Call it hoopla. Call it silly. Call it a waste of your time. But you know what? I won't.
Most people poo-poo the hype around the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, most citing the fact that "it doesn't mean anything." Yeah, I know: the Royals don't have any real power and they haven't for decades. But it does matter. The Royal Family is a symbol of the once and still (I think still?) great nation of England. They represent the past, future, and present. Maybe more so the past, nowadays, but there is still a sense of pride amongst a lot of English folk, knowing that these two people will one day be the King and Queen of England.
We don't have anything like this in the USA, so it's tough to relate. I spent close to four months in England, and while that's hardly a lot of time, I still believe I was able to grasp at least a whiff of this feeling. You see it in the buildings. The way people act and speak. Maybe I am totally making it up in my own mind, but I feel I get it. As close as I can, I guess.
It matters. For better or for worse, to the English this still means something. It still matters. And you know what? It's also entertaining, and it's a much healthier form of entertainment than wondering whether Lindsay Lohan will be going to jail or not. If you watch the coverage on TV, not only are you going to see a wedding, you're also getting a tour of some of the most historic landmarks in London. Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace - there's a carriage ride through the most historic landmarks in London! If Lindsay Lohan's route to jail took her through Washinton, D.C., the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, Ground Zero, and the Alamo, then I'd be watching. But it doesn't and it won't. At least with the Royal Wedding you get to see history, a part of culture that is new and different, and, when it all comes down it, you're watching something that DOES mean something. These people are still influential. They still influence decisions. They still help people. Yeah, they talk about being tampons inside of vaginas, but whatever, we've all said that. We've all wished to be a tampon in a vagina.
And, last but certainly not least, it's a wedding. Who doesn't love a wedding? Nothing makes me happier than seeing two people wed. Though it may seem contrived with all of the media attention and such, I watch to hope that whatever is between Prince William and Kate Middleton is real. I hope the love is real and that the wedding is important to them as two people - not as Royals or celebs, but to two people in love. I think that's part of what life is about, that feeling right there, so if given the chance to watch and take away a little bit of that feeling on a beautiful Spring day, I'll take it.
But of course, the main reason to watch: Kate Middleton is super hot! A fox! Long live the Queen!
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