Zucchinifries00, although you have a strange name, I can’t say mine is any less strange. So I’ll just jump right in and respond to your recent blog post on Harry and Meghan: once royal, now “ordinary”.
I do think you make some pretty good points on why Americans are so intrigued by the royal family, even when it has pretty much nothing to do with them. Unfortunately, our world is one where lots of people think that living lavish lives is all that it’s jacked up to be. So many people still place such a strong hold on the idea that having the most to flaunt off is the key to happiness. So many people work for and dream endlessly of a life filled with cars and fancy houses and parties. And I do agree with your point when you say that Americans look on, amazed by a seemingly extravagant life they may never achieve. I think you have an interesting take on what makes the royal family so engaging to the general public- it demonstrates the basis of human nature and how people think in the society they’ve constructed for themselves.
Always comparing themselves to others. Never being satisfied with what they have. I’ve been close to enough people to know that happiness doesn’t come from within for so many. It comes from outside validation, and comparison. It’s a dangerous ideology to have.
My own…former wife had this mentality. Always looking to families with huge backyards and multistory houses, always looking to families who went on extravagant vacations. She was never satisfied with what I could offer her, and watching other people live the lives she so desperately wanted only killed her inside, little by little.
And it killed both me and our relationship in the process.
Zucchinifries00, you mention that Meghan is constantly under public scrutiny, being criticized for any little thing she does. That can strain a relationship- having such stark differences when it comes to how a couple is perceived by the public. And I don’t doubt that something like race can have something to do with it. Something as “elite” and prestigious as the royal family certainly won’t be immune from critique for deviating from “tradition.” People are simply afraid of change, and they’re afraid of sharing a piece of their prestige with an outsider. As fucked up as it is, that’s the way life works. And if it bothered Harry and Meghan that much, to the point where they felt compelled to leave, then I believe they had no business being in the public eye anyways.
Ya gotta have real thick skin to be somethin’ like royalty. You can’t let other people influence what it is you wanna do or you’ll just let them bring you down. It’s just a fact that people can be scum, and backing down just because you get your feelings hurt by some people who don’t even matter will just give them more power.
But I will say this though. We don’t know what happens behind closed doors. As much insight as we get into the royal family, we still don’t know certain details about their very personal, very private parts of their lives. It might be a possibility that Meghan influenced Harry’s ultimate decision to leave the royal family. Afterall, it’s just a fact that women have the power to influence men with their charm or other such actions. I’ve noted that a man’s independence and selfish thought goes away when they become involved with a woman- they let themselves care too much about what she has to say, and they begin to treat their own opinions as an afterthought. Or worse, they begin to see their woman’s thoughts as their own. Women have more power than men like to give them credit for. It’s very likely that she did cause Harry to take the final steps to leave, but again, there’s no way of knowing. I don’t think we can afford to dismiss that possibility.
A lot of things come into play when it comes to action and reaction. People might feel pressured to do something because of external forces, and people might react to certain events or situations based on their own feelings and predispositions. It’s just human nature to try and fall into line with people’s expectations, to want what other people want. People will never be satisfied with any way their lives play out.
And people end up watching and looking up to people like the royal family all their lives, dreaming of what could have been if only they were “lucky” enough to be born into affluence.
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