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Periscope by Niall O'Dowd

Fuss over royal wedding a perfect example of our dumbed down society

Posted on Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 10:04 PM

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No I was not one of those who set the alarm clock for 4.a.m this Friday morning

Unlike millions I slept soundly while the sound and fury signifying nothing from London blathered on.

As an Irishman, there are many things about Britain that I deeply like.

Royalty is not one of them.

The British have a great culture: they gave the world soccer, rugby and much of modern democracy. I love London, The Beatles, their chocolate and the ordinary British bloke or gal. Just not their royal family.

I don't believe in what Warren Buffett has termed the "lucky sperm" club, the notion that because of an accident of birth, you are entitled to great privilege. I'm sure Prince William is a splendid fellow, but his list of real accomplishments is pitifully small.

Kate Middleton seems a perfectly nice young woman but has never worked a real day in her life. Yet the world is supposed to believe that the marriage of the two will produce what, exactly?

As Princess Diana put it when her two kids were born, "an heir and a spare" is really the only future requirement for Kate and Will.

Lie back and think of England, Kate.

I also object to the sectarian nature of British royalty. No Catholic can become king or queen, an archaic ban that should have been done away with generations ago.

If Kate had been unlucky enough to be of that faith, she would never have been allowed to set foot in Buckingham Palace -- an inconvenient truth, perhaps, and one that is not widely discussed in the ogling media, who are acting collectively like love-struck teenagers.

The sugary confection of a royal wedding is perfect for our frivolous times. This has been a week of fuss and feathers about birth certificates and royal weddings. Such conceits drown out any real discussion of war, collapsing economies or real suffering.

That great Englishman George Orwell had it right in his novel "1984": we are being fed the equivalent of soma on a weekly basis lest we worry our pretty heads about real issues.

We are truly in the Orwellian century. As that great Englishman Shakespeare had Miranda remark, "O brave new world! That has such people in it!"

He was being ironic -- I think.

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seamusmoore | Apr 30, 2011, 04:28 PM EDT

Niall, if you think soccer and rugby are what you love about England and is their gift to the world:, then you understand even less about Americathan I previously thought. Then again, you are from Drogheda, not exactly a GAA stronghold to quote Micheal Moriarity. Steve Somers of WFAN said it best for all Americans back in 2001 when some joker called up to talk about the World Cup qualifiers, he cut off the caller with the admonition: when the history of mankind is written, the British Navy must be taken to task for two heinous crimes against humanity, spreading syphilis and soccer to the rest of the world. AMEN I say and God bless America.

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citizen69 | Apr 30, 2011, 12:02 PM EDT

Niall complains about the fuss & blanket coverage by the media around the royal wedding. Now take a look at the Irish Central front page over the last few days and view the plethora of stories on his Irish website about... You've guessed it, the British Royal Wedding! Again Niall proves to be a hypocrite!

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Rebelforce | Apr 30, 2011, 09:42 AM EDT

According to the polls, the vast majority of the American people have no interest in the dysfunctional, wacky British royals or the wedding of Kate and William. Most Americans (thankfully) are not British royal worshippers like Baba Wawa, and tend to be happy that they live in an American Republic.

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Wingeire1 | Apr 30, 2011, 06:30 AM EDT

@Seagreen that was a nice post. But you need to remember that it will not be over until British troops are out of Ireland, and Ireland is united. However, I think complaining about the marriage of two young people is a ridiculous way to show support for that unification. And Niall is pretending to be a Republican.

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Wingeire1 | Apr 30, 2011, 06:20 AM EDT

Why is this any different than when Di and Charles married? No one complained then. And its a little late for you to be getting out the anti Brit thing, Niall. No one does a better job of putting down the Irish than you.

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tippboy | Apr 30, 2011, 06:17 AM EDT

The Royals these days are a tourist attraction and a means of marketing England as a destination. As patmurrihy states, the return on investment of this event will be spectacular! London looked splendid, the prince and princess looked like they stepped out of a fairytale and the cash registers never stopped ringing. People need to lighten up and enjoy - then book a vacation to the UK, with a side trip to Ireland. The only negative is that the dollar is so bloody weak!

