You may well have seen the recent calls for football’s very own ‘golden boy’ – David Beckham – to be knighted and become an honoured knight of the realm. “Arise Sir Becks ” – screamed one Sunday tabloid this last weekend.
This Sunday paper claimed that David Beckham is to be bestowed with a Knighthood in the New Year Honours List. Such a deed would, should it come to pass, of course, create the prospect Mrs Beckham – that utterly self-absorbed wife of our hero, namely Madam Victoria, (aka Posh Spice) becoming a real life, ‘Lady’.
Hmm, Lady Beckham? Sheesh – the mind simply boggles at the thought. At least that is what I hear one or two of you sigh out aloud. But why should that be I wonder? Is this pair of the preening, modern-day celeb brigade not the glorious couple who represent everything that Britain has become – if not the whole world even – as we live in this glitzy, celebrity-obsessed twenty first century? A fools gold like world whereby everyone apes to be a superstar? It is a shallow and fake world carefully crafted by the media who wish to keep selling these notions of a plastic reality wrapped in myths – a fake world hungrily sucked up by every sucker that falls for it? Is that a fair assessment of it all – or not?
When I knew David Beckham during my time as a director of Manchester United FC – he was just a kid trying to make his way in the world. He had been thrilled and truly delighted to be finally signed up as a full-time junior professional footballer by the club that he had supported all his life. No one then thought that he would ever become the global brand-cum-iconic hero-cum-international celebrity that he has morphed into over the intervening years. The cult of all things Becks has spread around the planet the likes of which not even David Beckham – for all his self belief – could ever have dreamed it would become as big a thing as it has. Whether this is a classic example of the power of celebrity over talent and substance – I hear the critics cry – matters not one jot – it is a fact.
It’s remarkable really – especially when I think back to my Old Trafford days when I recall that some people back then in the late 1980’s/early 90’s thought that Beckham’s lack of real pace on the football pitch might even see him fail to make the grade as a top player never mind anything else. How wrong can people be?
Some twenty odd years later and on the cusp of this young man’s story culminating with he being considered for a knighthood – one can see how totally unpredictable many real success stories can be in a life full of the twists and turns of fate. But Becks has become, in many ways, a prime example of just how potent the power of celebrity is now. It is a cult that is all embracing across every facet of modern day Britain.
I assume that the secret, mysterious suits that hide away somewhere in the dark shadows around the murky world that is the Westminster and Establishment bubble – have got themselves all in lather over the recommendation of DB for this super gong. A sweating lather as they witness the PM and many others from the political fraternity who will do anything to curry favour with the popular vote by always striving to please the masses by honouring one of their genuine heroes – he is truly one of the masses own – a sporting god of the people. There must be dozens from the Establishment ranks simply chomping at the bit to shower DB with even more stardust than seemingly comes his way every other day. The Establishment were always going to come a knocking on his door. They were bound to come a calling for our saint Dave to be knighted, and, hence, ipso facto, David Beckham becoming a fully paid up member of the Establishment Club itself. That move was inevitable. The Establishment always do this sort of thing to keep the whole structure of status and influence remaining carefully within its own tight control.
I suppose there are at least two views of the type of character that the public at large perceive the man David Beckham to be. Perhaps those views go something like this:
The first, of course, is that David Beckham is seen by many as a marketing-man’s dream. A man that was always capable of morphing into the global sporting and fashion brand icon that he has become over the last twenty years. A man who has successfully transformed himself into a sort of national hero without anyone quite understanding why that all happened. No one can deny that Beckham has firmly established himself as a genuine national hero and an international brand of the first magnitude. He is handsome; he is a steady (if not exactly) the perfect role model (depending on your view) for our kids, and, apparently, an all round wholesome human being. Not to mention being a splendid physical specimen of a guy to boot and so the cap fits very well on our boy from Leytonstone, sourf London.
The Beckham brand is so well established now that it might even be deemed to be on a par with movie star greats like, say, a George Clooney, a Tom Hanks or even a Marlon Brando – er, sorry, I agree, that’s stretching it a bit. But you get the drift. Mind you, having said that, I reckon the girls would say that Becks could give ‘em all a run for their money when he’s seen on gargantuan bill-poster hoarding advertising boards dressed only in those revealing and shapely underpants of his. Yes – our Becks is a thoroughly good egg – don’t you think?
The other type of character that may be portrayed as representative of the public persona that is DB – so some of the more snobby, cynical brigade might say – is that golden balls represents the antithesis of a knight of the realm of old. The very polar opposite from the days when selfless chivalry was a fundamental prerequisite of any knight in shining armour not to mention fearless bravery on the battlefield. Historically, the knights of old would be expected to put their interests behind all others and well in front of their own. Indeed, a medieval knight would often lay down their life for king and country. And, no one is suggesting that DB is made of that robust and selfless ilk. Becks being clearly of the massively egocentric and fiscally driven type in all that he does and promotes – from TV channels, wrist watches, perfume, underpants to his very own fashion label. Some critics say that he would market Tampax if the contract was right. But there we are – no one should resent DB making hay whilst ever the sun shines and his star sparkles brightly.
Oh I can hear the knockers screaming – surely – not a knighthood for this ink drenched-tattoo-invested, mumbling, squeaky-voiced, crooked-mouthed gargantuan egotistical cockney, half-brained, smirking-kid? A man who can hardly string a sentence together unless it is dress -rehearsed with his army of admen agents. Surely not to be knighted? Can it be? What has the country come to? And, they sneeringly ask – will this lowbrow celeb-king’s battalions of entourage heavies accompany him to the dubbing ceremony as the future king to be, Wills, (he of the biggest silver spoon in the whole world) – leans forward to dub his mate a knight and carefully place his gift upon our hero’s shoulder? Well they might wonder?
