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The Power of the Institution
Townhall.com ^ | March 18, 2021 | Chris Stigal

Posted on 03/18/2021 3:37:18 AM PDT by Kaslin

Did you see the final total of people who watched Oprah’s interview with Harry and Meghan earlier this month on CBS? Just over 17 million domestically. Millions more globally. The only number that can compare this time of year on network television is the NCAA basketball tournament final.

Still, many reading this are likely grousing, “Who cares about them! I didn’t watch it and I don’t care about the royal family. This is America! We broke away from that!” Fair enough, but why do so many of your fellow Americans watch anyway?

The answer is found in the two words the pair used multiple times during the interview. “The institution.”

I readily confess I have no personal interest in any particular member of the royal family, but I love – and I mean love – the Netflix his series “The Crown.” Before it, I loved the story of the Queen’s father in the 2010 Best Picture winning “The King’s Speech.” Before that, I loved the 2006 film “The Queen” which landed Helen Mirren a Best Actress Oscar.

Honestly I can’t get enough historical drama surrounding the relationships between Buckingham Palace and incredibly important figures in history like Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill. Each has films and famous actors who’ve portrayed them and won multiple awards for having done so, too. It’s not like I’m alone. Millions of us watch this stuff. Why?

The “institution.”

Everything I’ve watched related to the British crown and the government is all centered around people who want to protect the sanctity, the honor, the pride, and in their view the God-ordained institution of the monarchy. The Queen is a tough lady. Every portrayal of Queen Elizabeth is of a woman who’s devoted her entire life to protecting the institution above all else.

The drama and conflict of nearly every one of these critically acclaimed series or films comes from entities inside the royal family or real world events outside Buckingham Palace which pose a threat to the strength and tradition of their institution. It usually concludes with a conflicted Queen Elizabeth holding firm and making decisions that might seem cold, calculating, or unkind. But again, protecting the institution is her first priority.

Over the years, figures like Princess Dianna, Sarah Ferguson, and now Meghan Markle and their public escapades undeniably captivate the public. Oprah just proved that again. And before these more modern tabloid sensations, the Queen’s sister Margaret was an unconventional party girl.

Heck, the man responsible for Queen becoming queen today – her uncle - abdicated the throne to run off with a divorced American woman. They were enormous scandals for their time. It’s always captivated their respective media eras. And it’s all because these people and events were seen as threats to the institution.

Still and all, if you believe the polling coming out of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth’s popularity is sky-high with the public. Far higher than any other member of her family and right up there in all-time popularity with figures like Churchill.

How can it be someone seen as cold, aloof, and “institutional” could still be so popular? My simple belief is people may pretend they cheer tabloid storylines or radical departures with tradition, but when it’s all said and done people need to feel they have a solid, trustworthy, “true north” in their institutions.

American history isn’t as long as the British monarchy. Americans don’t revere thrones or absolute, unelected, unaccountable power. But we still have our institutions, too. At this hour, nearly every one of them is in crisis - attacked from outside forces that wish to destroy them, or worse “reform” and weaponize them against fellow Americans. The threat to our institutions isn’t familial or personality driven. It’s raw, naked politics.

Critical race theory has infected the curriculum of our public schools, teaching young children they’re racist before they learn to tie their shoes. Our intelligence institutions have been so politically charged and compromised the bulk of their time is now targeting citizens of one political party instead of real threats at home and abroad.

Our nation’s law enforcement have gone from heroes keeping the peace in our most violent communities to “minority hunting killers” mythologized as more dangerous than a common street thug. Our churches have largely swerved away from the Word of God in favor of the words of “woke.”

Our entertainment and sports institutions have been completely taken over by leftist politics to such a degree – athletes and entertainers working in the industry are excommunicated for not staying on the approved message of the left.

Media institutions waved bye-bye to truth telling and objective journalism long ago. There’s sad bipartisan agreement on that. Even our once most trusted institution – the United States military now finds its senior leadership lobbing editorial comments at a television show host simply for questioning their priorities in defending our nation from truly alarming threats like China.

