Manners
Dos and Don’ts in Photos
Don't strive to act younger than you are
Above you see Queen Silvia of Sweden making a public demonstration of her basketball skills for Mrs. Sharon Johnston, wife of the Governor General of Canada. During a State visit of David L. Johnston and his wife to Sweden in February 2017, the two ladies visited the Fryshuset Youth Center, where this photo was taken.No one would deny that Queen Silvia is very well-conserved for her 76 years (74 in the photo), because she obviously is.
The point I want to make is that there should be a proportion between a person's age and role in life and the public message she sends.
If a young female basketball player were to enter the Swedish Royal Palace and pretend to assume the role of a queen, most probably the Master of Ceremony would quickly put her in her place. And he would be right to do so. It would be a manifestation of egalitarianism on the part of that young woman.
Now, why is the reciprocal also not true? I believe it is.
When a queen strives to act like a basketball player, she pays tribute to egalitarianism as well. She should maintain her role and dignity.
Someone may object: Don't you see that she is just trying to appear younger?
Yes, I see. So, the conclusion is that, in an attempt to appear younger, she forgets her role and falls onto the slippery slope of egalitarianism.
Vanity always carries along with it some other bad defect when it manifests itself.
It would be much simpler and better had she carried out her elevated role as Queen of Sweden, very proportionate to her... as she does in the magnificent photo below where she appears with her husband, King Carl XVI Gustaf.
Don't strive to act younger than you are.
Elaine Jordan
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