With the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the issue of Great Britain’s status as the world’s most successful colonizer has resurfaced with a vengeance.  The ghouls and virtue signalers have chimed in from all parts of the globe to express their elation at the passing of the ultimate symbol of privilege.

One such character is Richard Stengel, former Under Secretary of State in the Obama administration, who made some interesting remarks about Queen Elizabeth’s death in an appearance on MSNBC.  In pondering why news channels were spending so much time on her death, Stengel opined that “There’s a weakness in the American character that still yearns for that era of hereditary privilege, which is the very thing that we escaped from.”

To which Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, himself an avowed liberal, responded, “I’m not sure that we so yearn for this hereditary privilege.  I think we enjoy watching all the pomp and circumstance and following the soap opera of the royal family and the fairy tale aspect of it.”

I could relate to Robinson’s words, because I started thinking about this issue clear back in high school.  In one of my early works, I alluded to how it was pure luck to be born into the royal family, just as it was bad luck to be born into poverty in a third world country.  Given that being a royal was a result of good fortune rather than accomplishment, I felt that the existence of a royal family in the modern world was an absurdity, a sign of a sleepwalking populace.

Why would we revere someone who happened to be a descendant of a bloodthirsty tyrant who conquered England more than a thousand years ago?  It made no sense.

Little by little, however, my stance on this issue evolved over the years.  What caused my evolution was the disintegration of Western civilization and, more specifically, America.  I now realize that it was the acceleration of America’s collapse that caused a corresponding acceleration of my appreciation for such qualities as civility, grace, refinement, and the tranquility inherent in a polite society.  And from my perspective, England, more than any other nation, has always exemplified those qualities.

I fully understand the hostility toward Great Britain by many people around the world, particularly those from former British colonies, but it doesn’t change the fact that today it is the most civilized society on earth.  There is no question that the British Empire caused a great deal of pain and suffering, but the totality of its existence was a net plus for most, if not all, of its territories.

The most glaring example of this was England’s 250-year occupation of India.  The Brits were at times ruthless, but when they granted India its independence in 1947, they left it with the world’s most sophisticated language, a modern road system, a fair and just legal system, and a democratic form of government.

Thus, when Robinson says, “I think we enjoy watching all the pomp and circumstance,” I understand his point.  Pomp and circumstance is not necessarily a bad thing.  For millions of people it’s a high that’s a heck of a lot better than they can get from taking drugs or watching porn.

Just as it is unjust to hold people of goodwill today accountable for the sin of slavery, neither should today’s royal family be held accountable for sins stemming from colonization.  A majority of British citizens still believe that the institution of the monarchy is a good thing for their country, which I believe is because of their appreciation for the stability and tradition it represents in an age of unchecked debauchery.

As rape, robbery, assault, and murder overwhelm American cities, I believe people of all ethnicities long for a time when civility and safety were hallmarks of American life.  What makes Great Britain unique is that even though it has, much like the United States, been targeted by barbarians from within over the past five decades, it has had a firmly entrenched royal family to remind citizens of their civilized heritage.

With no such symbolic reminder on the other side of the pond, the United States has descended into the darkness of barbarism, which is the polar opposite of a civilized society.  So much so that otherwise normal people have come to actually admire the culture of thuggery.  Like victims of Stockholm syndrome, millions of Americans today seek to destroy all remnants of America’s once civilized culture.

To be sure, Great Britain has had its share of decadence, but it is not nearly as extreme as in the United States.  This, I believe, is because it has a long-established royal family that serves as a living symbol of national identity, unity, and pride.

Having said this, let me make it clear that I am not what you would call a royal fan.  Like all people, royals are imperfect, and I am compelled to admit that of and by itself the idea of a royal family in our day and age still strikes me as an absurdity.  But it’s an absurdity that serves as a symbol of all that is still good and honorable in British society.

RIP, Queen Elizabeth.