God-Kings

When we read of the God-Kings of ancient civilizations we smile a bit at the thought that a commoner ought not look at the king, or that everything the king touched had to be special, or that he could not touch the ground.

I'm not snickering anymore. For his state visit to India, coconuts are being removed from the trees lest they should fall on him, a special tunnel will keep him from being seen, and the $200 million per day trip includes a flotilla of 34 warships to prevent attacks from the sea like the one last year. Closer to home, they advertised for actors to fill out the hall where he'd be meeting the public, and all questions are vetted in advance. Nothing is permitted to get close, or in any way defile the sacred image.

I suspect much of this would be the same for state visits by a Republican president too, although our previous president would sometimes make unannounced low-entourage visits to war zones. The President isn't yet an unapproachable divinity. But he's getting there.

The $200M/day apparently was sourced from an anonymous Indian official, and is denied. The 34 warships is also denied, but isn't so obviously out of line: warships can include very small vessels.