The Commmon Man forgot to extend a warm welcome to a visitor to this great nation while she was here, and regrets his lack of manners. As most of you know, the United States (and specifically the state of Virginia) has played host over the past week to real royalty, as Queen Elizabeth has graced her former colony to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It's been an interesting visit for Her Majesty, as she's attended the Kentucky Derby, met with survivors of the VA Tech tragedy, toured Jamestown with Dick Cheney (perhaps the unlikeliest couple since Lyle Lovett hypnotized Julia Roberts with his smooth, mournful, baritone voice), and endured a state dinner with a more bumbling than usual President Bush (seriously, he winked at her!).
Throughout her trip, Americans have tripped all over themselves to get close, catch a glimpse, and prostrate themselves before her. According to USA Today, Virginia has "spent about $11 million on the queen's visit, [and] has been preparing for months." Despite this extravagance, it's not as though the commonwealth's efforts have been unappreciated by its people. The same article points out that "Nearly 20,000 people entered a lottery for 108 spots on Richmond's Capitol Square, where the queen strolled on her walkabout. Thousands more gathered on the lawn around the square to await her arrival and watch her on giant screens." Similar crowds awaited her at Churchill Downs (where there were long lines to get pictures with an Elizabeth impersonator). Statesmen and VIPs and commoners alike bowed before her.
This fascination with the Queen and her family is not terribly surprising (she is, after all, the ultimate celebrity), but the reason for her fame and attention at this point is puzzling. As The Uncommon Wife pointed out, "didn't we, like, fight a war so that we wouldn't have to fawn over royalty?" Yes, yes indeed we did. And it's not as though this woman has any social clout. Sure, the papers report what she says and she wears, but it's not as though 20 million 80-year olds are suddenly going to jump up and buy "a fine wool coat of lime green, with a matching silk dress in a small floral print and a lime green hat with a fuchsia trim." She's not a trend-setter. And, obviously, though the head of the (at this point) fictitious British Empire, the woman has no more political power than The Common Man does. Indeed, the first time she even tries to excercise any political muscle, The Common Man is certain that her people will kindly remind her that her ancestors used to imprison, torture, and execute them on a fairly consistent basis and that she has no real qualifications for her "job" aside from that ancestry.
So why does this country (and England, and Canada, and Australia, and New Zealand) care so much, particularly after casting off the British yolk 231 years ago? The Common Man doesn't get it. And that's saying a lot, considering how much The Common Man gets.
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3 comments:
Yeah, Virginia ... woot! Nothing like a little Southern hospitality. :-)
I would like to point out that, like, in spite of the fact that The Uncommon Wife is from Los Angeles (the valley, to be precise), I do not think she said "...,like, fight a war..."
I'm just, like, sayin'.
The Common Man reserves the right to characterize the comments The Uncommon Wife makes in the privacy of their own house in any way he sees fit for the purposes of entertaining his readers.
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