ELIZABETH, CULTURE & TRADITION

Say what you want to say about monarchy being obsolete and culture being a leftover from bygone days, you have to hand it to the British.
On Tuesday (5/17) Queen Elizabeth II and her consort hubby, rode in a gilded horse drawn carriage from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament. There, in the House of Lords, the Queen delivered a speech written for her by the government headed by Tony Blair.
It was the usual ceremony and pomp that accompanies the opening of Parliament. Replete and dripping with history, the ceremony includes having the door of the House of Commons slammed shut in the face of the Queen's Black Mace master. The symbolism is that Commons has put monarchy in its proper place.
There are some out there who would give cultural equivolency to what happened in London Tuesday with bands of savages running around blowing themselves up or cutting people's heads off. In the old days, the queen would have had such nut bags sent to the Tower to await their own beheading.
Alas, it is 2005 and monarchy no longer wields its former power of life and death. In other words, there is no power able to rid us of liberals and Communists nowadays in the quick and flashy way that only a good king or queen once would have.
We have to put up with unwashed, smelly and loud protesters complete with their WE HATE EVERYBODY signs and their costumes or lack thereof.
It is such a refreshing sight to see all that British culture and history yet alive across the Pond.
Her Majesty never looked more regal, from her crown to her glittering white shoes. The Peers in their red robes and the members of Commons dutifully trying to crowd in to see the queen were part of a cultural display seldom seen in present times. Yes there were the colorful pages and ladies in waiting too. There were trumpet fanfares and a host of colorful Royal guards. It was British and Western culture and history on display.
And if you are among those who think culture and history and tradition are unimportant, we can only say: Off with your heads."