That leaves only one institution for us all to rally around. Our vote. Election Day. Sadly, after watching the unconstitutional manipulation of our last election and Democrats’ current attempt to federalize that trickery permanently overriding our states, our last standing institution is hanging on by a thread. H.R. 1 cannot become law.

If it should, our country will cease to be ruled by the people. We’ll start to look a lot more like that British monarchy everyone’s so interested to watch instead. One party rule would reign. Should that happen, I’d probably just move to the U.K. and cut my losses. I like their institution better than anything the Democrats could achieve. At least the British monarchy still believes in order, rule of law, and a sovereign God.

Besides, they’ll never make a Netflix show about Joe Biden or Nancy Pelosi. And even if they did, nobody would watch it.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: meghanmarkle; queenelizabeth; thecrown
I didn't watch it either, because # one I wasn't interested in it, # two, I don't care for Oprah
1 posted on 03/18/2021 3:37:18 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin
our country will cease to be ruled by the people

Where you been, bro?

That ship has sailed.

2 posted on 03/18/2021 3:45:31 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy ("I see you did something -- why you so racist?")
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To: Kaslin
The author misses the whole point of this incident. It is not the "institution" that is the issue here rather it is the raw power of alleging race that is the sobering lesson that should be drawn.


3 posted on 03/18/2021 3:48:43 AM PDT by nathanbedford (attack, repeat, attack! Bull Halsey)
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To: nathanbedford

This is much more serious than it first appears.

Being a “racist” in 2021 Britain is much worse than being a Catholic in 1688.

As soon as Meghan names Prince Charles, or William, or Kate as the “racist”, calls will rise in and out of Parliament for Glorious Revolution 2.0.

If the baptism of James Francis Edward Stuart was enough for Parliament to change the laws and to send for William and Mary, how much more would the discovery that the line of succession is tainted by “racism” show the need to ditch the current line and send for Harry and Meghan, the antiracist King and Queen “across the water”?


4 posted on 03/18/2021 3:59:10 AM PDT by Jim Noble (In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act)
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To: Kaslin

I did not watch the Oprah interview and would never watch any Oprah interview. Oprah has become a whining race baiter from hell. Hard to believe that someone who was made a multibillionaire by being watched by a hell of a lot of white people has nothing better to do than pretend we are all racists now.

I also think Miss Meghan, like any spoiled child, thought she could whine and stomp her feet and the queen would say “never mind William and Kate, I declare Harry and Meghan King and Queen.:”


5 posted on 03/18/2021 4:05:01 AM PDT by pnut22
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To: Jim Noble

You posted that while Iwastypingthe same thing. Great minds and all that.


6 posted on 03/18/2021 4:06:48 AM PDT by pnut22
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To: Kaslin

Had no desire to watch 2 liars.


7 posted on 03/18/2021 4:13:56 AM PDT by GailA (Constitution vs evil Treasonous political Apparatchiks, PRO-CONSTITUTION!)
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To: All
Markle showed an astounding ignorance of British history……musta went to public school (/s).

===========================================

Does this look like racism?

The Queen made actor Sidney Poitier (Bahamian by birth) an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1974.

Academy Award winner Poitier in "Lilies of the Field."

The Queen dancing w/ Ghana's president.

Harry's father Prince Charles walked Markle down the aisle and accompanied her mother outside the church.

=========================


8 posted on 03/18/2021 4:35:49 AM PDT by Liz (Our side has 8 trillion bullets; the other side doesn't know which bathroom to use. )
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To: Kaslin

17 million misguided idiots. I do not accept the concept of the “monarchy” and I cannot stand the America-hating privileged rich person who is considered a god by millions of airheads.


9 posted on 03/18/2021 5:46:17 AM PDT by I want the USA back (The nation is in the grips of incurable hysterical insanity, as usual.)
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To: Jim Noble

On the contrary, in Britain, the Royal family is more important than racism.

That’s why Harry and Meghan are stateside now, without their royal titles - their wokeness plans got no traction there, in fact they backfired big-time ... which is why Meghan is so bitter

Britain still loves and respect their Royal Family


10 posted on 03/18/2021 7:28:51 AM PDT by canuck_conservative
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