Silence Silentius

Silence is a girl. She is the daughter and sole heir of Cador, a noble knight, and Euphemie. But the King of England disallows the inheritance of property by women as the king lost two knights over it. So Silence is raised as a boy, christened as Silentius. And a boy Silentius is to everyone else in hope that one day ‘he’ could lay claim to ‘his’ father’s property.

Upon reaching the age of 12, Silentius is confronted by characters known as Nature, Noreture (nurture) and Reason. Nature wants Silentius to return to a role appropriate to his biological gender. But then Noreture and Reason persuades Silentius to continue the way things are to avoid shaming the family. They also argue that Silentius could lose his current status in society. At this stage, he decides to remain Silentius.

But as the story unfolds, Silentius goes through many tribulations, mostly due to the evil deeds of the queen. Eventually, all secrets are made open and King Evan has the treacherous queen arrested and Silence is made his new queen. The king restores the inheritance of all women in England. Cador and Euphemie make a return to court and are forgiven. Hereon then, everyone live happily ever after.

That ladies and gentlemen is the gist of the story of Silence, written by Heldris of Cornwall. The 13th century romance manuscript was found in 1911. The unearthing of this antiquated piece is a boon not only to the literary world but also to that of philosophy. It goes to show how far back the debate of nature versus nurture has been contemplated.

The phrase ‘nature versus nurture’ is attributed to Francis Galton. In his work English Men of Science: Their Nature and Nurture, Galton refers to the term as, "...a convenient jingle of words, for it separates under two distinct heads the innumerable elements of which personality is composed. Nature is all that a man brings with himself into the world; nurture is every influence that affects him after his birth." The nature school of thought propagates the relative importance of an individual's intrinsic qualities whereas those from the nurture camp cherish personal experiences most in the determination of individual traits.

So if we are to board the ‘nature’ bandwagon, one shall argue how in the very end nature always play a role in shaping a person’s personality, cognition and future undertakings; very much like in the case of Silence. And when one speaks of nature, one would equate it with certain skills and talents which run in the blood. If one’s forefathers seem to have been blessed by political prowess, surely he or she too possess similar inherent ability to strategise and govern. And George Howe Colt would concur with such hypothesis. In his article Were You Born That Way; he claimed that, "new studies show it's mostly in your genes."

And it is easy to see how true Colt’s statement is. It is not hard to repel his naturist theory when in the bosom of wealth and opulence, where blue blood runs thick; power and political might seems to run in small circles and oftentimes, within the family.

When David Cameron, the recently elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was fiercely battling out his opponents in the general election, it did not escape the notice of the media and the public that he, as most Conservative politicians are, came from a certain pedigree – it would appear that Mr. and Mrs. Cameron are descendents of King William IV and King Charles II respectively. Even the new Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg from the Liberal Democratic Party could claim noble heritage as he is a scion of baroness in Imperial Russia.

And a look at our own shores, the history is hardly any different. Malaysia has to date been under the rule of six Prime Ministers. And what may not come as much of a shock; of the lot, five came from families of reputable standings. The first Prime Minister was a prince from the state of Kedah; the second was a traditional chief (Orang Kaya Indera Shahbandar) in Pahang royal court; the third was the son of UMNO founder and former Chief Minister of Johore; fifth came from a prominent religious family in Penang; and last but not least the current Prime Minister who is the son of the second Prime Minister and following the death of his father inherited the chiefly title as well. I reckon it is also worthy of note that the second and third Prime Ministers are brothers-in-law as their wives are sisters.

To further prove the commonness of this scenario; let’s take a brief look the world over as it currently is. The Prime Ministers of Thailand and Singapore; and the Presidents of France, Syria, Philippines and Bangladesh all come from illustrious political families and have prominent fathers. And that ladies and gentlemen, is not an exhaustive list. Those are just some examples of a phenomenon rather common worldwide.

However, if we are to look on the other end of the spectrum, where one would place nurture in a higher degree of importance in human development, the argument would be more in the area of environmental factors rather than biological. Harvard psychologist B. F. Skinner’s research found that human behaviour could be conditioned in much the same way as animals.

So if a person could be conditioned and not driven by predisposed tendencies, what does then? Well, learned abilities do. A study in New Scientist suggests that sense of humour is a learned trait, influenced by family and cultural environment. Therefore, it is a safe assumption to say that should a child be raised in a political family, it is highly likely that the child will acquire certain tools of the political trade from the example set forth by the parents or other family members.

