Oh, my, Mr. Tofel. The last 7 years, especially the last 2+ yrs since Covid-19 invaded our lives, must have driven you to near madness when it comes the media's faint curiosity about facts or their outright suppression. (I exclude Pro Publica from this. Some of the best old-school journalism I have read in years. Its success and recognition from your journalism peers really gave me hope...for a while.)
I agree that the Queen's life and death may have had no practical relevance to most Americans, but wasn't it nice to see an appreciation of service, history, tradition (for all its warts) which survived 70 years, even if the UK and the crown is a shell of its former self (and for good reason.)
After all the sloppy American crudeness, rudeness, hatred, division, it was pretty wonderful to see people of all ages and types queuing up for long hours, in silence, being courteous and kind to each other, as they waited to say goodbye.
I think we Yanks substitute Hollywood figures--beautiful, glamorous, appearing to live the life (their PR teams cultivate) ordinary folks can only dream of...along with the schadenfreude of seeing them screw up (or looking blah without make up!)
That could be a certain part of that. Now, the rich in the US like to hobnob with royals not because they have crowns but, because they're famous and rich just like them.
Well put!
Oh, my, Mr. Tofel. The last 7 years, especially the last 2+ yrs since Covid-19 invaded our lives, must have driven you to near madness when it comes the media's faint curiosity about facts or their outright suppression. (I exclude Pro Publica from this. Some of the best old-school journalism I have read in years. Its success and recognition from your journalism peers really gave me hope...for a while.)
I agree that the Queen's life and death may have had no practical relevance to most Americans, but wasn't it nice to see an appreciation of service, history, tradition (for all its warts) which survived 70 years, even if the UK and the crown is a shell of its former self (and for good reason.)
After all the sloppy American crudeness, rudeness, hatred, division, it was pretty wonderful to see people of all ages and types queuing up for long hours, in silence, being courteous and kind to each other, as they waited to say goodbye.
Dick, for most of us in the States (but certainly not me) it's called "royals envy" — a variation on "penis envy." I still don't get "why" in the land of 1776, but I do know "that." https://socraticgadfly.blogspot.com/2022/09/royals-envy-societal-class-based-penis.html
I think we Yanks substitute Hollywood figures--beautiful, glamorous, appearing to live the life (their PR teams cultivate) ordinary folks can only dream of...along with the schadenfreude of seeing them screw up (or looking blah without make up!)
That could be a certain part of that. Now, the rich in the US like to hobnob with royals not because they have crowns but, because they're famous and rich just like them.