A Class Act, but a Difficult Legacy

When Silence Reigns
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As we tell Nancy Kendall’s story, we often see modern parallels.  The recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II brought criticisms to the fore regarding the history of the monarchy and its brutal acts of imperialism as it built the Commonwealth.  For those of us in the US, we cannot help but find similarities between those unspeakable acts of cruelty and those in which our young and growing republic engaged. 

As a developing nation, we were desperate to escape the rule of England, King George the III.  We fought and paid dearly to break away from the monarchy. We subsequently wrote our own laws, both brilliant and flawed, to establish our hard-won independence.  
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Everything about imperialism and colonization seems evil, particularly its treatment of the people whose homelands are gobbled up. For centuries, the British Empire was single-minded in its pursuit of reigning over subjects in far off lands.  

As we built our newly independent country, we also journeyed to foreign lands to capture and enslave human beings for our use. We treated them as property with no rights or respect, simply because people of color were considered lesser-beings, and “should” be subservient. 

We nearly succeeded in our efforts to wipe out the original inhabitants of this continent, along with their rich cultures.  Our attempted destruction of Native Americans, and our kidnapping and enslavement of Africans, rank as similarly atrocious acts to the imperialistic takeovers committed by the armies of Britain at the behest of the monarchy.  

Nation building in any form is often cruel and unfair.  We now watch in horror as the leader of Russia pushes ahead, seemingly no cost too great, in his quest to conquer Ukraine and its people.   

Both the US and the UK have only just begun the difficult discussions, not only to face the past with honesty, but also to amend the wrongs with reparations to the peoples the nations conquered.  

We must learn from our own acts of imperialism and vow never to repeat this part of our history.  May the passing of the long reigning Monarch bring forth a new era of progressive thinking for the UK, the US and the rest of the world.     

To learn more about the monarchy and its dubious past, read:

• How the British royal family has turned a blind eye to its racist past
• Queen Elizabeth seemed sweet, the monarchy isn't