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Towngate | Apr 30, 2011, 06:13 AM EDT

Anybody else feel a bit apprehensive about the Baron Carrickfergus Title being given to the future King Billy. It being the site of the Landing in Ireland by the other King Billy who went on to finally rout the Catholic King James near the Boyne? ~ It strengthens the British ties to Ireland and underscores the democratically expressed Will of the majority of voters in Northern Ireland. It does not bode well for any hopes of a united Ireland in the near future, or help stabilise the progress made in the Peace Process. Still, it could be worse; She could have ~ for a bit of Divilment ~ named him Baron of Baginbun (where King Henry II and his soldiers landed in Ireland - unopposed!). That would have be bad news indeed; possibly signalling their intention to recapture 'lost territory'!

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Realist | Apr 30, 2011, 05:48 AM EDT

I don't see the point of this 'article' other than to display the author's mean-spiritedness or as an embarrassing and uncalled for attempt to make dirt of another country's traditions and the wedding day of two young people in love. Niall, yet again, another new low - well done....lol.

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citizen69 | Apr 30, 2011, 04:31 AM EDT

Well Said Seagreen! There are some people here who think one cannot be a true Irishman unless they have a hatred for the British, they wear it as a badge of honor. Well let me say that there is no honor in hating anybody. @Ancavker, and what is the preferred method of getting the Irish 'Off their knees'? By bombing & shooting them, creating political & sectarian tensions, polarizing irish communities against each other until everyone becomes radicalized?... Sounds great. Let the British have their day of pride, after all, they don't complain about overt Irishness on St. Paddy's day... in fact they embrace it! Congratulations to the new Baron & Baroness of Carrickfergus.

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mcdolan | Apr 30, 2011, 04:03 AM EDT

It's fairytale stuff, Niall - great for lifting people out of humdrum lives and recessions. Don't be so harsh and pragmatic. It was a lovely, spiritual ceremony with all the pomp and circumstance and made people feel good!

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Ajreaper | Apr 29, 2011, 11:26 PM EDT

Maybe folks just like some good news, something positive to focus on for just a bit. Not certain how that makes people dumb its pretty much just human nature more then anything. Whats wrong with feeling good for a bit?

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cailinrua | Apr 29, 2011, 10:15 PM EDT

I was not one of those who were rose early to watch this. As a matter of fact, when I did eventually get up this morning, I didn't even turn on the TV at all. I eventually remembered the wedding and tuned in to see Kate's dress - which I thought was lovely - on the Today Show. But seriously, what little girl didn't dream of becoming a princess one day. Can't we just take some time off from all the destruction and sadness in the world to celebrate love?

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patmurrihy | Apr 29, 2011, 07:38 PM EDT

Niall - you miss the point again. The Return on Investment on this spectacular event will be amazing. The Royal Family is generally irrelevant, but like many others around the world they love their connection to Ireland. There's no Imperialism going on, just a Queen giving the future King a bunch of cool titles. With Ireland being in such a sorry state today we need to fix the Irish economy, get rid of the new Irish gangsters, stop the emigration and buy Ireland back from the UK and rest of Europe. And in doing so stop worrying about a brilliant marketing campaign that just sold millions of tourists on coming back to visit England. This article smacks of supreme Irish jealousy. Who could bring that type of PR to Ireland?

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seanomelbourne | Apr 29, 2011, 07:33 PM EDT

A plague on all your royal families as Diderot said (tongue in cheek) We will hang the last king with the entrails of the last priest"

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johhnyb | Apr 29, 2011, 06:40 PM EDT

So Niall, if I get you correctly, you have no regard for the Royal family, and wouldn't get out of bed to watch them, but are offended that a Catholic cannot be the heir to the throne. Shouldn't you be happy? Does it not occur to you that there might be just the tiniest inconsistency between being a Catholic and the head of the Church of England? After all the Pope always seems to be a Catholic. Incidentally, the Heads of state of Belgium and Spain have to be Catholics by law. No complaints there I guess.

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