Republicanism

Oh for goodness' sake, jingl, enough already! HM has an immense amount of support in this 'job' of hers. When she was a young mum she had nannies to do the hard work so that she and Philip could be photographed playing happy families. She has employees to breed the horses, train the horses, ride the horses... Does she have to dust the furniture and polish the family silver? Prune the roses in the gardens?
She has a nice getaway to Balmoral every August and to Sandringham at Christmas. A life of wealth and privilege has kept her looking younger than her 86 years and all because she was born into the right family! Hereditary principle? Bah! humbug!

'Manipulating the masses'? How, exactly?

Yes, come on carboncareful You can't broach such a contentious issue without displaying a little more of your opinion and reasoning. Manipulating the masses is a very cynical comment.

Oh come on Anagram and gangy5 What were street parties and the pageant but bread and circuses to keep the masses content? And didn't they do well?

So - everyone enjoyed themselves except for (obviously) a few killjoys!! Nothing wrong in that - particularly during hard times such as at present.

Well I seem to remember an awful lot of stuff said about the Jubilee celebrations takings our minds off the so-called economic crisis.

Religion was said to be the Opium of the masses - current Royalty nonsense is probably the cocaine of the masses.

I find your post rather patronising, absent. So, without street parties etc. 'the masses' would be rioting in the streets and rising up against the monarchy...?

I think we should finish this thread unless carbon is going to come up with her reasons for wanting a republic. This would then give those of us who are interested to put over our ideas. As it is I can see this turning into a nasty bun fight.

Annobel, that whole post was mean minded, from the first word to the last.

j04 How can a post be mean minded? Post don't have minds!
Those of us who are not royalists are entitled to our opinions. Perhaps you think its treason to be disrespectful to royalty? Perhaps you'd like to chop off our heads?

What about the business of having to swear loyalty to the queen? Why should someone have to lie in order to get a job or position or whatever. I think politicians, armed forces, have to do this swearing thing but I may be wrong? Are they allowed to decline?

This thread is starting to sound like a like a royalist tantrum!

I have the right to say that I would prefer to have an elected head of state than a hereditary head of state.

I do feel that some of the things that have been said of royals in the press, and by members of the public, have made them sound like deity which they are not. The royal family are, as others have clearly articulated, a highly privileged family who are only 'special' by dint of birth..not contribution, skill or action. It is my honestly held opinion that by having a royal family , so revered, helps to maintain the wide gap between the haves and have nots.

PS
I am not a killjoy nor mean minded.

No. You are right. Posts don't have minds. [minds]

It was the tone of the post that irked.

"Enough already" is a silly modern phrase that my daughter insists on using to my grandkids. I hate it!

And I don't like small minded jealousy.

Oh God! I need my dinner! That should have been , not [mind]

We have been out for a long country walk and I am knackered. Don't know what I'm doing on here.

Too tired to have a tantrum Nannaej.

Another time perhaps.

Does anybody really care about this stuff?

Hereditary privilege = elitism of the worst kind. It does not tally with any sort of democracy, but exacerbates the notion that the more money a person has, the more privilege. Cf the politicians (mainly) the monarchy, the CofE, the Roman Catholic Church ( the last two also having the added manipulative power of religion on their sides) etc.

Tradition and pageant are attractive, I will admit, but could be simply maintained as the rituals they are.

I can't imagine what you mean, jingl. I don't think I am mean-minded to point out that HM is a wealthy and highly privileged person and that moreover she never had to make any effort to achieve her position. Just because you are born to a rank in life doesn't mean that you deserve it or that you deserve the adulation of so many of your 'subjects'. And what a concept that is - 'subject'. Why should I be anyone's 'subject'? And, jingle, there is nothing I can do or say to prove that I am not jealous - you will just have to take my word for it.

I think that 'Enough already' is a very established phrase but used more in US, possibly Jewish in origin.

Just because you don't like something j04 does not necessarily make it silly!

Yes. Most likely an American import.

I was using it tongue in cheek. But yes, it's an American/Jewish import.

Does the swearing of loyalty to the queen, if it is still required in the military, not just mean you are swearing loyalty to your country (i.e. you won't defect to the other side)? That's how I've always interpreted it. Not that I'd be a military person ever.

Enough already:
The origin is the Yiddish genug shoyn, literally ''enough already.'' It is part of an array of phrases using shoyn for emphasis, from the similar gut shoyn, ''All right already!'' in the sense of ''Stop bugging me,'' to shvayg shtil shoyn, ''Shut up already!''

www.nytimes.com/1998/10/25/magazine/on-language-enough-already-what-am-i-chopped-liver.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

Yes, that's how I interpret it too, Bags. The Queen isn't sitting there, on her throne, demanding 'loyalty' and 'obedience' to her, personally......sigh...

nag