Some historians think that this plays a role in breaking down the barriers, if you will, separating people who are going to these things for ritual reasons. The elephant in the living room is state power and state authority, as we mentioned earlier. You can't run a modern nation state and have a bunch of warlords and barons and other people able to have their own private army messing with you. And there's only one authority, and they're in the capital.

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