Magna Carta - A Big Piece of Legislation
"It’s a good day for our country" were the words uttered by David Rubenstein, lawyer and founder of The Carlyle Group, a private equities firm, who just was the lucky bidder at Sotheby’s in New York for a 1297 copy of the Magna Carta.
Rubenstein bought the Magna Carta for $21.3 million dollars so it can remain in the U.S. at the National Archives in Washington where it has been on display since 1988.
And this constitutes "a good day for our country"?
What is this world coming to? Here is a company that just spent more than the gross national product of Bangladesh for a piece of paper. And just how does America benefit? There are over 300 million Americans. Can you find another five who will wake up tomorrow and say, "Hey, you know all those problems we have had with global warming, terrorism, and borrowing money? Forget about it. Rubenstein just bought a copy of the Magna Carta. Doesn’t it make us all proud to whistle Yankee Doodle?"
Hey. It’s only a document. True, we have seen art go for millions. But at least art has a picture. And some of the art like the Mona Lisa is smiling. In this case, probably only Sotheby’s is smiling.
What an occupation being an auctioneer is! And then again, there are some wild-west auctioneers who waste their time selling cattle. They should maybe try adding a new line, like other copies of the Magna Carta. After all there are 17 of them:
OK y’all, we’ll get on with them cows in a minute but first what do I hear for this here Maggy Carter?" Fifty bucks? ... Hey c’mon Zeke, the frame alone is worth more. |
There are many members of this profession who not only remember Magna Carta with pride but were around at the time.
Before the Magna Carta:
- people were imprisoned without trial,
- trials were not held by a person's peers but at the whim of military authorities and
- Leader's dogs were not allowed to kill the King's deer or make Christmas videos.
You see, the Magna Carta represents progress and America can be proud of just how far it has gone since that rainy day in 1215.
To my mind, the main question here is if Mr Rubenstein will pay $23.1M for a 1297 copy. How much would he pay for a brand spanking new 2007 copy?
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