Let them eat their own cake

Leave it to the New York Times to celebrate progressive hypocrisy:

Prince Harry and Meghan should not be lamented as defectors from the old order, but celebrated as the heroes of the next installment, as modern royals renouncing some level of privilege to seek their fortune in the real world. May they live happily ever after.

What level of privilege gets renounced goes unstated. Only reason the NY Times is all in (as one of MSNBC’s liberal programs is titled) is because the British royals babble in the Progressive dialect of British Received Pronunciation. Never mind that they are a living contradiction. (On the other hand, that may be a requirement, like the millionaires and billionaires seeking the nomination of the party of redistribution.)

“Problem is, most of us commoners don’t have the money to fly on a private jet; therefore they’re unlikely to become a climate-change activist and a frequent luxury flier (as Harry and Meghan stand accused of)” observes writer Tom McTague in the on-line Atlantic. (But not a breath mint?)

A tree-hugging we go! Grand-mum will be so pleased when we get back to the castle!

“The pair appear not to understand is their desire to be progressive — but seemingly without the controversy and criticism that comes from taking a stance on issues of public debate,” McTague writes.

They want to remain in the royal family, retain the titles of the English aristocracy and the houses renovated with public funds, but step back from the duties that come attached to these privileges. Harry would not have got very far in the military asking whether he could stay but step back from his duty to serve. (Except, and this is a deeper problem, perhaps [only] he could.)

What ho? I say! We MUST save the environment. Which is why my gin is artisanal, sustainable, fair trade, and locally sourced.

McTague closes with a wonderful anecdote about the Brits’ new prime minister, who once described his policy on cake, in Reaganesque terms, as “pro–having it and pro–eating it.” Boris appears to have fellow cakeists in the Sussexs. 

Who isn’t in favor of having cake and eating it, too? In politics, after all, everyone is a cakeist: No one wants to pay more tax, but everyone wants better services.  … But just because everyone is a hypocrite doesn’t make hypocrisy a virtue. … This, in essence, was Ricky Gervais’s point at the Golden Globes about hypocrisy in Hollywood. 

The very word “progressive” is Maui Wowie bud and leaf to our acquaintances. Had Harry and Meghan announced they’re working with Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage to clamp down on immigration, the NY Times would have rained derision. 

What do YOU think?