With the recent passing of one of the longest reigning monarchs in Europe, people around the world are sharing their condolences with our British friends.
Now that that’s over, I would like to remind everyone of the horrible religious, political and economic systems the monarchy represents. Even though the English crown was downgraded to a constitutional monarchy, the institution has caused considerable suffering and bloodshed. In case your history is caught in a London fog, let’s recap.
The English royalty is the head of the English church. That’s right, the marriage of Church and State over there is official. King Henry Ocho used the religious tensions between the Catholics and Protestants to leverage himself in as the head of the Anglicans and grant himself a divorce from his Spanish wife. His various progeny then spent their days battling it out for political and religious power. While the socio-religious conflicts have died down somewhat, the ugly legacy continues. What religious authority should an individual inherit? According to the Christian Bible, absolutely none, yet the position lingers.
The English royalty was a driving force in world domination and colonialism. As Americans, we protested taxation without representation. Yet the version of tyranny we experienced pales in comparison to what other countries have endured. Many people groups were basically made into slaves in their own homelands while their crops and jewels and art were spirited away. When William and Kate visited the Caribbean earlier this year, there were crowds demanding reparations instead of cheering their future monarchs.
And finally, the English royalty is economically tied to a dubious system of lords and tenants. To American ears it sounds cute to call people Dukes and Duchesses, but it’s all based on how much land a family controls and the income derived from renters. Historically, only the landlords had a say politically as well, so the systematic, generational economic oppression was entrenched. Many see echoes of that here as more corporations rather than individuals own their own homes and businesses. In short, we would do well to keep our land and business ownership spread out amongst the people and not scooped up into a few powerful, wealthy families that seek political control.
Despite all of this, I am reminded that without the English royalty we wouldn’t have our Fourth of July celebrations, and an excuse to shoot off fireworks during the driest part of the summer. So again, sorry for your loss, but perhaps it’s time to retire the jersey.
