King Michael, Fighting the Tide

By Bob Owens

I’m sure many of you have heard the apocryphal story of King Canute (Cnut the Great) and the tide. Canute was the king of England, Denmark, Norway, and parts of Sweden in what was known as the North Sea Empire from 985-1035 AD.

His story was told one of two ways.

Early historians, such as 12th Century historian Henry of Huntingdon, told the story of a wise king, tired of flattery from courtiers. Canute ordered his throne brought the the beach at low tide. He then commanded the waves to stop… knowing, of course, that they would not. When the waves lapped at his thrown and wet his feet, Canute leapt up and expressed the futility of the power of earthly kings to stop the tide.

More modern versions corrupted the original tale of humility into one of pride, where an arrogant and incredibly powerful man sincerely thinks he had the power to to control the tide rolling against and over him.

We’re seeing that modern day tale of arrogance played out in the saga of Michael Bloomberg.

The billionaire and former mayor of New York City has long thought that his success in business makes him better than everyone else, and that his success …read more

Source:: Bearing Arms