I think one of the factors that undermines democracy

[malaise]

is America's obsession with British royalty.
I hate all royals everywhere. Monarchies are not good for democracy.
Now there is a MAGAcretin posing as President who really thinks he's king.

Discuss

[sandensea]

1. I wouldn't say I hate royalty; but I find them to be far too outdated for our times

Just like churches.

[malaise]

3. I hate what they represent

Either all human beings are equal or some are more equal

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. Really?

Americans in general are not obsessed with British royalty. Most could give a flying fuck. It's the news media that writes all the breatheless stories about them. And the sleazy tabloids that delight in telling us that Charles and Camilla are on the verge of divorce or that Meghan and Kate are feuding. Completely made up stuff, which is what tabloids are all about.

And even those that pay attention or even obsess over the royals, aren't really pining for an actual American royal family or monarchy. True, some Trump supporters seem quite comfortable with the idea of Trump as dictator, but that's really more a function of near total ignorance of history than anything else.

The real problem that undermines democracy is the incredible and often deliberate ignorance of history. And science. And any ability to think logically. Obsession with British royalty simply doesn't factor in.

[malaise]

5. You may be right but the media sure are obsessed with them

and judging by how many folks watch the weddings and follow their lives, I'd say there are more than a few fans. It would be nice to see some hard data.

Additionally all this bowing and crap related to their protocol should be outlawed - it's as stupid as kissing some bishop's ring which I refused to do as a pre-teen.

I agree with you re ignorance of history and science and I have no doubt that the weighting re factors that undermine democracy may be more favorable to your factors, but I still think it is a factor.

You cannot encourage that crap and claim to support democracy.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

11. Because of the media obsession

I happen to know a reasonable amount about the British royal family, but I try to depend on more reliable sources, such as authorized biographies.

Keep in mind that a lot of sensible people are hard-core fans of various reality shows like the Kardashians or Survivor or The Great Race. Me, I rather like the house renovation shows myself. And you can have a secret vice connect to reality shows and not be hornswoggled by what they represent. Just as you can be a faithful follower of some normal TV show (name your favorite here) and not think that it represents, say, the real workings of a local TV news show, as in The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Or what physics geniuses are really like, as in The Big Bang Theory. Although for that last, I must say that as little as I have watched it (mainly because I have zero tolerance for a laugh track) I have been extremely impressed at how accurately Sheldon is portrayed. I have a son with Asperger's, and I have more than once tried very hard to derail him from saying something that he doesn't understand will be hurtful, simply because he doesn't get that stuff. Sheldon does exactly the same thing, and even though they are generally playing it for laughs, they don't exaggerate or falsify that behavior. So I give that show a lot of credit.

But I digress. The unfortunate thing is that there are people who honestly think that what they see on TV or in a movie is accurate. An example of something that greatly disturbs me is how movies and TV will show people walking through a burning building unscathed. In reality, fires are deadly, move with incredible swiftness which is NEVER shown. It's instructive to watch the video of The Station Nightclub Fire that happened on February 20, 2003, in West Warwick, RI. They are easily found on line. And if you don't care to watch, which I understand, do know that about 90 seconds after the first flames appeared, everyone still inside the nightclub was dead. It happened that fast.

Back to the topic at hand. It's possible to be greatly fascinated by the British royal family and not have any desire as an American to have a monarchy in this country. So I honestly don't think that no matter how many Americans are obsessed by them (and I suspect it's a fairly low percentage of us), that "obsession" has nothing to do with our democracy.

And as for the bowing and scraping, that's up to the Brits themselves to worry about. Americans are NOT required or expected to curtsy to the Queen. And while I would be beyond thrilled to meet her, I definitely wouldn't be curtsying. Americans who do so are ignoramuses.

[Sherman A1]

10. Agreed

I am trying to find out if Camilla ran off with Elvis since he came back from the Moon or wherever he was. If you get an update on them let me know.

I do miss the Weekly World News in Glorious B&W.

[jalan48]

4. I agree. Look at all the fawning that takes place when one of them marries. It's absurd.

[moondust]

6. All those years

he ran all those (private) scams that bore his name he was basically a monarch who called all the shots. AFAIK there was no board of directors or shareholders to provide a sorely needed check on his tyranny. It's all he knows and he's not likely to change at this late age.

[malaise]

7. Good point

What really scares me is that he isn't the only one who thinks he is a monarch.
This has to be stopped.

[moondust]

9. True.

The GOPigs want ALL the power and ALL the money and they don't want to have to work for it (see: slavery). That means establishing some kind of monarchy so it's all theirs by default (see: white supremacy). Democracy requires some work and thought and reason so forget it!

[JI7]

8. there is no obsession with these royals. they are mostly figureheads

the problem is bigotry and demographic changes.

you see this in non white countries also.