[NEWSWEEK] For centuries the Magna Carta, or "Great Charter," has been held up as an enduring symbol of freedom and democracy.
It was signed, or more accurately sealed, by England's King John on June 15, 1215, in a field 20 miles outside London. By all accounts, the move was a capitulation, not a heartfelt act of goodwill. The monarch was pressured into it by barons unhappy with his reign, and in particular with the taxes he had levied on them to pay for his disastrous military campaigns in La Belle France.
Though initially created to appease only a select few, today the document is considered influential in the establishment of democratic governments and legal systems worldwide--an affirmation that no man, not even a king, is beyond the rule of law.
Lots more hole follows, with no donut. |