When I was a child, I spent lots of time reading The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, and other similar books. Recently, I've found myself thinking a lot about a particular passage from the book The Magician's Nephew in The Chronicles of Narnia series.
In it, two children from England (Polly and Digory), find themselves transported to a world that is on the brink of dying. Everything is worn down, the sun is red and about to go out, and no living people are found. Polly and Digory then walk through a palace and find a large stone hall filled with wax-looking figures covered in jewels, gold chains, and fine clothing. These are the rulers of that world from throughout its history, frozen in time:
The people sat in their stone chairs on each side of the room and the floor was left free down the middle. You could walk down and look at the faces in turn.
“They were nice people, I think,” said Digory.
Polly nodded. All the faces they could see were certainly nice. Both the men and women looked kind and wise, and they seemed to come of a handsome race. But after the children had gone a few steps down the room they came to faces that looked a little different. These were very solemn faces. You felt you would have to mind your P’s and Q’s, if you ever met living people who looked like that.
When they had gone a little further, they found themselves among faces they didn’t like: this was about the middle of the room. The faces here looked very strong and proud and happy, but they looked cruel.
A little further on, they were still cruel but they no longer looked happy. They were even despairing faces: as if the people they belonged to had done dreadful things and also suffered dreadful things.
- C.S Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew, pages 53-55
There's a political and philosophical concept called "noblesse oblige." The idea is that those with power, wealth, or high social status have a moral duty to act generously and responsibly toward those with less power. Crucially, this is more of a "benefactor" role than a ruler or taskmaster.
It doesn't seem like our nobles are intent on being noble these days. Public cruelty seems to be admired in our world right now. What's changed is how flagrant and celebrated it is.
The next time you're watching the news, pay attention to people's faces. Watch their microexpressions, the way they act, and how they treat others.