The Royal Wedding

[Simon&Sophia]

Here, here, Ms. Cat! I'm an American and I admire the honesty of the British system. And is not the Crown an essential part of what makes Britain Britain?.... So I for one applaud your spirited defense of the British Crown! - Robert A.

Honesty of the British system? Really? Im not trying to be harsh, or bigoted or anything, but...come on......really? What honesty?

[Simon&Sophia]

I'm interested - not to the point where I'm likely to get up at 4:00 to watch it, mind you, but I'll probably DVR it. I agree - the Royal Family is sure to bring in a fair amount of tourism income. And you have to give William his due - he WORKS for his living in your Air Force! I admire how much more in touch with ordinary peoples' lives he and his brother seem to be - I think that Diana did a great service to them and to the UK in a lot of the ways she insisted they be brought up... (Whatever else you might say about Charles, he does seem to have been a pretty good dad, too!)

I agree, but its nothing that countless other people in the country do.

[Little_Husky]

Honesty of the British system? Really? Im not trying to be harsh, or bigoted or anything, but...come on......really? What honesty?

Ah, glad you asked! ... Well, over in America (and I am a very proud American, make no mistake), the traditional propaganda has been that, while the British have a stratified society (with a certain acceptance of class-distinctions), we in America have a 'classless society'--thus some Americans still bristle at the idea of a Royal Family (which is symbolic of this acknowledgment of hierarchy in society).

Well, this is all hogwash, in my opinion. We in America have a very stratified society with a very clear upper-class (i.e., people with a certain amount of money) and a still higher ruling-class (i.e. people who a certain amount of money and who have also gone to 'the right schools,' e.g., Ivy League, etc.)--indeed, there is no human society without it. But, here, many if not most continue to espouse this myth of a classless society--and, in my opinion, this only impedes honest discussion, culturally, politically, and otherwise. As I see it, the myth of the classless society (either as an actuality or as an ideal) really hurts us in America--and this seems less of a problem in Britain (while of course it may come with still other problems). There will always be stratification in society as long as there are different individuals and some notion of better & worse, more valuable & less valuable, etc. Don't get me wrong: I don't want a king in the US, and I don't idolize or even idealize the British system. But I *do* admire the honesty involved.

Oh, and please know that we have no more avoided the bane of having to pay an incomprehensible amount of taxes to fund a lazy ruling-class, who in turn simply live off the public dole: here, we simply have a vast, self-perpetuating bureaucratic body that votes itself yearly salary-raises, creates whole departments just for fun, issues immediate life-time pensions to themselves, and appoints endless bands of "assistants," secretaries, staffers, and "researchers" (i.e., jobs for their friends' children)!! So the grass is no greener--and no more honest! lol - Rob

[Simon&Sophia]

Ah, glad you asked! ... Well, over in America (and I am a very proud American, make no mistake), the traditional propaganda has been that, while the British have a stratified society (with a certain acceptance of class-distinctions), we in America have a 'classless society'--thus some Americans still bristle at the idea of a Royal Family (which is symbolic of this acknowledgment of hierarchy in society).

Well, this is all hogwash, in my opinion. We in America have a very stratified society with a very clear upper-class (i.e., people with a certain amount of money) and a still higher ruling-class (i.e. people who a certain amount of money and who have also gone to 'the right schools,' e.g., Ivy League, etc.)--indeed, there is no human society without it. But, here, many if not most continue to espouse this myth of a classless society--and, in my opinion, this only impedes honest discussion, culturally, politically, and otherwise. As I see it, the myth of the classless society (either as an actuality or as an ideal) really hurts us in America--and this seems less of a problem in Britain (while of course it may come with still other problems). There will always be stratification in society as long as there are different individuals and some notion of better & worse, more valuable & less valuable, etc. Don't get me wrong: I don't want a king in the US, and I don't idolize or even idealize the British system. But I *do* admire the honesty involved.

Oh, and please know that we have no more avoided the bane of having to pay an incomprehensible amount of taxes to fund a lazy ruling-class, who in turn simply live off the public dole: here, we simply have a vast, self-perpetuating bureaucratic body that votes itself yearly salary-raises, creates whole departments just for fun, issues immediate life-time pensions to themselves, and appoints endless bands of "assistants," secretaries, staffers, and "researchers" (i.e., jobs for their friends' children)!! So the grass is no greener--and no more honest! lol - Rob

Ohhhhh! i see what you mean!! I misunderstood what you were saying... Yeah we fully admit this instance of hierarchical living, definitely. I thought you meant that the "system" as a whole was honest lol

Yeah i totally agree with you on all that you detailed there. Especially the bit about people being too different minded to work towards a genuine classless society. People are far too selfish at the moment, and the people that have all the money and power would lose far too much... but there are more of us then there are of them...we should do something about it!!!

