The Hypocrisy of Harry and Meghan’s Decision
The couple have committed Britain’s greatest possible sin.
The Hypocrisy of Harry and Meghan’s Decision
I think at this point that a lot of the articles and opinion pieces about H and M are page-filler more than anything.
I would dispute some of the points raised in that article. Issues can be political, but they can have apolitical sides to them.
In the days when Princess Diana was meeting people in hospitals who had AIDS, was she being political? Not in my opinion, she was meeting people, shaking their hands, and that was perhaps intended to break down some social barriers, and in the bigger picture also the way that governments responded.
Climate change has a political side to it with respect to how the government responds. But I don't feel like I'm making a political statement when I throw junk mail into the recycling bin. But if it wasn't for local government, I wouldn't have a recycling bin! So is it a political act after all? I would say that one aspect can be political but that not every aspect has to be political.
Prince Charles has had his organic gardens for years, he was reported about 30 years ago to have invented a contraption for his home that would help him squeeze the very last drop of toothpaste from a tube because he loathed waste. Are they political moves even when they merge with the issues of climate change and the environment?
What about William's new foundation that was reported on over the Christmas period that's supposed to be about finding solutions to issues within the umbrella of climate change and the environment? Is that political? Is it political to start up a charity focused on research for heart attacks, when in the UK we have the government-run NHS whose job it is to deal with health issues?
If a member of the Royal Family makes an official visit to a soup kitchen or a hostel for the homeless, are they making a political statement? One could certainly make an argument that it is political --it brings the issue into the public eye and maybe the public will demand that their public servants in the government will do more about the issue. But it's not favouring one political party over another, it's not ordering the government of the day to solve the problem in this way instead of another way.
So we can draw attention to issues, even to say that it needs more attention, without picking political sides. And I think that is really the way in which the RF is supposed to exist outside of politics. Not that they ignore issues which might have a political aspect to them (ie there might be room for the government to do something about them on a national level) but that they don't say, "vote for this party to do something about it".
Saying these are only political issues and that one shouldn't jump into them for fear of being labeled as promoting a certain type of political leanings is oversimplistic to the point of being incorrect imho.
