Heavy Is The Headache

The big news as I write this is that Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge and wife to Prince William, has given birth to a son. The boy is now in line to inherit the British throne, sitting behind Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles (who it must be said has been waiting a while) and Prince William. The Internet and, it must be assumed, the real world, is aflutter with the news of this fairy tale spawning.

Like many, I am not so excited, although I would be lying if I claimed to be uninterested. Uninterested people don't waste their breath talking about a thing, let alone writing anything well thought out. I am interested. The thrust of my interest is just different. I think back to America's origins. We found the British crown to be tyrannical and oppressive. It was a distant, meddling force which we risked all to be rid of. We hated the British, killing more than a few (and sacrificing plenty of our own) to break the yoke.

Of course, my public school education is not as sound as I would like, but I hope I have gotten a good grasp on history independently. Anyway, the point is that I don't ooh and ah over a baby that 250 years ago would have been destined to rule me. You may rightfully point out that it's not 250 years ago, and today the British are among our closest, most loyal allies. That much is true, and more is true besides that. The British monarch is today powerless.

Like I said, I don't pretend to know it all, but I've observed that the Queen does strictly ceremonial things. She is granted the courtesy of being allowed to pretend that it's up to her whether the Prime Minister gets to form a goverment. She appears in videos with James Bond. She walks her dogs and is generally a living reminder of the nation's traditions. She is powerless and the whole thing is a big drain on British tax payers (if a boon to the coffers of tabloid owners).

It's rather nauseating to me that so many buy into the whole facade. Millions are immature enough to cling to childhood notions of kings, queens and a lot of fanciful pageantry. I don't generally find that what they do affects me much, and I don't ordinarily expend a lot of time and energy railing against it, but on days like this it's just too much for me to take and I must restate that I will not behave like a royal subject.