Why are we Americans so obsessed with the Monarchy? The recent passing of HRH Queen Elizabeth II has captured the attention of the entire world, and the grief of many. Why are we, as Americans, so intrigued & invested in the happenings of the royal families? Deeper than just the next headline, it seems we have also felt a loss with the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. So why are we so intrigued by it? Well, I venture to say that we see a bit of ourselves in the monarchial structure. Until the past 150 years, almost the entire western world and much of the rest of the world lived in a monarchial structure. One of the shortcomings of the democratic society we live in today is a sense of reverence toward a higher power, made visible in an authority and a tradition, like the coronation of a king . The king is bound by duty to his people, to serve and protect them. As a child loves the discipline, structure, and safety, that a parent provides, so does a society under monarchial rule. As any Christian would attest, we were built to know, love, and serve God. Yes, we are sentient and free willed, highly intellectual creatures, but our souls long to be obedient to God Almighty.
As one watches the funeral procession and liturgy of the deceased monarch, we felt a mutual grief in her passing, yet semblance of comfort in the ritual of the funeral. Traditions are practiced for our own good as human beings. Traditions connect us synchronically, or as a living community in the very moment. Our hearts swell with sentiment as we say the national anthem before a game, sing a Christmas song, or watch that one movie that "defined" our youth. As you may notice, those traditions also connect us diachronically, or with previous generations. They connect us with an entire sentiment, a generation, an identity that is bigger than us. Queen Elizabeth II funeral connected her people with the entire history of her country, with the generations before and even with a monarchial history. I think in a bigger sense, we as Americans feel at least warm to the notion of a tradition, like the monarchy, that rises above the mundane of the populist ebb and flow of democracy. I am by no means knocking the systems of our country, just that we have lost a bit of the hierarchy that we as humans naturally crave, made visual in the governmental structure. Made visual in the Church.
We have our own traditions that we continue to hold dear as a part of our identity. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite traditions. It is a holiday that we always spent at my grandparents houses in Wetumpka. Since we lived 6 hours away in Tennessee, it was the only guaranteed extended time that I would be able to spend with my whole family. Christmas Day was alway our immediate family, an it was always a beautiful time where time stood still, we opened gifts, had a delicious breakfast cooked by my wonderful mother, went to Mass, and just rested. When we were young, we had portraits made what seemed like every year. I remember being so bored waiting for my turn to pretend to smile, trying not to dirty up my heirloom dress. Now that I am older, I look back fondly on capturing those memories because I have a piece of them here today. I see the portrait and I am immediately brought back to those Thanksgiving family gatherings, my Grandma Susan's warm kitchen, running around the yard with my cousins, and being hauled down to Montgomery in the middle of our holiday to have those dang portraits taken!
My appreciation for these traditions came full circle last holiday when my mom pulled our old outfits out of storage. And in the middle of these were garments that my late Grandma Susan had made for her children and grandchildren. Amongst the other Feltman Brothers and Chocolate Soup, there was her garment, with a little tag "Handmade with Love by Susan" and my heart soared. I have a piece of her. Not just a trinket or piece of decor, but a gamrment, lovingly made. I know Grandma Susan sat down, French Hand Sewing this garment with all of the skills Sarah Howard Stone had taught her in sewing club, thinking about adorning her own children (my mama) in specially cared for garments. And I get to have a piece of that love because of the traditions that my Grandma Susan valued, considered out-of-style even then.
And here we have a whole subculture of mamas who get it! Mamas who want to value their children, memorializing every moment. Mamas who agree that a little formality and fanciness is overdue for our culture. Making these things special may just be what our future generations hold on to in loving memory of the family we started.