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| Mask of Guy Fawkes (Source: https://pinnocchioblog.org/2017/12/15/ die-ohnmacht-der-worte/guy-fawkes-maske-anonymous-vendetta/) |
In these modern times, people primarily
understand a parliament to be a representation of the people. Elected
or appointed members of parliament should participate in some way in
the legislation. Whether democratically legitimized or not, an
assembly of many in some way represents the will of the people.
Modern parliaments emerged from much
older Councils. Among the Germanic tribes, for example, a "Thing",
a term that can still be found today in some Scandinavian popular
representations, such as the Folketing in Denmark or the Storting in
Norway. In early medieval England this developed into a council,
called "witan" or "witenagemot", aptly derived
from the words "wita" ( wise man) and "gemot" (
meeting). In other words, a "meeting of the wise man". Even
without having drawn on the great philosophers before that time,
people knew almost instinctively that a kind of swarm intelligence
should be used for general and difficult decisions. Apart from the
mechanisms of reconciling the interests of competing parties, such
swarm intelligence is still expected to be more wise than the
solitary decision of a single person. That is, in essence, the very
raison d'être of a parliament.
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| Palace of Westminster 2007 (Source: wikipedia, CCL, Originator: David Hunt) |
The English and later British
Parliament, which is considered by many to be exemplary in the world,
has fought hard over many centuries to defend its position in the
power system of the island state. The 5th of November 1605 is known
to every Briton and is celebrated every year as the Bonfire Night. On
this day the soldier Guy Fawkes tried to carry out with some
co-conspirators an attack on the parliament and the king Jakob I.,
the so-called Gunpowder Plot. More than two tons of black powder had
been placed in the cellars of the Westminster Palace, where the
parliament met. The attack was prevented. From today's point of view,
the reason for this seems hollow. Since then, the cellars have been
inspected at the annual opening of the Westminster Parliament.
Parliament seems to have been saved.
But what is currently going on in the
British Parliament in connection with the Brexit is likely to despair
all British voters. It looks as if Parliament has lost its swarm
intelligence and all the rest of its wisdom. Never before has this
people's representation spoken out many times and repeatedly only
against anything, but never for anything. Never before have the
British people's representatives done so much damage in such a short
time as they have done now. More than ever the time seems to have
come for a Guy Fawkes.
