How Order Breaks in 2020
From Donald Trump to Meghan Markle, 2020 is already all about change.
The year is 2020, and more than just marking the start of a new year, it also marks the beginning of a new decade — and it has started with a bang (quite literally).
News cycles that occur early in the year are significant because they begin to establish a tone and can either make or break collective societal morale. It is almost inevitable that most stories covered in news cycles early in the year are almost forgotten by the end the time Christmas holidays come around.
In truth, this is because so much of what happens in January of one year can feel like it happened years ago by the time December rolls around. This is to no one’s fault, really — so much of life happens in this time. In the same vein, so much has occurred within the first ten days of this new decade. So much has happened, in fact, that one must stop to remember that it has indeed only been ten days into a new decade.
What has occurred? Let’s recap. Leading into the new year, the American president and commander-in-chief, Donald Trump, had been impeached. This was great news to many who oppose his views, policies, and brute force methodologies, but there is still much work to follow, including the trial in which he can either be convicted or acquitted of the charges.
In this time, however, the temper of Great Orange One has undoubtedly flared to its peak. This has been evident in the way Trump had decided to order an airstrike to kill General Qassem Soleimani (also known as “The Shadow Commander”), Iran’s most senior military commander and leader of the Quds Force on January 3.
The reasoning for the attack on the Irani military leader has been said to pre-emptively prevent a major attack from Iran. However, congressional leaders and U.S. allies have stated that they were not consulted and most fear that the action may result in a war.
Naturally, Iran vowed harsh retaliations against the U.S., and two days later, on January 5, stated that they would no longer abide by the nuclear deal reached by the Obama administration in 2015 (The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) that sought to lift sanctions and restrict Iran’s nuclear program. Not so coincidentally, Trump had been vocal about his abhorrence regarding the deal long before he had taken office, citing that it was a bad deal for the U.S. to begin with and had also proclaimed to scrap the deal altogether.
In retaliation for killing Soleimani, on January 8, Iran had launched several ballistic missiles on two American bases in Iraq housing American troops. There were no reports of casualties in the attack. However, hours later on the same day, a Ukrainian plane (flight PS752) carrying 176 passengers crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran’s international airport.
All passengers were pronounced dead in what was initially reported as a technical malfunction, and later found by U.S. intelligence to have been caused by a ground-to-air attack. The flight was carrying 63 Canadian passengers, many of them students and academics, who had been advised by Canadian officials to leave the troubled region due to the threat of escalating violence and instability.
So, it is the beginning of 2020 and the world is seemingly on fire. At least figuratively it is, but the news has also been riddled with images of Australia literally burning. Australian forests have been ravaged in fires caused by extreme heat and drought. Reports put the damage at nearly twelve to seventeen million acres of burned land and wildlife, with images of animals burned alive and bright red skies making internet headlines.
What of all this? Is this a foreshadowing of how the rest of the year, or decade, is perhaps to go? Are we entering a new era of global conflict and natural disaster, fueled further by ego, greed, and the very inevitability of our own human condition?
In between, something marvelous did happen in these first ten days into the new decade, and as small of a dent that it makes in the current news cycle, it is something that perhaps deserves a little more thought and consideration.
Also on January 8, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex posted to their Instagram account a statement that perhaps both breaks and makes new order. In the post, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced that they would be stepping down from their status as senior royals in an effort to be financially independent while still maintaining their support and allegiance to the Queen.
One may ask why this is a big deal. In the grander picture of current world affairs, it is not as grave a news as military attacks between nations. However, it does mark a new era of progress and establishes a break from centuries long traditions that have protected and dictated British royal culture and customs.
To put simply, the British royal family have always conducted themselves in strict accordance to rules of governance that uphold, protect, and maintain their image, stature, and societal place. This statement with the intent to depart from some or all of these important customs mark a significant shift in the way members of the royal family conduct themselves and live their lives.
While many ordinary people may fantasize about a lavish life of riches and luxury, they fail to comprehend the strict order in which the life of a member of royalty is subjected to. This can be seen in a way as a simple desire for one to be able to live a normal life.
The truth is that royalty is prohibited from doing as they please. Everything one says and does as a royal can and is often taken out of context. There are so many measures in place, in fact, that members of the royal family are unable to speak directly to the public without an intermediary.
This is why the Royal Rota system exists — a pool of reporters from seven British newspapers that cover stories and events related to the royal family. It is a system in which Royal Correspondents are the first people to whom the British royal family trust to release news to. These correspondents then take this news back to their publications and are the first ones to report on it.
The trouble is, however, that even Royal Correspondents take their own liberties and spin stories to make them more sensational. In addition to that, other publications take these stories and create their own spin, and the truth in the original story is lost or deliberately mistranslated altogether.
With the release of their statement, Meghan and Harry intend to no longer participate in this system as they wish to divide their time between the United Kingdom and North America as they raise their son and focus on their charitable foundation. This also comes after the pair is suing The Daily Mail, The Sun, The Daily Mirror, and other members of the Royal Rota for alleged misuse of private information.
The news came as a sudden blow to the royal family — and rightfully so — as reports state that the Queen has summoned the royal family for an emergency meeting regarding the statement of departure. There is and will undoubtedly be resistance from the family for such a sudden break in tradition, especially since it appears to have been done so without prior consultation.
There will also be many of those who see this, royalty and common folk alike, as a deliberate act of defiance in the face of royal customs. Many will point to Meghan Markle as the sole initiator and perhaps the one who pressured Prince Harry into such a decision. All fingers are likely to point to her as a negative and external influence in the matter, that she is perhaps unwilling to adapt to the life of a royal or operate within its strict order and limitations.
In all the shock of the news, however, one point has been completely overlooked altogether — that she could not have done this without the support of Prince Harry to begin with. It should be seen as a matter of fact that Prince Harry has chosen to prioritize the needs of his partner, as one should, and has actively participated in this decision.
We live in a world where female voices are shunned, questioned, and silenced. It has taken an entire social movement to bring sexual crimes of men in positions of power and otherwise to be brought to light. Even in the wake of movements like #MeToo, women around the world are still questioned and vilified and in turn blamed for the abuse they have experienced.
In the wake of all this comes a figure foreign to royalty that has had the courage to upend the traditions that she had been catapulted into by means of marriage. Prince Harry’s support indicates that he has acted unlike other men in expecting Meghan Markle to just succumb to the ways of the royals and become complacent. In fact, this is a win not just for the Duchess of Sussex, but for all women everywhere.
This intent of departure from royal tradition marks a win for female empowerment and further emphasizes the need for more female agency, and exemplifies through Prince Harry what it should look like for men to also support women in this plight.
Despite the storm that is likely to ensue within the royal family, Meghan Markle has demonstrated a win disguised as defiance. It is her fearless approach and careful consideration and partnership with Prince Harry that she has been able to devise a way for herself to change the course of history, break tradition, and create a platform for herself to be heard.
What is more, she has taken active steps in reclaiming ownership of her own narrative and is simply asking that the public both recognize and respect her choice to speak and act for herself. There are no royal rules or policies that exist to uphold and protect this, so she has taken it upon herself to do so.
Change, in any capacity, can be difficult to digest. It is sometimes gradual, at other times abrupt. The first ten days of this decade have shown us that change can be violent; it can come in a storm of (literal) fire. There is no choice but to march forward with the times, and as we do so, there will be things of yesterday that we must learn to leave behind (and hopefully that includes a certain orange fellow).
Cheers to the rest of 2020.
Special thanks to R.C.
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