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Queen Elizabeth II has died
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Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#152While I admire the Elizabeth's dedication to preserving her own family's inheritance, I fundamentally do not believe anyone can inherit a country. The monarchy should die along with the monarch.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#153Some view the monarchy as anachronistic. Of course there's merit to that argument but the monarchy as an institution really doesn't cost that much and has worked in the British political system as really a check on abuse of government power. The Queen's consent in forming government is routine but it can be withheld.
Australia had an example of this where the Governor General (the Queen's representative in the Australian government) sacked the government and formed a caretaker governmen tin the 1970s.
The American system of relying on centuries of tenuous interpretation of a fairly short document just isn't as much of an improvement as you think.
The Australian constitution allows for the Governor General to have "reserve powers" without specifying what they are.
Ultimately all these systems rely on trust.
It's wild to think the Queen began her reign with having weekly chats with Winston Churchill all the way up to appointing Liz Truss just this week. Her father fought in World War I. She lived through World War II. It's wild to think about.
It's also wild to consider the Queen never had an exepctation of ruling. An abdication caused that to happen. The happiest and freest time of her life may well have been living on Malta prior to that, living a fairly normal life with her husband and young family.
Institutions exist to protect the people, not the institutions themselves. Never forget that.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#154[deleted]
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#155Born in April, 1926, it's crazy how much the world has changed in her lifetime. May she rest in peace.
When she was born, the British Empire ruled over a quarter of the world’s population.
It’s even higher now, the commonwealth countries have a population of 2.5 billion (almost 1/3)
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#156How many American Presidents came into power during her tenure?
At her coronation Eisenhower was president and she saw 13 US presidents while queen (and there was an additional three between her birth and when she became the queen.) Victoria actually saw more presidents come to power in her lifetime since there was a greater tendency for one-term presidents earlier in US history.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#157Sad on a human level, but she spent her years as the figurehead of an inherently fascist, racist institution — royalty. "Whoever had created humanity had left in a major design flaw. It was its tendency to bend at the knees.”
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Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#158No post body was provided.
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#159Born in April, 1926, it's crazy how much the world has changed in her lifetime. May she rest in peace.
Arguably the largest change in humanity in a ~100 year span? Especially if we go back to 1922. Mass communication, mass travel, etc. were all non existent. Like the first radio stations had just started broadcasting when she was born, now we're all discussing her passing on a communications network that connects the entire globe. Possibly some of us while on flights from one side of the world to the other.
> Arguably the largest change in humanity in a ~100 year span?
I don't think so. My grandmother was born in 1900 and died in 2003. Cars, airplanes, electricity, radio, TV, computers, space ships, etc..., all were invented or became commonplace in her lifetime. Queen Elizabeth was born between the birth years of my parents, who didn't remember the "horse and buggy days".
Re: Queen Elizabeth II has died
#160> In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and the Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow." Hearing "The King" in this context will take a long time getting used to.
Yes. Interestingly, though, she was only the 3rd Queen in British history (Edit: Oops, ok, 6th actually. Edit 2: ok the point is that there have been many more kings than queens!). But since her reign was so long there are few people alive who can remember a king on the throne.
6th I think: Mary I, Elizabeth I (from Henry viii), Mary II (with William iii), Anne (both Stuarts), Victoria and Elizabeth II.