VERSION|0.5.1|NAME|Dinah|DATE|1370347007|CONTENT|James Jones delights in being nauseatingly grovelling and fawning whenever a member of the Royals comes into view.  Despite being disappointed in not being awarded the supreme fulfilment of his vocation, ie the Archbishopric(k) of Canterbury, perhaps he still harbours secret hopes of Justin falling under a bus or some other happy misfortune.

What the Bish appears not to have noticed is how much things have changed since people had vocations.  In those far-off days, society was much more hierarchical.  God was on top, followed by the King or Queen, the Archbish, then assorted men in high positions, who expected deference and usually got it.  Women were subservient to men, and children knew their place.  People were expected to conform and to have a sense of duty towards the monarch and the State.
  
Nowadays, we are not comfortable with rigid structures.  One of the many reasons why religious belief is not so widespread as it once was may be because we dislike the idea of a supreme, unquestionable authority, a Big Brother or Celestial Dictator as Christopher Hitchens put it, watching us and judging us.  We value individuality, and self-fulfilment is seen as more important than self-sacrifice.  The idea of nurses (say) putting the interests of their patients above their own concerns about pay and conditions, time off and so on, which once would have been seen as admirable, would now be considered as diminishing their rights as human beings. 
 
Like Edwin, I can see there were some advantages to the old system, but it did rely on millions of people accepting their lot in life, and having to be deferential to authority figures like James Jones.  It is immensely satisfying to have sites like this one where we can take a pop at the complacency and pomposity of such as he.
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