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Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Noblesse Oblige

When last we saw Prince Phillip, he was all done up in his finest for the latest Royal Wedding of the Century. From the looks of his outfit, apparently they give him a medal every time someone in England farts. Seems like a waste of ribbons and tin to me. Then again, it's not my country and they can do what they want.

The Prince, who turned 90 last week, has been the Queen's consort for more than 60 years (come to think of it, that in itself probably accounts for at least half of the medals), and has a well deserved reputation for saying nasty things to people all around the world. This should make him my favorite Royal, in a weak field.

However, and it's a big "however", he seems to always confine his nastiness to those he considers his "lessers", and that means anyone who isn't of noble birth. Now, I ask you, where's the fun in that? Anyone can pick on the weak and defenseless. (My God, it's the governing principle of the Republican Party!) Where's the "nobility" in that? But again, being just an accessory for so many years takes a toll on a fellow. She's the Queen and you're just a Prince, and you can never forget that. And occasionally it boils over...

Here in the Colonies, we've managed quite nicely without royalty. Oh, we have our dynastic fortunes, but until recently they've done a fairly good job of staying hidden away. Now, however, they've decided that they're not content with having all of that money, and they want to control public policy, too.

Who else would be behind the attacks on the Estate Tax and the effort to perpetuate the Bush tax cuts and do away entirely with the Capital Gains tax? Gosh, who stands to gain from that? Who funds the assaults on unions and working people? Who cares more about the stock market than the job market? Who protects Wall Street to the detriment of MainStreet? Like Deep Throat said in All the President's Men, "follow the money." Where does it lead?

Prince Phillip may be a historic anachronism, blessed by accident of birth, with no personal accomplishments, and few redeeming qualities, but at least he doesn't meddle in the lives of the real people of his country...

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