God Save the Queen, Part 2

Queen Elizabeth's image has graced the currency of

hundreds of millions of citizens from dozens of nations

throughout the British Commonwealth since she

ascended the throne in 1952.

God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen,
God save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God Save the Queen!

I recently turned 43 years old. 

And while I (hopefully) still have several decades left of living in this world, it's safe to say I am no longer a "Spring Chicken"! 

Time is a finite resource for all human beings.  How much

time do you have left in your life?  How do your choose

to spend your time?  Answers to this question are key 

ingredients in the creation of YOUR LIFE's STORY. 

Forty-three (43) years is a long time.

It is enough time to have attended 19 years of formal schooling, serve a two-year mission for my church, teach a year of high school English, get married and have three children, work for many years in a variety of different jobs, visit all 50 U.S. States and several foreign countries, publish several books and over 500 hundred articles across a variety of mediums, and do a million other things I won't bore you with here.  

Today's post, however, puts my relatively rinky-dink four decades of living and accomplishment into its proper perspective!

This article is about an unusually remarkable woman who lived to be 96 years old. This woman was a mother, a grandmother, and a great-grandmother. She was also a leader who visited over one hundred (100) different countries and attended to countless other formal acts and other tasks as she faithfully discharged the duties of one of the highest-profile offices on the planet for — wait for it... drumroll.....

Queen Victoria
Elizabeth II's Great-Grandmother
and the UK's second-longest serving monarch
 who reigned from 1837-1901 (63 years, 7 months)

My entire life... plus 27 additional years to boot!

This article is about Queen Elizabeth II, monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the past 70 years—making her the longest-serving Royal in the history of her country and one of the longest serving monarchs in world history.  

To further frame this extraordinary achievement, consider the fact that my Dad—who turns 80 next year—was only eight (8) years old when Elizabeth ascended the throne following the death of her father, King George VI, in 1952. 

When the previously unparalleled Queen Victoria passed away in 1901, after a reign of 63 years and seven months, could anyone have imagined that one of her great-granddaughters would someday surpass her record by almost seven (7) years?

Suffice it to say, her legacy is already legendary—the kind of accomplishment that few who have ever lived can compete with. 

Dr. JJ and Freedom Focused express our sincere condolences and best wishes to the Royal Family, the British Nation and Commonwealth, and to mourning admirers around the world on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II—the longest serving monarch in the aged and storied history of the United Kingdom, an extraordinary genealogy that spans 61 different monarchs over a period of 1,200 years!

For a descendent of white immigrants hailing from places like Utah and Texas, that's a long, Long, LONG time!  

Now that this regal and royal lady Belongs to the Ages, I know I stand in good company in feeling as though a part of our lives—however small—has changed forever, regardless of our individual national allegiances. It is as if something near and dear to us feels irreparably lost (at least temporarily so). That lifelong sense of comfort that "She is There" ... and probably always will be ... has been replaced by the reality we all must face eventually: that each and every one of us—including her Majesty, the Queen—is mortal.

It's kind of like losing a cherished Grandma or Grandpa that you never quite had the opportunity to meet, but felt as though you knew and loved him/her anyway.  

Despite being a proud citizen of my own country—The United States of America—it is no secret that I am an Anglophile... at least on the margins. My ancestry and education (both formal and informal) make it difficult not to be forever enamored by...

Among many other things, England
brought us the greatest Writer of all 
Time, even The Immortal Bard

"This royal throne of kings, this scepter'd isle
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall,
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands;
This blessed plot,
     This earth,
          This realm,
               This England!"*

—William Shakespeare

*Gaunt, from Richard II, Act 2, Scene 1

The United Kingdom is a magical place... from the lush, green, and wooded landscapes blanketing its interior to its rocky, unique, and stunning seascapes that span its expansive coasts. Then there is its unique urban antiquity—whose tales hearken back a thousand or more years—bumping right up alongside some of the most modern and sleek architecture in the world. And one should never forget the cornucopia of British achievements by centuries-upon-centuries of acclaimed artists, entertainers, educators, doctors, scientists, thinkers, and writers.

