The Royal Baby? I couldn’t give a shit...

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123. TONS. Buckingham Palace Inc. is HUGE business for the Brits. HUGE tourist attractions.

I'd bet that 90% of all the naysayers everywhere, who poo-poo the royal family and all it's about, would be among the first in line to take pictures of themselves in front of the Palace, the Tower of London, the Changing of the Guard, those Beefeater guards with the big furry helmets, and haunt the souvenir shops for baby bibs decorated with crowns and coffee mugs with Charles's ears on them.

YES they're an anachronism. YES they're expensive. YES they're utter frippery.

So what? They're a diversion - and for a change, a pleasant one. I like this. The news here has been so damn grim and depressing and dreary that I find this actually something of a pleasant, harmless relief. Like taking a coffee break in the middle of a tense workday.

As an old feminist, I find it pleasing that the gender of the baby won't matter. The old musty laws have been changed, and I find that pleasing as well. Now, if it's a girl, SHE will be the sovereign someday. Whether or not she eventually has a little brother. He won't trump her anymore simply because he's male. I find that refreshing and satisfying and encouraging. It's a little thing, but even little things matter. Baby steps, literally as well as figuratively. Even the musty old centuries-old monarchy can update a little and throw off at least some of the old ways that aren't relevant anymore. And I like how we have a future king of England who was able to marry for love. Even his dad wasn't able to do that. William was able to choose his mate for his own personal reasons, for his own personal happiness instead of the old conventions where she had to be a blue-blood, she had to be a virgin, etc etc. As recently as Princess Diana, that liberation did not exist. They're both bent on raising a family in touch with the real world and not remaining insular. That's a good thing, not a bad thing. Because they set an example. And if they're embodying change, and putting a human face on it, that's a good thing, not a bad thing.

Yeah, it's just them, over there across the pond, and it's symbolic. Understood. And so what? I find it pleasing to be able to witness human evolution happening. Like it or not, Will and Kate are leaders in a new age. Their eyes and their minds are both wide open. And they're focused on philanthropy, too, which I always appreciate. AND international bridge-building. Symbolic. Even in a small way. Just like they are, themselves, as royals. And if they're leading a new-age symbolism, that's a good thing.

And living in a country that's not even 300 years old yet, compared with another with well beyond a THOUSAND years of history and culture, I have a respect for that. We're a young whipper-snapper country. In the family of nations, the U.S. is like the unruly teenager. We certainly act our age, wouldn't you say?