Not watching the pageant

No, Margie says, I haven’t been watching the processions in the UK, and I won’t be tuning in for the funeral. I have never wanted to be swept up in a fairy tale about some people being more “noble” or more “high born” than others. My people, Polish and Russian Jews, would be the “others,” so what’s in it for us? It’s true, as you say, that it’s pageantry, and I guess it’s worth what it costs, for those who want to stand in awe of it. But how can you be elevated by someone else’s class privilege? I don’t get that. I’m more interested in how thick the smoke is, and whether we can breathe if we go outside, and what’s being done about the melting glaciers. Talk to me about that. 

I don’t want to seem mean-spirited. I have nothing against those who feel love and loyalty to a queen. Love and loyalty are beautiful things. There are many worse feelings people could devote themselves to. But I can’t help thinking about what it all costs, and how much that money could help people who are living in desperate conditions, not just in the UK but in the countries the UK robbed for the resources that created all that wealth. 

I think about my Uncle Samuel. My father had to quit school after 6th grade to help the family, and by his labor they were able to send Uncle Samuel to school. Uncle Sam made a lot of money, he raised himself into another class entirely. My mother was in awe of that. She admired Uncle Sam and the things he was able to buy his wife and children. She would bow down and worship him because he was the big success story. Me, I always admired my father more.