The End of an Era?
I have to admit that I watched almost every moment of the Queen’s funeral. Part of it was, of course, that my wife is a Canadian citizen and a member of the commonwealth family. Partially, I wanted to witness a piece of history which will never be seen again in my lifetime. Mostly, I was struck by the person the Queen was, how she ascended to her position, and how regally she conducted herself while in it.
I am struck by the implications of her passing. Will the monarchy continue, or will it be struck down and heaped upon the Woke’s trash heap of historical sentiment? Has nobility finally seen its day, to be discarded as the pointless anachronism it seems to be? Have Harry and Megan called enough attention to the undeserved power and wealth the royal family enjoys at the expense of their subjects?
Queen Elizabeth reigned with a considered discretion. She was not ostentatious, but still she drew fond attention to her work and her manner. As I heard so often during the days after her death, “She never made a misstep in 70 years.” For someone continuously in the public eye, her conduct was remarkable in that she never was embroiled in controversy of her own making.
I Could Scarcely Speak from the Lump in my Throat
The Grenadier, Welsh, Irish, Scots and Coldstream Guards have protected the Monarchy for more than 200 years. I was impressed with a recurring thought. With the Queen’s passing, the Grenadier Royal Guards, known for their discipline and military precision, seemed almost like automatons in that they carried on flawlessly, but without their long-time charge. Leaderless, they took up their jobs with a flawless relentlessness, while the country was left hobbled with grief.
As a former military troop, I found myself moved by the British military – really, the entire military theme of the rituals surrounding the passing of a monarch. The eight Pall Bearers garnered the light of the main stage, but the supporting cast of proud and worthy military service men and women who supported the event – forgive the minimalizing sound of that – elevated those eight men to the highest standard of pride and lump-in-the-throat nostalgia for me.
Every military commander knows that a combat unit’s might lies not within its number, but in the discipline and unity of that unit. The British military appears a formidable force indeed. At least it does to this former NCO.
An American View of our Cousins' Grief
Like many Americans who possess even the smallest grasp on our history, I have always looked upon our American Revolution with tremendous pride. At that time, Great Britain was the mightiest world superpower. We were but a small colony of a few thousand angry British subjects who lived a life of hardship in a forbidding land with none of the available conveniences enjoyed by the rest of the settled world. Yet in less than three years, we defeated and sent packing, the mightiest nation with the greatest fighting force ever seen to that day.
In only 246 years the United States of America has grown from a primitive gaggle of malcontents, according to the opinion of the time, to the mightiest nation on the planet – mightier than any in the history of the world. We are the strongest, the wealthiest, and by far, the most generous country on the planet.
In less than 250 years – there are thousands of buildings in Europe older than we – America changed the world into a technologically advanced, freedom dependent world. Read the book “The 5000 Year Leap.” The world languished in an era of unchanging technology for 5000 years until after only 246 years as a country we led the way to a world without famine, hunger, and plague.
The advancements we fostered through freedom of the middle class allowed the common man to own property, create wealth, and develop innovation that benefitted mankind, while creating a means for personal gain.
The unimaginable success we enjoy as a nation never dimmed our love of others. The United States shares its wealth and its advancements with the rest of the world freely and gladly. There is no nation that does not enjoy our charity. There is not a country in the world that does not enjoy the fruits of our arts, our positive influence, or our highly desirable way of life. With a humility and love for our fellow man of which I hope the Queen would approve, we Americans paid homage to the longest reigning monarch of the country who founded us then were dispatched.
Although separated by time, generational changes, and an ocean, we are still cousins. We still love and respect those who were our forefathers.
Andrew, Meghan, and Harry - Have they Destroyed Everything?
Fair or not, the fall of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, from grace has struck a huge blow to the perceived necessity of the continuation of the royal family. The royal family nowadays contributes little more than charitable philanthropy to the British nation and the world. Although no longer an active part of the British government model, presentation of a bygone feudal governmental form as a monarchy can weather no such missteps. Particularly, graft and lude behavior are not what the royal family needs to be known for. It won’t be long before the “people’ will resent the huge amount of taxpayer money and national resources committed to keeping them around.
The image of the Queen’s son jet-setting around with low-life billionaires, while bedding teenage girls is not something to be tolerated or publicly monetized. In so many ways the royal family is no more than the over-privileged relic of a living museum. Bad behavior does not endear a questionable expense to those who pay dearly for it.
Harry has always been a loose cannon. He was the royal wild child for years before he discovered the mysteries of the narcissist, Meghan Markle. Those two seem to have recognized and have accepted the inevitable decline of the royal family. They act as if they have seen the expiration date, and are making every effort to take the money and run while they can.
Between self-serving publicly broadcasted fabrications, and salacious tell-all books, they have been the greatest danger to the royal family since the Romans tried to wipe out the British when they were still leading barbarian hordes against the roman army.
The only audience that buys these erroneous tales spun by Meghan and Harry are the American media, and the uninformed masses who listen to them. The provocative couple – particularly Meghan – is hated by the English. It is likely that the new King Charles will exile them both and strip them of all titles and holdings, although it may be too late.
How do I Feel About the Queen Passing?
I mourn with my distant cousins. I have always respected the Queen’s commitment to duty, country, and especially to God and Christianity. She was open and frank about the tribute she paid the Almighty, through whom all things are possible. I agree. I admired her sense of duty and how she never shirked the promises she made when she was crowned. She was the greatest of her people, and an example, I pray, our leaders here will endeavor to emulate.
I also think the monarchy an anachronism. It has always been one of the worst governmental models throughout history. Heads of state garnering wealth and power at the expense of the majority is always a bad thing. I see the royals as a living museum, promulgated by a fading sentimental nostalgia of a limited memory containing only the glory times and missing the harsh realities the monarchy caused its nation and in history.
I don’t see the monarchy living past the current passing generation. The price of ritual is just too high. The new age of woke misguided equity will see to its end. If they can topple a statue or destroy an historic artifact, they will certainly destroy a people they deem a self-serving relic of colonialization and tyranny.
God save the King.