So there we have it, then. Two polar opposite views that might be espoused by some over such a question of whether David Beckham should become a knight of the realm.
For myself, whichever view of our Dave you as a reader may concur, I am implacably opposed to the honours system per se. The system stinks of a society based on subservience, and a blind obedience to ridiculous social pyramids. A social structure that reeks of a past that still hankers after the feudal rites and a lottery-like birth right system – a social system associated with cruel medieval times. A system of gross inequality where only birth and privilege ruled. This absurd and utterly illogical system instead of a mature and legitimate meritocracy that properly honours its heroes with honours that make sense and are at least worth the paper on which they are written.
For goodness sake – anyone who thinks the likes of Andrew Windsor and his over-privileged, talentless, ilk is/are worthy of any gong award whatsoever and howsoever described rather says it all really. Yet his mother, the Queen, regularly hands out these sweeties to her favourite son. It is a system that has become a joke – a joke that has never really been very funny.
The honours system nowadays is so devalued, so debased as to render it meaningless. For those individuals who are stupid and hypocritical enough to be sucked into such a system by the Establishment must really need their head testing. Most pukingly obscene of all of course are those on the left of the political spectrum who go on to accept these baubles for some dubious achievement or other. They are clearly the most despicable of this stinking, sycophantic and hypocritical group – they who kowtow to such a pathetic process all in the cause of self-satisfaction, self-importance and self-aggrandising. It just beggars belief.
It is a process in which the Establishment has for centuries exploited to its own ends to the max. The honours system and the Establishment are inextricably linked, indeed, they are utterly inseparable. Political parties of all colours creeds and ideals are known to be consummate exploiters of the honours system – or dis-honoured system as this practice should be called. The Royals are at it too in gargantuan style. They invented the silly process in the first place. This was invented in order to maintain the social status quo and to protect its own position sitting right atop the social pyramid itself. People have to be incredibly stupid not to see straight through such an obvious social structure.
Power to the people I say. We should strive for a democracy that is sufficiently mature to do away with this Establishment and monarchical nonsense. We should have a system employed by the people for the people. Let the people decide whom they want to honour. The current Establishment method should be aborted. It is a weird, corrupt and utterly inappropriate system for recognising our talented and often selfless hero’s. We all want to see the high achievers and those that serve our county well to be recognised. But let the people decide. Not some remote, closed, secretive, hierarchical structure that largely seeks only to preserve its and their own position. The system does this by seeking to recruit to its ranks those who ‘they’ believe that the honoured should become one of ‘them’. Such a self-serving system of societal control – we should all seek to immediately abolition such a system without further ado and delay.
The current system is one of the last bastions of our society that values status, influence, wealth and privilege over genuine service to the wider community, service to the needy and the vulnerable. It is a truly contemptible and farcical structure of giving out awards. It is an insult to the thousands of real ordinary people who have genuinely contributed to our society and social service every day of their lives – but who are often ignored by the conservative establishment.
However, despite the very obvious imperfections of the current honours system – it is the one we are lumbered with. And, in my view, there is a strong case, whatever system we have in place, for David Beckham to be considered as an appropriate candidate to be singled out for an honour. I say this on the following grounds:
David Beckham is the first Englishman ever to win professional football championship titles in three different countries – Manchester United, and England, Real Madrid and Spain and the USA’s L A Galaxy. He is also this country’s most capped outfield player with 115 England appearances. And, latterly he has adapted quite well, as his football career began to wind down, to becoming a sort of roving ambassador for Britain. It is a role that seems to suit him quite well despite the oft-cringing photo-shoots you see him called upon to perform time and time again. So, the recent calls for a knighthood to be given to David Beckham are not all based on silly, cult-of-celebrity fluff. There is real merit here.
But, again, for myself – and in the final analysis – I have always personally been far more impressed by the list of those high achievers that have turned down such ‘honours’ and flatly refused to join the Establishment by firmly sticking two fingers up to this silly system of gong giving. There are hundreds of these brilliant men and women who have seen straight through the system for what it is. These forthright, strong and brilliant people have known that they do not need the hollow stamp of acceptance from the shallow and fake Establishment – for others to celebrate their greatness. Here are just a few names from the list of my real heroes – all of whom have refused honours:
Stephen Hawking, J B Priestly, L S Lowry, Rudyard Kipling, Aldous Huxley, C S Lewis, Lucien Freud, Henry Moore, Harold Pinter, E M Foster, Thomas Hardy, Alan Bennett, Graham Greene, Roald Dahl, Philip Larkin, Albert Finney, David Hockney, Evelyn Waugh, John le Carre, David Bowie, Nigella Lawson, Dawn French, Honor Blackman, HG Wells…………. And so the list of the really, really great people goes on. It is a truly revered list of greats all of whom told the ‘system’ to go and stuff themselves when waving a gong in front of their nose.
Now, if only our Becks would have the real balls to cock-a-snoop at the sycophantic, stupid and fake Establishment Honours System, too and say “No thank you”. A big fat “No” to any plastic gong that may be heading his way at Christmas time. Oh yes by golly – then in my book my dear David Beckham – you really would become a real hero – the actual “golden balls” that many think you to be.
