Good Knight

[Nic Name]

The same point could be made about democrats / Democrats, I'm sure.

Not really. The point is England is not a republic although it is a democracy.

The point was that no true republican would accept an honour from a British monarch. eg. George Washington accepting a knighthood from King George III.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag and to the republic for which it stands ... "

The motto of the KBE Knights of the Order of the British Empire is ...

'For God and the Empire'.

Bush I and Reagan are honourary Knights of the Order of the Bath, which entitle them to the designation GCB, rather than KBE.

[Tobiasly]

OK, I was mixing up KBE and CBE apparently.

Interesting, I never knew the female equivalent of a Knight is a "Dame".

Boy, those British sure know how to make a mockery of the English language.

[Hubris Boy]

Originally posted by Nic Name
The point was that no true republican would accept an honour from a British monarch. eg. George Washington accepting a knighthood from King George III.

Bad example. Washington was no small-r republican at all. If you had to categorize his beliefs on government, he'd fall solidly in with the High Federalists like Hamilton and the rest of that crowd. And don't forget, Washington spent much of his young adulthood trying to weasel his way into a commission in the British army; he'd have jumped on a peerage with both feet, if it had come his way.

But I think I see the point you're trying to make, although you make it badly:

1) The part about small-r republicans was that no person who truly believes in the virtues of the small-r republican form of government would accept a title of honor from any monarch?

I suppose that might have been true once, but less so now. These days a non-hereditary peerage is just a pat on the back for a job well done.


2) The part about capital-R Republicans was just you being a jackass.

[Nic Name]

George Washington

And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens, (who devote themselves to the favorite nation,) facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country, without odium, sometimes even with popularity; gilding, with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation.

...

Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens,) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake; since history and experience prove, that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of Republican Government.

Teaching about George Washington. ERIC Digest

Unlike Madison, Jefferson, or Hamilton, George Washington added little to intellectual debates about the nature, purpose, and functions of governments. But his extraordinary understanding of leadership and commitment to republican principles and institutions advanced those ideas more so than the efforts of any of his contemporaries. Through the careful study of George Washington's life, students enrich their understanding of how the principles of a constitutional republic became reality in the United States of America.