LONDON -- The British are currently in one of those moods of self-congratulation and self-esteem that seizes them from time to time.
This is not because all is well within Britain. In fact it is far from perfect and the overall state of society could be described as thoroughly unsettled. But the cause of the British people's momentary contentment lies not within themselves but in the fact that their extraordinarily popular and much loved monarch, Queen Elizabeth the Second, has reached the age of 80 in excellent health amid general rejoicing.
The main credit for this happy state must go to the queen herself, who over the years has proved to a cynical and shallow-thinking world that an institution that many in the 20th century were ready to condemn as out of date and belonging to the past can in fact be crafted into an invaluable part of the future, a rock of continuity in a universe changing much too fast for many people and knocking away the props of security and certainty that most human beings crave.