Charles 1

In the book I am going through slowly called “Speeches that changed the world.” I have reached one by King Charles the 1st.  He gave it in 1649 while awaiting execution and just before he lost his head.  It seems Oliver Cromwell was his great adversary.
It is not the politics of the time that is highlighted to me (though I find it really interesting) but how what I am reading ties in with what I am hearing.
What I am hearing right now is the importance of a team.  There are those that are famous and often the spokespeople for a movement, but they represent a tip of the iceberg.  An important tip, and a “the buck stops here” tip, but nevertheless only a small tip of what is there.
Charles the 1st no doubt had his own designs and agenda, but like any movement it was only as strong as the people it represented.
I am so glad for teams.  Lone Rangers some and go and some have a good influence and some a bad.  But everyone is made more alone by pushing away others.
People are happy to align with what they believe in.  Any cause needs those willing to use their skills to further it.  The term “the army marches on its stomach” was not coined for no reason.  They may do the fighting and take ground yet that is only possible because of the multitude of others supporting and furthering the cause.
The book has some good things to say about Charles the 1st in that he was a great patron of the Arts, a loyal husband and father, and sincere.  But it is three words I read about his short comings that in my opinion led to his downfall.  Those words wore a “poor strategist” and “inflexible.”
To me that is one of the reasons why it is so important who’s star I hitch my wagon to.  All are part of a team (knowingly or unknowingly).  To the victor belong the spoils and losing can have dire consequences.