Why people can be governed by magical rulers


As a fan of the King Arthur stories, one of the funniest scenes I've ever seen was in the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", where two peasants discuss how absolutely ridiculous it is to be governed by a magical ruler. And yet for a lot of people it seems to make perfect sense. Here's the quote from the movie, as King Arthur explains how he became King.

Woman:  Well how did you become king then?

King Arthur: The Lady of the Lake - her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur.  THAT is why I am your king!

Man: Listen: Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government!  Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some... farcical aquatic ceremony!


And that's actually how the legend goes. Of course, Kings are usually born into power, by being the first born male of the existing King. And they are imbued with what has always been called the "Divine Right of Kings", which means that they can do whatever they want, and get their power from some divinity. Before the Britons (my people, the English) had Christianity, they had things like "the Lady of the Lake". And of course peasants just had to go along with it. Kings also had military power, you know.

The United States of America turned its back on the Divine Right of Kings in 1776. Government still exists there of course, but the power comes from the mandate of the people, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony, or anything divine. That's what Democracy means. 
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