Searching for Meaning in the 5-Mile Queue
History and traditions are not dead, and can co-exist with progressive politics.
Like so many Americans, I was glued to the television all week mesmerized by pageantry of Queen’s ten-day funeral ceremony. Millions watched her family and formal guards solemnly marching through the streets behind a flag-draped coffin on the Queen Victoria’s gun carriage. There is no equivalent in America.
Equally impressive is the outpouring of love for the Queen and the monarchy as expressed by a nearly five-mile queue currently snaking through London. People are waiting their turn to pay their respects to the Queen, who is lying in state in Buckingham Palace. Four billion people world-wide are expected to watch her funeral on Monday.
Why are so many people in London waiting to pay tribute to the dead Queen? Why are billions tuning into the funeral on Monday? The world-wide grieving for Queen Elizabeth is the most important political event of the year, and surpasses her appeal as an “every-granny” or the family’s silly dramas. Yes, people appreciate her selfless service. I wrote about my own appreciation of her leadership style last week, just hours before the official death notice. But the main message behind all these tributes is that traditions matter, history matters. That queue is a silent rebuke against modern forces that highlight the problems of the past without respect for the good.
The queue itself is fascinating. We are watching an orderly line of thousands, all on their best behavior, making friends with their neighbors regardless of background or affiliation; David Beckham waited on line all day. It’s refreshing to witness this calm, quiet procession of people united in a common purpose, after witnessing scenes of mobs crashing through doors of the Capital and angry protests in the streets. People can behave well, after all, when making a political statement.
And, for me, this queue is a political statement. People are spending an entire day on line to pay their respects for traditions and history. Elizabeth and her father are closely associated with the more recent history from WWII, and people are there for far off history too. Elizabeth is the living embodiment of English history and traditions — William the Conquerer, William Shakespeare, and the Magna Carta — and people are there to say that all that matters.
History and tradition has been out-of-vogue for a while, with much attention going to the stains of our past, including colonialism, racism, and even genocide. It is a rightful assessment of events, though painful at times. Yet, this long line of people clearly wants to honor the past. And since the attention to Queen Elizabeth’s passing has a massive international following, this must be a global sentiment as well.
Elizabeth’s reign reminds people that they want a world organized by immutable rules and predictability, and are weary of what feels like a never-ending attack on their history and ancestors. People simply want less hate, more love. With billions tuned into her funeral on Monday, people are making a statement, and we must listen to them.
We can embrace the our history, while recognizing its imperfections and looking for ways to live in a more equitable society. We must find a way to find that middle road, without swinging too far in one direction or another. I hope that Monday’s funeral is a reminder that we can preserve the good in our past, as we work together on some of the very progressive causes — climate change, urbanism, and education — that King Charles III has always embraced.
LINKS
A few years ago, I developed an unusual interest in the British Royal Family. From time to time, I do a brain-dump and write blog posts about them. For the whole series of blog posts about the Royal Family, tag: royal mess. To start from the beginning, start here.
I wrote about my failures as a parental advocate for my autistic son.
On Instagram, I posted pictures of our latest outing in NYC and first day of school pictures.
More reports and stories about pandemic learning loss.
Watching: She-Hulk, The Boys, Reservation Dogs
Listening: Bandi Carlile
Cooking: Tomorrow’s BBQ with friends include Smashed fingerling potatoes, grilled London Broil, Ginger-honey roasted carrots