This past week my faith in humanity has slipped even further than it had before.
In September of 2022, the world lost its most beloved monarch. Queen Elizabeth II finally passed away one year after her husband. A family, a nation, a world, all mourned her passing. For 70 years she sat upon the throne of England. 70 years…that’s longer than I’ve been alive. I’ve seen the world change a lot in my time here…what had she seen? How wonderful and terrifying those years must have been, watching the old ways give way to something else, and then give way even more as more ‘progressive’ and ‘modern’ concepts came to the fore.
And now she’s gone. The world has truly lost an icon of history.
I’m not British, but as a Canadian I know she had a deep connection to my home. She visited often, raised horses that came from here, and was less a monarch and more a friend to the Canadian people. She wasn’t perfect, but then who really is, but I think she at least made an effort to keep her promise to be a servant of the people. Only time and history will tell, as with her passing, long-held secrets will undoubtedly come out as the vultures swoop down to get their last tidbits of clout.
I watched the funeral procession when it happened, and couldn’t stop crying. My Mom held the Queen in high regard, to the point the two kinda reminded me of each other. With her passing, it’s like the last remnant of something my Mom held dear is gone now. At least the funeral was held with dignity, and she was interred with nothing going awry.
It also feels like the Christmas truce in the trenches before the bombing resumes.
Already there are calls to disband the monarchy. Return the crown jewels to…where, exactly? I’m sure some blue-haired American ‘scholar’ is ready to tell me if I subscribe to their Patreon so I can watch exclusive TikTok footage of their latest political muk-bang. Many people think Charles won’t be nearly the monarch his mother was. In that they’re probably right. I mean hell, those are some big ass shoes she left behind. The new King has his work cut out for him.
But you know? I’m also hoping that this is a turning point in the country. England is often mocked for its progressiveness and SJW culture that makes anything in America look tame. The outpouring of support for the Queen’s passing I hope ignited something in the people. I’d love to see the populace do some serious soul searching and realize what they’ve taken for granted all this time. I mean let’s face it, if you abolish the monarchy, then suddenly England is no longer that iconic to people…it’s not important. There would be no world stage, and everyone would give less of a shit than they do now.
I do hope that King Charles III not only maintains the respect of the throne, but maybe reinforces it. I’m not saying become a dictator, but rather remind the people that England is still England, and maybe it’s time to start cracking down on some of the bullshit that’s been going on over there. If he did, they’d regain a lot of the spotlight they once had back in the high days of the Commonwealth.
England’s not perfect. Yes, they colonized, they brutalized, and did a lot of terrible things in its history. But guess what? We all have. Every nation in the world has blood on its hands. Borders on the map were lines drawn in blood. No one got to where they are now without doing something to someone somewhere at some time. But we’ve grown so soft because we’ve not experienced the world on fire like they did back in 1939. There is no common rallying cry for all of us to respond to…no great enemy to fight. We’re so used to our lives that we’ve forgotten the fight that led us here. Sadly, there are winners and losers. Short of a genocide, you will have to deal with the losers of those fights one way or another.
People now scream to abolish the monarchy…get England and its colonizing ways out of all the countries where it’s still a presence. OK…sure…then what? English businesses leave, the people leave, the industry leaves, and what’s left? A bunch of people who will now blame England for leaving. Cursed for staying, cursed for not…Catch 22.
Watching Charles over the years, he seems pretty level headed. He’s got the English stoicism on lock, so I look forward to seeing what his reign will bring. Will he be the last monarch? I doubt it. Though the people can most often be absolute shit-heels to them, when it comes down to it, England wants to keep its monarchy.
It needs it.
So for now, God Save the King. Long may he reign.