I know you can be overwhelmed, and you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?

10 years ago today was the funeral service for Diana, formerly the princess of England and wife of the crown prince.

I've lived 3 years of my life in England, so I'm not totally ignorant of the monarchy and the role it plays in the life of the people, but I never quite understood the sainthood afforded Diana, particularly in her later years.

Jeffrey Weiss posted what I was thinking then ... and now: Ten years after Diana, I still agree with me

Consider her as a role model: not for my niece, thank you.
Adultery, self-mutilation, bulimia. Not to mention a learned
ability to get down and dirty with her unpleasant ex-husband and
his allies in the use of the media as a weapon of revenge.

Yes, she seems to have been a doting mother. But I hope that our
world is not so fallen to make that an amazing achievement.

I'm not so much suggesting she deserves/deserved bashing, belittling and carrying on, but even after 10 years I find it odd she is so revered.

Weiss draws a parallel to John F. Kennedy, but I'm probably the bad Ag for not quite understanding the greatness there either.

Coming from a corrupt family, having a reputation for gross infidelity, and having ties to the murder of Marilyn Monroe, I'm not seeing the "saintworthiness." Was he that accomplished as a president?

I'm not a hater just because I disagree with his socialistic tendencies and I know there have been many politicians who were corrupt, and I'm suggesting we not dote on them either, regardless of party affiliation.

I think much of the tragedy with both Diana & JFK centers around perceived potential that was not realized, as Weiss alludes.

I'm not suggesting that Diana couldn't have accomplished great things had she lived. The resumes of most 36-year-olds offer more evidence of potential than achievement.

Suppose Kennedy finishes his term & office and doesn't even get re-elected in '64? Remember, he barely won in '60 over Nixon and his presidency wasn't exactly smooth (e.g., Bay of Pigs fiasco). Suppose he's a "one-hit wonder" with regard to the presidency and goes on to obscurity? Is his legacy founded upon celebrity and perceived great potential that was brutally cut short?

I just wonder if such tragic deaths are not the cause of many being regarded as heroes or role models, etc.

I don't even know if Diana saw herself as a role model or wanted to be such. I'm confident she was not seeking fame to the point of her tragic death. She was not the princess when she died; she had moved on in her life to another man.

The media was pursuing her and I'll never quite understand the obsession, but I think it simultaneously led to her death and perpetuity.