[MR] Coronation Curia - New Orders?

[Susan and Frank Downs]

I enjoyed Anne le Coeur's post (re-printed at the end of this missive, in
case you can't find it again); It struck me as thoughtful and well-written.
Nevertheless, there is one point in the premise that I deeply disagree with.
The metaphor of awards as refreshment rings false to me, because I hold that
the experience of the SCA itself is the refreshment.  If you find your
participation in the SCA to be onerous, it's probably time to back off a bit
and leave the work to those who still consider it to be fun.  As has
previously been noted, I've done this myself on occasion, and even now
participate on a much lower level than previously, because this is my
_hobby_ and at some points it has stopped being fun.  When your hobby starts
to seem like work you have to change your perspective.

That being said, I do recognize the value of awards.  The greatest privilege
in my SCA experience was seeing the looks on the faces of people I cared
deeply for when they received awards in my courts as Baron of Black Diamond.
I truly feel that it is more fun to give awards than to receive them.  That
said, probably the most gratifying experience of my SCA career was hearing
the thunderous applause from the court when Daffydd and Elizabeth elevated
my Lady and me to Court Baroness and Baron after our retirement.  It was
deeply moving to feel the Kingdom's warmth and appreciation (a very belated
thank you to those who were there!).

Naturally we want to reinforce the behaviors that make the very existence of
the Society possible, but there are already an awful lot of ways to do that
and imagination provides infinitely more, without creating more official
awards, and you don't have to be a king or baron to do it.  Write or
commission a poem or song in honor of one you find worthy of praise.  Give a
gift you've made (or bought, even) to one you want to encourage.  Fight a
bout in someone's honor.  Present personal tokens to those whose works you
admire.  Of course it's great to receive official recognition, and we need
to ensure that Their Majesties have the tools to give it appropriately, but
we can also empower ourselves to encourage each other!(Sorry for the
neologism!)


-- 
Takenoshita Naro, reformed contributer to the alphabet soup flood
Frank Downs



> While I am not sure there are reasons for new GOA orders, I have come to
> believe that our current Awards do not provide avenues for a number of
> individuals in our kingdom.
> 
> Chiefly, members living in Shires and Crown Lands do not have the initial
> recognition provided by Baronial Awards.  The nature of a polling Order with
> recommendations, watchlists, polling requests, results and award decisions
> causes inherent lagtime and missed opportunities to recognize people.  This
> lengthy process is also a large part of the prestige of the Orders of Merit.
> 
> No, we do not participate as servants, artisans or combattants in order to
> receive awards.  However, early in our careers they do reinforce our good
> efforts.  I have written to others that they provide refreshment along our
> journeys much like a drink of cool water.  Our very individuality makes this
> more necessary for some than others.  For some the journey is quite long
> with very few refreshments.
> 
> I look at the segments of the martial community particularly archers and
> seige engineers.  I also see that other than the Herring for extraordinary
> autocratting there is no service related award (note I did not say Order).
> This means that many people are serving without recognition because many of
> our awards and Orders have specific criteria for which they have an uneasy
> fit.
> 
> I hope that as we address our process in Atlantia that we take this
> opportunity to look at these issues.  It is my opinion that the current
> proposal does not adequately address these issues.
> 
> Anne le Coeur
> 
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