The future heir to the British throne is on its way this morning, with the Duchess in labor at least since about 6am UK time. Doesn’t really have any impact on my life, obviously; but like the rest of the world, I’m watching the news and smiling. New life is always cause for celebration, and this child breathes much-needed new life into an institution viewed at best as stodgy.
That said, there’s something sort of calming about the institution of royalty, at least in the case of the mostly benign figureheads at the top of most European nations. Obviously there have been plenty of scandals among the royalty, but they can’t hold a candle to the messes instigated by elected officials. Infidelity is tacky. Theft and assault are something else again. Whatever else you can say about the European royals, they know how to conduct themselves with decorum (whether or not they abide by it) and rarely turn downright mean spirited. They get that they could easily be deposed in this day and age.
In that respect, America has lost something by thumbing its nose at a monarchy. I’m not advocating we install some random Jane or John Doe and crown them leader. We don’t need a real-life Simon Says in the White House. On the other hand, we technically already do that; we just don’t do it for the long haul. The intent is that we prevent the entrenchment of a truly bad President. I don’t know which is worse: that we elect one bad President in for a lifetime, or we vote serial bad Presidents into office every so many years. Catch-22. And unlike the royals, who are groomed from birth on how to conduct the business of government, we get what we get. The good, the bad and the Bushes.
Furthermore, when it comes to Congress we don’t apply term limits. We’ve re-elected senators and representatives over and over again for decade after decade. THEY are the ones who make the laws that govern our lives. Where is our vaunted concern over that kind of unlimited power? Because honey, they carry a hell of a lot more actual power than the monarchy headlining our news these days.
Geez Louise…. I never intended to follow that crazy quilt of politico this morning so early. That’s what I get for waking up at o’dark thirty too early to get ready for work but too late to try to snooze a little longer. My brain doesn’t engage as early as my fingers start typing.
On a little lighter note, we did our photo binge yesterday morning, on a jaunt just a little ways down the road from here. I toodled around on my cart, which dictated distances I couldn’t work around and paths blocked by branches I couldn’t wheel around. I still had a blast and so did G. I already posted a handful of pictures on FB. My favorite was the biker gnomes. How American kitsch can you get???
Gotta run – it’s time to head out. Carpooling with a colleague. I drive, he carpools. I asked to share his ride once and didn’t work the other way around. I got miffed, then I remembered what he drove. Yeah… I couldn’t ride with him. Long story and no time left to yammer on!