With the death of Queen Elizabeth II, there’s been quite a lot of talk over the past week. (Note: Here I am using the word “talk” liberally, including the superficial talk of TV presenters and the more superficial talk on Twitter.)
Some of the talk has been about the relationship of the monarchy to democracy.
Much of the talk has been about individual family members’ responses to this death.
Too little of the talk has been about the historical context of complex relationships of civilization to empire, empire to nation-state, and nation-state to culture evolving over the last 5000 years.
Too much of the talk (way too much?) has been about in-laws.
A small amount of the talk (the uncomfortable talk) has been about the connection between death, religion, and faith.
A tiny bit of the talk (way too little, in my opinion!) has been about a human relationship with animals, especially dogs and horses.
The right amount of talk about leadership transcending the political.
But the talk that has the most significance for me has been about the relationship of death to duty, living a life of purpose, doing the best one can (given one’s circumstances), and trying to make the world a better place no matter how long or short one’s stay.
Talking about a life well and fully lived—for 96 years. How many of us will have someone talk about us like this?