Perception, Human Fallibility & the Royal Family

Perception is the way in which something is regarded, understood, or interpreted. In simple terms it's what an individual thinks. We become aware through our senses, then we go through a process of selection, organization, and interpretation. We are rarely conscious of this process but it determines how we develop images of the world around us. What is real / unreal, what is right / wrong, what we believe / don't believe.

I may be correct in my perceptions or completely wrong, but what matters is that it's what I believe. My brain is the filter through which all my perceptions pass. The problem is my brain is not infallible. It is affected by my emotions & previous experience. Again, in simple terms, I am biased.

The royal family are no exception to this. They are human beings just like us. Unlike us, almost everything they do happens in the glare of worldwide publicity. Whilst professing to loathe the Paparazzi & desire privacy, the major royals have well oiled public relations people & some seemingly actually court, (excuse the pun), as much publicity as possible. 

In the case of Harry & Meghan, today this has turned into a sad media fest, seemingly in order to make shedloads of money & hugely embarrass their immediate family. It's hard to see how the release of the Netflix documentary "Harry & Meghan" can in any way be beneficial, other than to keep them in the luxury they are used to.

I have no idea whether the things they say are actually true. Their perceptions are presumably what they genuinely believe is true. If not they are very destructive & manipulative. My guess would be that there is fault on both sides. That isn't the real question though. The real issue is what is achieved by this very public, ongoing, washing of "dirty linen"? Would the majority of "ordinary" people make so public what should be a private family rift. I really doubt it.

The royal family is not ordinary. They are constrained in ways we really cannot imagine. It's the price they pay for being enormously privileged. The press & media is not always reliable. I cannot imagine what it must be like to be in the spotlight all the time. But Harry & Meghan cannot "have their cake & eat it". They cannot say they want to avoid the publicity & scrutiny of a royal life & also give interviews & make documentaries about their grievances. 

There is no balance, no recognition that there is always a different point of view. It's all very subjective, emotive & ultimately destructive. It's a clash of cultures on many levels. The royals v celebrities, America v the UK, the establishment v the woke, the young v the elderly.....

They really need to stop & sort this out through dialogue & probably impartial mediation. It's an unpleasant festering sore.