Suffice it to say, the British Isles are a special locale I have always admired.

With my baby son, Tucker, on a cannon atop a castle.
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, September 2013.

Back in 2013, Lina and my baby son, Tucker, and I had the opportunity to travel all over the Island for two straight weeks as part of my seminar teaching work schedule. With courses scheduled in nine (9) different Counties we were able to criss-cross much of the Island during the fortnight we spent there. From the Greatest and most Famous City in the World (London) in the Southeast to Yate and Yeovil in the Southwest, and from Edinburgh in the north and Warwick in the center to Preston and Hull on the east and west coasts, I loved every minute of the time we spent there.

Like the Isles themselves, I have long admired Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. In particular, I venerate the Queen for the consistency of her conduct, the classiness of her character, the nobleness of her spirit, and the kindness of her heart.

In a worldwide cultural temperature that is as mercurial as it is diverse, Queen Elizabeth was ever anchored in old-fashioned (albeit non-prejudicial) convictions and age-old (albeit enlightened) traditions. Like an ancient Roman pillar—firm, undaunted, and unwavering—she stood regally and undaunted on the watchtower of humanity. In the service of her post, she stood ever as a beacon of Western Values in an undeviating effort to hold Western Civilization together amidst endless attacks on its ancient traditions, noble foundations, and moral values—the very things which have brought the West so much progress and success, speaking both individually and collectively, over the past 500 years.  

Ruth Smith Silver
1930-2015
My dear Aunt, just four (4) years
younger than Elizabeth II,
reminded me of The Queen.

How could you not like and admire this Lioness of a Woman and this Athena of Leaders, who, in her perpetual personification of Polaris, stood fixed and immovable in a nation and world filled-to-overflowing with shooting and falling stars?

One of my dear, cherished, and late Aunts (Ruth Smith Silver, 1930-2015) was dear and cherished to me in part because of personal qualities like polish, refinement, and class—all of which reminded me of her Majesty, the Queen.

Born in the same generation as Elizabeth II, Ruth Silver was just four years younger than the Queen. According to my Uncle Joe (Ruth's younger brother), she was enamored with Princess Elizabeth before she had even become Queen. Like her Majesty, Silver consistently exemplified and personified the virtues and values that made so many in her generation such stalwart exemplars after which younger generations (including my own) could confidently pattern our own lives and careers. Both highly educated women, Aunt Ruth and the Queen valued IDEALS, strove to achieve them, and stood ever firm in and true to their convictions. A   

I wish I had been blessed with the opportunity to meet and associate with Elizabeth II in the same way I was blessed to spend time with and learn from Aunt Ruth. Perhaps I will have an opportunity to meet some of her Majesty's posterity before I kick the bucket myself.     

Queen Elizabeth's likeness graces
a Canadian two-dollar coin.
Having lived in Canada for nearly four years,
I grew accustomed to seeing her image
on many of my coins and bills.

This is not the first time I have paid homage to Her Majesty through the Freedom Focused Blog. Avid readers may recall an article I published right before Christmas in 2020, entitled: God Save the Queen, which included a link to one of the Queen's elegant and inspiring Christmas Messages—a tradition that dated back to the early days of her reign in the late 1950s... 1957 to be exact. 

And now you know why I entitled this piece: "God Save the Queen, Part 2."

Click HERE to read: God Save the Queen, Part 1.

Click HERE to listen to the Queen's First Christmas Message in 1957.  

Make no mistake...

I am a proud American who has no regrets about my nation's decision to break with her Mother Country (Great Britain) nearly 250 years ago. I will always openly embrace democratic-republicanism and practically eschew the ideas, tenets, and practices of monarchy in this world.  

Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen Mother, Winston Churchill, King George
VI, and Princess Margaret wave to throngs of celebrants at
Buckingham Palace in London on V-E Day in Europe in 1945.

Nevertheless, as a student and lover of history — and more particularly of Sir Winston Churchill (a staunch monarchist) and the period surrounding the First and Second World Wars — I have a deep respect for and an abiding appreciation of the majesty, meaning, tradition, and value that encompasses the lingering monarchy in Great Britain.

