#8 He Recognizes the Irony of Americans Partaking in a British Celebration

I hardly watch television, especially the news. If by now you have not recognized that what you are being told on TV is only a very minuscule portion of the truth (and even then it is hard to distinguish the difference between what may actually be fact and what is simply opinion) then you clearly have too much faith in our broadcasting systems. Therefore, I knew of the upcoming wedding of Prince William, however, any additional details (the date included) were of no concern to me.

Ah, but then Easter came. I was at my grandmother-in-law's home and the TV was on the entire time. Within the five hours I was there, I must have seen build up for the soon approaching Friday wedding at least every other commercial break.

As the date approached, endless talk continued around me of those filled with excitement over the royal wedding. Varied plans were being made by those who were taking off of work to watch it, waking up early to watch it, or simply TiVoing it so they could watch it at their convenience.

So, instead of dedicating major news time to Americans devastated by tornado destruction in Alabama or to the horrors occurring in Libya, our news dedicated the entirety of Friday morning to the marriage of a prince of England. Then after this news coverage finally came to a close, Americans couldn't allow themselves to part with the event. A continued fuss carried on, mostly by women, swooning over the events of the day. Numerous comments gave excuse to the excitement by stating, "We don't have this in America!", as if it were something they longed for.

Umm...hello? Don't you know why we celebrate the Fourth of July? Don't you realize the history of our nation? We didn't want a king. We didn't want royalty to reign supreme. Our founding fathers recognized the ridiculousness of giving one person unnecessary, uncalled for power.

And this is the very country we separated ourselves from.

However a wedding gives us excuse to obsess, adore, and fuss over such eminence. Most Americans have allowed the media to dictate to us how important such an event should be in our lives. Thus, why so many felt the pressing need to tune in.

Recognizing the prince's wedding is clearly called for. However, building up and excusing the regular news coverage for a day (especially when it is for a celebration not for our country) is shameful.

I know there will be many who disagree with me. There are many who simply adore weddings and get thrills and chills from viewing a royal wedding. However, we just have to recognize the irony in all of this. That glorifying individuals is not at all American, at least not in the American standards of America, 1776.