Remembering Elizabeth II
The sudden death of Queen Elizabeth this Thursday drew mournful, or at least mostly mournful, responses from across the world. The Queen ascended to the throne at the age of 25 and reigned for a remarkable 70 years.
When prompted by the Guardian, multiple Britons referred to her as the nation’s “grandmother”. In a sense, the nickname is well-earned, as Elizabeth developed a reputation as a wise and comforting figure. As her fourteenth prime minister, Boris Johnson explained, when she spoke in times of distress, whether it was during the Blitz or the height of the pandemic, she spoke to restore her subjects’ confidence that they might prevail against the given hardship. Elizabeth was able to reach people, during humanity’s darkest hours, and encourage them to persevere; an ability few orators have.
While the British monarchy might make some Americans uncomfortable, considering our history as a defiant colony; Queen Elizabeth’s presence at the helm of the most prominent constitutional monarchy in the world arguably remains admirable. Elizabeth remained remarkably restrained on the throne, which protected the institution of the monarchy from political turbulence. The Queen declined to comment on issues of political significance throughout her reign; her reserved disposition allowed her to become a figurehead for the United Kingdom, beloved by Britons of all walks of life. In that sense, Elizabeth II arguably had a conservative (note the lowercase c) tendency about her. The Queen was a defender of tradition, for tradition’s sake, and she maintained her politically-restrained posture, regardless of the short-term crises that arose. She understood the limited scope of her role in public office, and never attempted to broaden it. As Charles C. W. Cooke noted in the pages of National Review, monarchy, indeed, is not the ideal form of government. However, Elizabeth II’s statesmanship made it difficult for Britons to not embrace their monarchy.
Remembering the attacks of September 11
Yesterday was the twenty-first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. As we become further removed from the attacks, many of our readers being too young to remember them, it becomes even more important that we remember the sacrifice of September 11th. We recommend reading Tom Junod’s article on “The Falling Man” image, written in Esquire last year. We also encourage readers to watch this short video on the heroism of the passengers of United Flight 93.
Self-Plugs
In his Saturday article, Caleb Seavey takes the Biden administration to task for their student debt relief payments, or as he puts it, for “Stealing from the poor to give to the rich”.
Last week, we mentioned Senator Cotton’s criticism of ranked-choice voting. In his column, Jack Shields wisely rebuffs Cotton’s criticism. Instead, Shields calls on conservatives to stop their “unwarranted opposition” to ranked-choice voting.
Lightening the mood
This weekend saw the return of the NFL in all its glory. Nevertheless, the shortcomings of the game were also on full display, as the Colts and Texans game ended in deeply un-American fashion, with a tie.
One last note
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The views expressed in this article are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Lone Conservative staff.
