Most everybody has heard of Kentucky Fried Chicken’s (KFC) Colonel Sanders, of which, in truth, Harland Sanders or Colonel Sanders as he was popularly known, was not actually a military Colonel, but rather was provided with the honorific title of Colonel, by the governor of Kentucky. Perhaps that was the right action to do, as well as it also being the prerogative of the governor of Kentucky, so done in the recognition that the contributions of Colonel Sanders to the State of Kentucky as well as to America, warranted such. The thing is though, the Constitution of America in its clause of Article I, Section 9, Clause 8, states in part that “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States…” Indeed, it must be acknowledged that the honorific title of Colonel is not a title of nobility, and also that the State of Kentucky, is not the United States, in totality. Still, what has to be fairly recognized is that titles such as Colonel or Commodore or Admiral, of which those people that receive these honorific titles, seems then to thereby place those people into a position of honor, which they have not earned via commensurate military service to their country.
Maybe it’s not a big deal that honorific titles are issued to certain people, for whatever reason, but the fact of the matter is that the United States did not desire to take on the symbols of aristocracy, which is part of the reason why President George Washington, was not known as King George Washington. So then, the problem with these honorific titles, whether issued by State governments, or of Higher Institutions, is that there is a tendency then for those receiving such a title to thus be perceived by the general public as being “better” or “more valued” than the other. In other words, those that have titles that traditionally have been attributed to those that have served their nation in a military capacity, or of those that have contributed greatly to a mission of peace and good will, or of impressive knowledge so obtained at a University, somehow have company with those with the same title, honorifically provided.
In truth, America is supposed to represent a democratic society, which is, in effect, no respecter of persons. So then, whenever certain people are afforded honorific titles, this would seem to suggest that those with those titles are of a different class than the general population of America, of which, since these honorific titles, having not being fairly earned in the traditional sense of what these titles so represent, means that they have been gifted such, in order to basically differentiate these honorific title holders from the general public. Indeed, part of the way that historically the general population has been held in check, is the fact that the general population has no titles and further to the point are often perceived then to have lesser rights than those that are the arbiters or superiors of such, so designated by those that have earned such through their titles, or have been gifted such, by the powers to be.