Aristocracy of self

I find that some of my favorite time periods are the industrial age, the renaissance and the current day. One of the things these three time periods have in common is an aristocracy.

Aristocracy: A class of persons holding exceptional rank and privileges, esp. the hereditary nobility.

The aristocracy we find in the renaissance was one of kings and princes, lords and ladies and monarchs and conquerors. I loved strongly the art, philosophy and science that had come from this time period. However I also disagreed with the particular style of aristocracy in this age. I have found through my books that many of the aristocrats, not all, during the renaissance of the 14th through 17th century were foolish and self-destructive in their ways. I believe I discover from this time that inheriting nobility, being given much well working for little can be a dangerous yet sometimes successful system. These are the aristocrats of crown.

The aristocracy we find in the industrial age is very different from what we find in the renaissance. The industrial age or industrial revolution was started during the later part of the 18th century and continued into the 19th. The aristocracy we find here is of the mind and of money. During the industrial revolution, intelligence, innovation, ingenuity and labor were combined to create a new monarchy of sorts. Replaced were the days of lords and ladies with company owners and innovators. Gaining royal blood was impossible for a common man. Gaining a fortune was very possible for a common man in the industrial age, although difficult like any other. The color of power changed from the red of blood to the gold of coin and gray of iron. I have found through my books that many of the business men of this age, not all, gained their crowns and thrones through invention and mind instead of blood and war. Earning nobility I believe is a selfish and completely creative system. These are the aristocrats of wealth

The aristocracy we find in today’s age is once again different from the renaissance or the industrial revolution. Our kings and queens, lords and ladies, monarchs and conquerors, are celebrities. We are not allowing the most intelligent or the most ambitious people to hold slight power over our lives, we are allowing the most popular. Those who have the most famous names and make the most powerful friends are the aristocrats of the day. We have replaced cold blooded kings and ruthless business men with speech writers and TV news anchors. Who has the strongest army or who has the most brilliant invention are not important, it is who has the most recognition or who has the most colorful campaign. If I am to be stolen from or imprisoned, let a royal king be the theif or jailer. If I am to be manipulated or intimidated, let it be by a business man who openly follows the code of greed. Being given nobility through the collective I believe is a disgusting yet safe system. These are the aristocrats of state.

In this country, long ago many great and possibly terrible people took action on an idea. This idea was that we are all aristocrats of our own lives. Regardless of the motives, reasoning or design, this idea is that we are the aristocrats of self. As aristocrats of self we can follow any designs of the past to perfect what we believe are perverted aristocratic systems or we can strive for the future for what we believe are better aristocratic systems or we can continue believing in and being a part of the current system. The question is what choice will we make?

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