pomp

“And to have those conversations, as difficult as they may be ... And that’s what it’s about. Always. Not about the pomp and circumstance and prestige, but it’s about the work.”

As president, he loved the pomp of a military parade, but hated facing the real people who serve — and are sometimes hurt or killed in real-world combat.

The pomp and ceremony of royalty doesn’t always sit easily with Prince William, neither does some of the leadership he has seen globally.

Alito joined in monarchist, militaristic pomp on the eve of the first anniversary of Donald Trump’s election to the presidency, at a time when the white supremacist violence of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville was still fresh.

The cloistered politicking devolves into lunchroom antics and social warfare akin to a high school movie, but this swirling whirlpool of interpersonal drama is grounded by the pomp and circumstance of centuries-old ritual: garments and ballots and hierarchy.