The Blog: Other Boleyn Girl, Checks and Balances

Henry VIII the man that would be god…he turned into a monster some argued. Henry VIII, once considered a Christian king, was treated as a child as no man should. He won every game he participated in, was complimented at every turn, and never really developed an understanding of his own limitations and weaknesses. In the Other Boleyn Girl, we saw how this led to some flagrant abuses of power. That was before he became the final authority of the church.



Whatever one thinks of democracy, there is one important value it serves, the value of checks and balances. While I may not agree with many of the points made by the Republican party, I have always appreciated their role in offering alternatives. The legislative and judicial branches check the over-reaches of power in the executive branch.

Our job as citizens is to make sure that we check discussions that take place in the public square. No person, Rush Limbaugh or anyone else for that matter should be able to run rough shodd over the truth without facts or logic to support them. As citizens, we must do some digging to determine whether the data supports the opinions being espoused. We also must evaluate and decipher perspectives to make sure that logic underpins their analysis. Henry VIII teaches us that when anyone is allowed to go unchecked, it leads to flagrant abuses and monstrous outcomes occur. My hope is that as some of the heated debates continue in the US, we will make a commitment to learn the facts and challenge views based on neither fact nor logic.