And I probably always will.  

In 1947—five years before she ascended to the throne—Princess Elizabeth made the following pledge to citizens of the British Empire around the world when she was still in her early 20s:

"I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong."

Queen Elizabeth as a young woman on the stamp
of one of the UK's many Commonwealth Nations.

Benjamin Franklin once suggested that we live in a world that is too-often filled with: "Big Talkers and Little Doers." I agree with ole' BF. And his statement is especially true of many modern politicians and other so-called "Public Servants" who focus far more of their attention and energy on their own self-interest than they do in the interest of the constituents they are supposed to serve. 

Queen Elizabeth was one of those rare individuals in possession of that golden kind of integrity which stands the Test of Time. Indeed, she was like a marvelous anthropomorphic machine that never ran out of gas, no matter how long the journey may take or how long the race may go—and we all know that her race lasted a very long time—70 years to be exact! And it lasted just shy of a century if you count the additional 24 years she spent on the planet preparing for her call to rule the largest commonwealth the world has ever known.

I also love the quote above because of the way in which Her Majesty (an ardent Christian believer) spreads an inclusive blanket over all of humanity by invoking our common spiritual heritage (in her words: "Our Great Imperial Family"). She actually does an excellent job of articulating the very message that we at Freedom Focused are trying to spread throughout the world; and the message is this: 

"No matter who we are or where we were born, our Creator has planted within ALL of us the seeds of ROYALTY and we want every single soul within the sound of our voice to embrace that remarkable, common heritage in a never-ending effort to become all they are capable of becoming through Self-Action Leadership and Serendipity."   

Our overriding message at Freedom Focused is simple, yet powerful:

We are all potential ROYALTY... just like Queen Elizabeth II. And there

are principles we can learn and practices we can apply to realize the

full measure of our creation, both personally and professionally.

The day the Queen died, I heard a story retold by a British radio pundit that is iconically emblematic of the character of Queen Elizabeth and her family. The anecdote at hand featured Elizabeth's mother—the Queen Mother (1900-2002)—who lived to be 101 years old! When someone tried to persuade Elizabeth, the Queen Consort, to take her daughters (Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret) away to Canada for safe keeping during the darkest hours of World War II, the elder Elizabeth replied, and I paraphrase according to my memory of the radio pundit's words:

"The girls (Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret) will not leave England unless I leave England, and I will not leave England unless their Father (the King) leaves England, and the King is not leaving England! We will stay here with our people and see the thing through, come what may."   

What a magnificent example of leadership at its very best and most courageous amidst the most difficult of national trials! And we know that it was precisely that kind of leadership by rare individuals like King George the Sixth, Elizabeth (Queen Consort), Prime Minister Churchill, President Roosevelt, and General Eisenhower that brought about an Allied victory over the evil forces of aggression in that terribly unprecedented conflict. 

That is the kind of character and leadership we seek to teach, develop, and build at Freedom Focused.   

Tucker (9), Kara (7), and Tyler (4), were all

born the same years as Prince George (2013),

Princess Charlotte (2015), and Prince Louis (2018)

On a personal side note...

My family and I actually have a few things in common with the rising generation of British Royalty.

Second-in-line to the new King (Charles III) is a man—Prince William—and his wife—Catherine, Princess of Wales (formerly the Duchess of Cambridge)—who are just a couple years younger than I am and a few years older than my wife, Lina. William and Kate also happen to have a son (age 9), a daughter (age 7), and another son (age 4).

Guess how old Lina's and my older son, middle daughter, and younger son are?

That's right... each one of our kids was born in the exact same year and within five months or less as each one of their children; even the gender order is the same! 

You've gotta admit... it's a pretty striking coincidence! And no, Lina and I did not pursue this course on purpose or plan it out to end up that way. We do not know William or Kate, nor do we have any direct connection to them. It's just one of those seemingly random things that happened to us that we find interesting and kinda cool—in light of the beautiful young family they are working hard to successfully raise.    

