Weekend of Politics

Stephen Harper was wandering around the market like a hobo, Al Gore won the academy award I predicted he would win and I saw the best political movie I have ever seen.

The Queen, starring academy award winning actress Helen Mirren, was a snapshot of the life of the Royals during a particularly rough period of time. The movie is centered around the sudden death of Diana Spencer, but it is really about the public role of very private public people. It makes sense, read it again.

There are those who rise to the occasion and give mediocre tributes to their father on national television. There are also those who just let the protocol officers handle them, forsaking their private grief for the public's. There are others who say "No," we will not be told how to mourn.

The irony of course is that the tale told in the movie is that politics and popularity polls drive the outcome of all public events. The Queen, despite her adamant stand that her family, and particularly her grandchildren be left to grieve on their own, eventually succombed to the advice given to her with those most in touch with the people.

I can't imagine losing someone close to me, but I really can't imagine having to do it under media scrutiny. The British Press are notoriously bad at life invasions, and at demanding answers to questions that really are totally irrelevant except for their constant demands for the answers. I believe now more than ever that what happened to Diana was a direct result of their prying eyes.

Now, I wouldn't describe myself as a monarchist. Hell, I wouldn't describe myself as anything short of a "congressionalist." The perspective taken in this film has helped me to understand a little bit about the very difficult life that the H.R.H. set lives and that as a society, despite the fact that some of us reject their role in our lives, we should be very thankful for the sacrifices they have made.

"Mr. Blair, I would like to point out that while I am your only Queen, that you are my tenth Prime Minister, with the first being Sir Winston Churchill, who sat in the very seat you currently occupy."

Wow. How emasculating would that be?