No.Nonsense.

I’ll admit that I’m fascinated by the royal family. I think it’s the pomp and circumstance, the charity work they do, the overall fascination with becoming a princess. From the days of the wedding of then Prince Charles and Princess Diana through her tragic death and on into the new generation of royals, I’m completely enthralled. And of course, because of my devotion to them, I’m really not a fan of Harry and Meghan. Just throwing out some honesty here.

When they walked down the aisle, I was caught up in the fairy tale of of an American actress marrying a prince. It was Princess Grace of Monaco all over again. But where hers truly was a story for the ages that led to a long and presumably happy marriage, Harry and Meghan walked out. Okay, then. You do you, boo.

But then we had the Oprah interview, the documentary on Netflix, and “Spare” where they trashed everyone. We had family breakdowns on both sides. And we ended up with a couple who are incredibly privileged but complain about everything and accomplish nothing.

Then on the day Netflix released Meghan’s holiday special about making special memories with the ones you love- I admit I didn’t watch it because of too many negative reviews and I value my time more- we learn that her father has nearly died and had to have emergency surgery to amputate his leg. Okay, so what now?

The next week was a PR fiasco where Meghan’s camp says everything from she tried to reach out and the email didn’t work to she didn’t know which hospital he was in, to now she wrote him a letter and had it delivered to him. 🤦‍♀️

Really, Meghan. She can do better than that. He’s in intensive care after major surgery. Do you think he has access to email? She didn’t know which hospital he’s in? It was on the hospital gown he was wearing in the photo the family released. She sent him a letter? Way to go above and beyond. Pick up the freaking phone! I know things are strained with the family as a whole but it doesn’t cost a thing to just do what’s right, not for any public recognition but because it’s just right.

I don’t care what he did to cause the estrangement, valid or not. I’m not going to debate that point because I don’t know all of the circumstances. What I do know is that he raised her, he sacrificed for her, he cared for her. And if he’s not evil, do the decent thing and call him. It doesn’t erase the past but it makes it a little easier to live with yourself.

But there’s another story that goes along with this one even though some would see it as an odd connection. Stick with me and I’ll make sure it makes sense.

Charlie Kirk was shot and killed with the video of his execution going viral. And since that day, commentator Candace Owens has gone on an unhinged rant of conspiracy theories about who was responsible for his death from Egyptians and Israelis to people in his own organization. She said if Erica, his widow, asked her to stop then she would. Then when Erica did just that, she doubled down and went after her for the picture that was released right after his death of Erica draped over his coffin. She’s called for Erica to tell publicly where he’s buried and has vilified her for not doing so. I don’t listen to her show but the stuff I have seen and read shows someone who appears to be in some form of psychological distress and is raining it on everyone but the man who is in custody and who confessed to the murder.

Now here is where the decency argument comes in. Charlie was murdered publicly and then had people praising the action. In releasing the picture in the funeral home, Erica was showing publicly the collateral damage of one person’s actions. But she didn’t owe anyone that level of entrance to her pain. She didn’t owe the public an opening into his funeral service but she gave us that opportunity to see the impact of his life and death. She doesn’t owe anyone the location of his final resting place, it’s no one’s business. Her keeping details private doesn’t make her personal grief any less and it doesn’t automatically open the door for the rest of us to have full access to the private spaces of her life and her family’s pain.

To perpetuate conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory Candace only compounds the grief. To question motives she only adds to the pain. To continue to propagate these stories rings that shot across the common over and over and over again. Decency says if you ever cared about him, then you show some kindness and compassion to his widow and his children and just stop.

I’ve always tried to live by the mantra “is it better to win or to be kind”. I succeed at times and at others I fail. But I try. We need to consider our actions in the grand scheme of the ripple effect to others and act accordingly. Decency doesn’t depend on who is right and who is wrong- it’s a choice to just do the right thing.