I remember this basic "argument" from my childhood. After getting caught doing something of dubious moral value a child would say "Well everyone else is doing it". You knew it was wrong but you did it anyway and justified it by pointing out that "everyone else" did it. One of these days I'd love to see a grown up country come along and just do the good thing. Probably never happen since people are the same everywhere and really only like to point out shortcomings when they aren't the beneficiary but it would be so nice to find that there actually is an adult somewhere in the room.
One of these days I'd love to see a grown up country come along and just do the good thing.
I like your parent/child allusion and who wouldn't? However, there is no parent available that could cuff the miscreant and make it all good. Besides: what exactly is "the good thing"?
I'm a Brit. In the past Britain might be said to have imposed itself a little bit across the planet. I'm not sure that the world is ready yet for either your or my country's style of nation scale parenthood.
That said: we can persuade around 2 billion people to watch a Californian princess become a Duchess and convince those watchers and the rest of the world that the opposite happened! The US and its mythology can be pretty persuasive but I defy you to beat that 8)
... I was a bit unfair on assuming a few things. Meghan Markle became the Duchess of Sussex on marring Prince Harry. Strictly speaking she is not a Princess but I defy anyone to enforce that fact ...
The Royal family is so cool. Its like a look through a time machine. These are real Queens and princes and dukes and lords. They don't exactly do what they used to back in the day, but the look at the ceremony and the "authenticity" is really neat.
I just wish the Queen of Canada visited more. She doesn't even live here.
The Queen of Canada absolutely does live there - Rideau Hall is her residence. I accept she spends rather more time here in the UK these days but she is >90 years old.
The Canadian, British, Australian, New Zealand, etc etc Monarchy is a bit of a funny old thing but I think that through the Commonwealth (QEII's personal project) and other initiatives it is very useful and a force for good. At the moment the Royal Family are very, very popular in the UK (it hasn't always been so). They seem to have managed to re-invent themselves rather cleverly over the last 20 years or so.
The recent Royal marriage was frankly breathtaking - Harry is prince no. 2 and Megan is a Yank and yet the firm turned this into a fairy tale. Harry is as near a war hero as can be allowed and Megan is a pretty lass and clearly very bright and talented - good initial ingredients. Throw in a bloody great castle and chapel, amazing weather and a few other things and you get a right old tear jerker of a wedding.
The Queen of Canada was in attendance.
I live in the south west of England in a county called Somerset. I'm roughly 130 miles away from Buck Pal. You are a few thousand miles away but we both have the same link to our Royals.
