There is a great deal I could write about this week regarding national politics – such as a president thinking it witty to tell a Pocahontas joke to a group of Native American war heroes, or the increasingly interesting race to become the next governor of Colorado. I could write about the dangerous and draconian Republican tax bill, and the hogwash the GOP is spouting to support it. Yes, there are many important subjects that merit a close and insightful examination, because they may change the world. But I’m not going to do that.

Maybe it’s the leftover turkey slowing things down, or maybe I’m looking out the window at yet another gorgeous Colorado morning, but I just don’t want to type the words “Trump” or “estate tax” or “I-25 widening project” today. Rather, I want to focus on something far more dangerous to the American way of life. Something so insidious as to make other threats to our way of life seem as unimportant as a snow drift from 1958. Today, I want to warn you about the gravest danger we face – the British “royal” family.

Ok, it’s quite possible I overstated things in that last paragraph. But I do want to talk about the “royals” because they are back in the news. I speak of course about the upcoming nuptials of Prince Harry and Wallis Simpson, I mean Meghan Markle. First, let me be very clear as to what I see as the problem here. It’s not Harry himself. He appears by all accounts to be a pretty good guy. It’s not about his big brother William, who seems nice as well. It’s not about Charles or Elizabeth or Camilla or any other member of the “royal” family. Rather, it’s about that very term, “royal,” and how way too many Americans think about it in a positive light. Are the quote marks too subtle?

I remember clearly the Diana craze that swept our country. The TV ratings for her wedding to Charles topped 28 million. We seem very interested in the cute pictures William and his lovely bride release of their cute kids. Again, they all seem like nice folks, but that is not the point. So what is the point?

The point is, the concept of a “royal” family is quite simply, the most un-American thing there is! The entire point of the Revolutionary War was to rid ourselves of a king (note the lack of a capital K, I’m trying to make a point here). The Founding Generation (note the capital letters here) fought a war against the most powerful military the world had ever known for the basic idea that no man or woman is better than any other because of whom their daddy was. Monarchy should be the most repugnant concept possible. Yet a poll a few years back found that 82 percent of the American public approved of Elizabeth and her reign. And 23 million more Americans watched the 2011 wedding of William and Kate. Again, they seem like nice people, but the very concept that they are “special” in some way due to the accident of their births is, say it with me, the most un-American thing there is!

We Americans tend to love the “royal” family and say it’s about the traditions, the pomp and ceremony. We liked Diana as a good person. We love William and Harry for their service and their basic goodness. But again, that’s not the point!

I’ve had the honor of rendering a salute to several recipients of the Medal of Honor. I’ve shaken the hand of a Tuskegee Airman. I grew up worshiping a father who served in WWII on the Manhattan Project. Many years ago I had the honor of introducing the last American woman to fly fighters (as a WWII ferry pilot) to the woman who would be the next to fly fighters (one of my USAF Academy students).  If you are looking for people to honor, we have plenty. But in every case, these are Americans who earned their place of honor through deeds, not birth.

So, my friends, I beg of you, please STOP loving the “royals” anywhere you find them. They may be nice folks, but they are born no better than anyone else. Save the love for those that have earned it through accomplishment, not genetics. Oh, and the Kansas City Royals are actually named after cows, not kings, so they are ok to cheer for.