caus all ya hear is the bitchin').

I then looked around an realized that on a
less concentrated level, people who stay
with our organization and have value in the organization have
also gone through much of this...


just something to think about...

In Service to Ansteorra

Lorraine DeerSlayer




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