Posted on 04/20/2011 8:18:25 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
A hereditary monarch, observed Thomas Paine, is as absurd a proposition as a hereditary doctor or mathematician. But try pointing this out when everybody is seemingly moist with excitement about the cake plans and gown schemes of the constitutional absurdity's designated mother-to-be. You don't seem to be uttering common sense. You sound like a Scrooge. I suppose this must be the monarchical "magic" of which we hear so much: By some mystic alchemy, the breeding imperatives for a dynasty become the stuff of romance, even "fairy tale." The usually contemptuous words fairy tale were certainly coldly accurate about the romance quotient of the last two major royal couplings, which brought the vapid disco-princesses Diana and Sarah (I decline to call her "Fergie") within range of demolishing the entire mystique. And, even if the current match looks a lot more wholesome and genuine, its principal function is still to restore a patina of glamour that has been all but irretrievably lost.
The British monarchy doesn't depend entirely on glamour, as the long, long reign of Queen Elizabeth II continues to demonstrate. Her unflinching dutifulness and reliability have conferred something beyond charm upon the institution, associating it with stoicism and a certain integrity. Republicanism is infinitely more widespread than it was when she was first crowned, but it's very rare indeed to hear the Sovereign Lady herself being criticized, and even most anti-royalists hasten to express themselves admiringly where she is concerned.
I am not sure how deserved this immunity really is. The queen took two major decisions quite early in her reign, neither of which was forced upon her. She refused to allow her younger sister Margaret to marry the man she loved and had chosen, and she let her authoritarian husband have charge of the education of her eldest son.
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
this whole royal thing is news.....WHY?
I take it that no one from Slate was invited either?
With the door of eternity beckoning, Chris Hitchens aims the crosshairs of his immense rhetorical skill at the subject of...a royal wedding?
This seems an absurdity; a great swordsman poking an anthill.
Oh shut up, Chris! (I know it upsets him to be addressed by his diminutive.) People aren’t “getting moist” over this. They just want to see Westminster Abbey and a pretty girl in a pretty dress. The Brits do this kind of thing beautifully.
The very bisexual (ahem) Mr. Hitchens has real problems relating to beautiful women. He disliked Diana and he dislikes Sarah Palin. He once said he couldn’t stand the fact that she moved her hips in a provocative manner!
Lurk, you hit the nail on the head. That man wastes so much precious time railing against toothless royalty and bashing harmless Christians. What a waste of a good brain!
It is a waste, but he does it with a certain amount of brilliance. If only he did a CS Lewis!!!! Then, what a light for Truth he would be!
I guess I’m getting a little tired of his brilliance. I really haven’t enjoyed his stuff since the publication of “No One Left to Lie To.” He autographed it for me and was very gracious.
What place does this royal crap have in a so called Democratic nation????
you don’t need to answer, it is a rhetorical question....the answer is ‘nothing’...worse than nothing as they have milked 100s (thousands???) of millions of pounds from the economy.
Something about the way Kate looks now tells me she won’t age well.
Charles and Diana was like Woodstock
William and Kate is MYV’s Woodstock II... nothing like the original and a complete disaster
Okay, I left work early to online shop for a new guitar (Gibson LP Studio) and I see this.
Belly Laugh
Thanks,
E01
I have a feeling that William’s marriage will work though, unlike his parent’s.
Sure. ...my mom is 100% welsh. I’m 50%. My then young grandparents left the coal mines in Mountain Ash Wales to imigrate in the 1920s.
The first wedding was a big deal. Now, I look at it and think what a crock. Kings? Queens? I don’t have the time of day. Plus with their multiculturalism, I see the whole charade as a joke. Weak and self-serving nothing more.
I’ll reserve my love and sympathy for my family, every child in a hospital and those who are with me in freedom and liberty.
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