I love and cherish my Western, Southern,

and Yankee Roots. But that doesn't mean

I can't admire me some English Royals—

or anyone else outside my own milieu—

when they are found conductin' themselves

in a manner worthy of admiration...

or emulation!

Don't get the wrong idea; I'm not trying to make a case for any blueness in my own blood... although it is worth noting that a man can keep his hair without any royal titles, while even a Royal Prince and heir to the throne of the British Commonwealth has no guarantee of the continuation of his coiffure!

Nay... I'm quite content being a simple ole' American feller from the Lovely State of Florida who pledges humble allegiance to Old Glory as a common citizen.

In truth, my neck'll always be redder than my blood'll ever be blue! That's just an inextinguishable element of my Western 'n Southern upbringin' and heritage I'll always be proud of.

Part of my Marriage Proposal Plan included this
redneck sign intimating my royal intentions.
March 22, 2008; Atlanta, Georgia, USA

But I digress...

Suffice it to say, I do admire William and Catherine for the ways in which they are walking in the footsteps of their venerable mother and grandparents, and I hope they will continue to do so throughout their lives. If past behavior is any indication of future behavior, I believe they are up to the challenge!

Though Prince I am not, I will make the case that I, like Prince William, somehow managed to marry way-way-way UP to secure an unusually intelligent and gorgeous Queen-of-a-brunette as my wife.

Commoner though Lina may be in the eyes of a royalist, there is nothing common about her to me! And at Freedom Focused, we believe that that is the way every husband ought to view his ONE and ONLY... assuming she is faithful, kind, and true—attributes which Lina personify most royally.  

I proposed to my wife at the base of the KING & QUEEN

Towers in Atlanta, Georgia on March 22, 2008. If you scroll

to the bottom of the page, you'll notice these same towers

grace the cover of the SAL Textbook, Volume I. That was

done on purpose to remind readers of their own Royal

potential through Self-Action Leadership & Serendipity.

I'm telling you what, my friends... the smartest thing I ever did and the greatest thing I ever accomplished was figuring out how to bamboozle a lady as lovely as the Princess of Wales to marry little ole' redneck me! All hail Lina Marie... Princess of Palm Beach!  Though it may not be her official title, she'll always be REGAL and ROYAL in my eyes.     

There is no need in this blog to belabor a bunch of additional details about Queen Elizabeth's life and the highlights and achievements of her unparalleled 70-year reign. I'm sure you've heard plenty already from every news organization and high-profile person imaginable over the past six days.

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
One of the loveliest human beings
to ever grace Planet Earth

Nevertheless, we do sincerely desire to HONOR the life and legacy of this Lovely Lady who was such a pillar of strength and such a lion of freedom throughout her remarkable life that spanned nearly a century. 

Moreover, we wish to publicly express our GRATITUDE for her sterling example of rising above the often mean-spirited and ugly fray of politics throughout her reign—something that must have proven difficult at times. We admire this example and seek to emulate it in the non-partisan educational work we strive to apolitically accomplish here at Freedom Focused.  

THANK YOU, Queen Elizabeth, for showing your Nation, Commonwealth, the World-at-Large, Freedom Focused, and me personally what it means to personify wisdom, grace, conviction, and honor—and more importantly, how to do it throughout the course of such a very long life span in spite of the endless difficulties and distractions that came your way along the way.

In short, THANK YOU for being FREEDOM FOCUSED throughout your long and illustrious life!  

The world is a better place because you spent 96 years here; and the world will be an even better place if more of us commit to more closely embracing your example of polish, refinement, civility, and class.  

Statue of my favorite Englishman,
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill,
in front of Big Ben in London.

The Queen is Dead...

     And thus, in the famous words of Sir Winston Churchill:

Advance Britannia!

          Long Live the Cause of FREEDOM!

                    And God Save the King!*  

*Closing lines of Churchill's radio speech announcing the surrender of Nazi Germany to Allied Forces on May 8, 1945.

—Dr. JJ

September 14, 2022

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 283rd Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 112th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.   

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 282 FF Blog Articles.  

.........................

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