As for Nick Clegg, although biologically predisposed to positions of power by virtue of his ancestry, he has made statements to indicate it is his familial upbringing that shapes who he is. In an interview with Simon Barrow, he said, "...if you ask me what my influences are, they are without a doubt my family. They are very much the main driver of who I am as a person - my parents, my brothers and sisters, my cousins (I come from a very big, boisterous, warm, loving family) and my own family now."

In the same interview, Mr. Clegg goes on to state that it is the learnt and shared ideals of his mother that influences his view on British politics. "I think, too, that my mother's classic sort of Dutchness instilled in us a degree of scepticism about the entrenched class configurations in British society...I was acutely aware as a youngster that, frankly, things just seemed to work so much better in the Netherlands than they did in Britain - or England, at least. There was just a feeling that something was holding this country back..."

Other than that, we must not also forget that a dynasty is typically filled-to-the-brim with perks and privileges. Members of that dynasty then would have access to the best that the world has to offer in its formative years and beyond. The child would be enrolled in the best school, taught by the best tutors and be trained by the most sought after coach. It should not come as much surprise if such a child to be more educated and learned in the intricacies of the sophisticated political world. Just have a look at David Cameron and Tony Blair. They may be polar opposites in politics but they are both Oxford educated. An education like that is surely one that is much prized and advantageous.

Behavioural science apart, if we are to understand why pedigree seems to give one a better leverage in the pursuit of power, we must also understand that the very best form of human relations – familiarity and intimacy, are keys to making your way around the world. Those with dreams of running for office (or even running a Broadway show) would know that you have to know the right people to make things happen. A person born, raised and nurtured in a political family would undoubtedly be familiar to the scene and its key players.

For instance, to the president-elect of Philippines Benigno Aquino III, the first female president of the nation, Corazon Aquino, is just mummy. And who can forget the famous picture of young John F. Kennedy Jr. playing under the desk of his father in the Oval Office. As a child, he is already intimate with the much revered office. Furthermore, he grew up knowing the late President Kennedy as his father, Robert and Edward Kennedy as dear Uncle Bobby and Ted.

Or perhaps familiarity came from shared education, like that of Bill Clinton and Gloria Arroyo. The two happened to be classmates back in their student days in Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. And like have been mentioned before, numerous members of the Cameron cabinet were Eton’s old boys. Such shared experiences would undoubtedly cast a sense of familiarity, brethren and camaraderie. Politics it seems is a game best played in familiar playground.

But let’s not forget that progenies of prominent families are basically a case of great brand equity. View their pedigree in a strictly marketing standpoint; persons with pedigree wield great brand equity. In marketing, the greater a brand’s equity, the better it is recognised. And recognised brands make the easiest sell.

Just take a look at the U.S., her political history is littered with political families in the Oval Office – the Adams, Roosevelts, Bushes, and of course the most well known of all American political family is the Kennedys. But we need not look that far to see how easily recognised are certain families in the game of politics. India has been and currently is very much in the control of the Gandhis. One of them, Rahul Gandhi, is a rising young political icon in the sub-continent. And in India’s neighbouring nation of Pakistan, the son of the late political giantess Benazir Bhutto has chosen to include her mother’s family name as part of his. He is now known as Bilawal Zardari Bhutto, whereas up until 2007 he goes by the name Bilawal Zardari. Goes to show how important a familiar name is in realm of politics.

In a plausible future, Malia Ann Obama may want to create history in very much the same way her father did, by becoming the first female Afro-American president of the U.S. And therefore if and when she decides to field her presidential candidacy in the election, she will require less promotional efforts as the public will already know who she is. After all, who doesn’t know the elder of the Obama’s First Daughters? The pair are so delighted when they finally got the puppy they so yearn for. Little anecdote like this and so many more to come, will slowly but surely engrain our minds with the Obama name and thus create an asset, which will be so precious for future generation of Obamas.

Ultimately, it is not so much a case of either nature or nurture that shapes those who are in power, especially when the two concepts are very much inter-related. After all, the highly conducive milieu of wealth, education and social privileges are known to be passed on for the benefit of genetic offspring. Therefore, it is in fact the package, a combo of both that makes them a marketing gold.