[sutsibe]

I agree, but its nothing that countless other people in the country do.

Very true - however, that kind of involvement (with royal children) seems to be very much a break from past behavior! I admire that he was able to change with his children and do what it would seem wasn't done as he was a child!

[Simon&Sophia]

Very true - however, that kind of involvement (with royal children) seems to be very much a break from past behavior! I admire that he was able to change with his children and do what it would seem wasn't done as he was a child!

True, i still wouldnt say thats any different to any other parent either. But, being in the public eye, im glad he did do that. Theyre still unfairly more privaliged than the rest of the country though, whatever they've done for charity etc

[Huskycat]

We pay for all their stuff though...they dont work for any of their money, or pay taxes...even lazy scroates pay VAT. I wouldnt say they bring that much tourism...though they certainly do bring it....like i said before though, what about the Royal Family draws tourists, that wouldnt if they no longer existed.....all the history/castles/palace etc would still be there. We've moved on a lot from needing elitists like them as a flagship for our "democratic" country. or id like to think so

I beg to differ:

http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/Royalfinances/Taxation.aspx

The Queen does pay tax, VAT and Council Tax. Oh and by now she is entitled to a Pension - how many 85 year olds do you know that work.

I am saying this purely as fact and not to be draw into an argument of any sort - just offering my opinion and a different point of view. I am certainly not an enlitist, I am not upper class or anything, just an ordinary hard working Brit who is proud of the traditions of this Country.

[Simon&Sophia]

I beg to differ:

http://www.royal.gov...s/Taxation.aspx

The Queen does pay tax, VAT and Council Tax. Oh and by now she is entitled to a Pension - how many 85 year olds do you know that work.

I am saying this purely as fact and not to be draw into an argument of any sort - just offering my opinion and a different point of view. I am certainly not an enlitist, I am not upper class or anything, just an ordinary hard working Brit who is proud of the traditions of this Country.

Great find!!! I stand corrected. Im still dubious as to what the "voluntary" amount would be. Im pretty much certain that the money they receive from public funds far outweighs what they put into it, though. But thats awesome, im glad you found that +1

Yeahh totally with you on the non argument thing though, i hope i dont come across in the wrong way in my posts!! :L

[raindog]

Personally, I think that since the monarchy no longer has any political power, and has been reduced to the status of a figurehead, they are not really a big issue with most people in the UK. They provide a lot of income through tourism etc and also act as a link to some of our rapidly fading traditions, so they are useful in that respect.

Personally, I would rather watch paint dry than watch the royal wedding (or any wedding for that matter) on TV, but each to their own!

Mick

[RoseWillow&Dexter]

i am sick of hearing about the royal wedding, i cant wait until saturday when its all over with.

The media are going overboard with royal wedding coverage here...and i dont want to be the one to break it to them but NO ONE CARES

Sure we might watch the wedding, but the round the clock updates are a bit much!

[Rosemary]

I will definitely be watching the wedding ceremony. I love all the pomp and ceremony

I suppose because we don't have traditions steeped in history, or even a sense of 'belonging' in this country we call home, seeing it in the country our ancestors came from, makes it special to us. I suppose that is why we love the Royal Family, they represent a connection to our past. Even my mother-in-law who doesn't speak or understand a word of English, adores them, and will be glued to the TV

We watched, and cried, when Lady Diana walked down the isle, and will probably cry when Kate walks down the isle as well, and I wish her and Prince William all the happiness in the world.

With all the war and strife around the globe at the moment, the wedding is one bright spark to brighten an otherwise miserable day.

[Huskycat]

Great find!!! I stand corrected. Im still dubious as to what the "voluntary" amount would be. Im pretty much certain that the money they receive from public funds far outweighs what they put into it, though. But thats awesome, im glad you found that +1

Yeahh totally with you on the non argument thing though, i hope i dont come across in the wrong way in my posts!! :L

Not at all variety is the spice of life so they say

Personally, I think that since the monarchy no longer has any political power, and has been reduced to the status of a figurehead, they are not really a big issue with most people in the UK. They provide a lot of income through tourism etc and also act as a link to some of our rapidly fading traditions, so they are useful in that respect.

Personally, I would rather watch paint dry than watch the royal wedding (or any wedding for that matter) on TV, but each to their own!:D:D:D

Mick

LOL Mick - I am sure Terry would find you plenty more to do than watch paint dry