About Modern Fairy Tales

Call me a curmudgeon. Call me a grinch. Call me a grouch. I really don't care, and I will be completely honest: I don't care one bit about Catherine Middleton's visit to the United States. There. I said it. Are you happy now? Maybe it says something about me, something about the kind of little girl I was or the adult that I am, but I don't care one bit about what Duchess Catherine is wearing, what city she is visiting, or who she is charming.

Yeah, yeah, I can hear it now: Oh, but she is such a great role model for little girls! It's a fairy tale come true!

Really? Really?

Neither Catherine Middleton, nor Prince William, nor really any of the royal family have actually done anything of real note. What has Catherine Middleton done, why is she famous? Oh, she married some guy who had the rare luck to be born to a guy whose distant ancestor somehow managed to become seated on the throne of England. Has this, oh, Prince Charming, done anything to earn the status or admiration that is lavished upon him? Are there any expectations that he (or she) will be able to significantly influence their country or their world? Nope, not really. Not a bad gig if you can get it, I suppose, but what exactly is there in this tale that would make Duchess Catherine a role model? Is there anything the slightest bit empowering about her tale of catching the heart of a man? I mean. on any given day, aren't thousands or millions of women in the world who manage to do that very same thing?

In my mind, there is little difference between gawking at the Royal family and watching "Jersey Shore." Both involve a group of people who have attained money, status, and fame for doing little else than converting oxygen into carbon dioxide. And maybe that is emblematic of what is wrong with society in general: rewarding people for what they have not and never will earn, while those who do the real work are left only with the scraps. And then they, in turn, continue to elevate those who have done nothing into positions of prestige.

Some fairy tale.

And yes, in case you were wondering, I did feel bad for poor old Rumplestiltskin. Dude should have gotten himself a lawyer and fought for workers rights...