I was browsing the internet recently, and at the bottom of my search result page were a few links. One of them said "American castles", I was interested and clicked. I found an article, on CNN, that was supposed to be about seven grand castles in the US. I usually tend to avoid comment sections, as they tend to be full of hate and general stupidity---and especially on something like CNN, but I decided to stroll through the comments.

I actually regretted doing this. There honestly wasn't a positive comment in sight. Many comments (if not all) said repeatedly "they're not castles!". Well, yeah, of course they aren't fortified castles. These were mansions and estates that were pretty to look at and visit. But there was hostility, too. People called them "silly", "too much work", "blowing money", and, of course, "not real castles". Every comment was like this. Why do people believe that the US has an obsession with royalty? I don't see any kings or queens, actual fortified castles, or areas that are made sure to look Medieval. The thing is, we are all going to die at some point. But the world doesn't have to be a blank slate without joy or happiness. If you have the money, and you have the ambition, what's wrong with building something that's grand and pleasant to the eyes? I'm not saying to waste all of your money away, but I see nothing wrong with having/creating something nice for everyone to enjoy. And does it really matter how young our country is, or if real castles were in our time? Does that mean we can't build castle-esque buildings for the fun of it? No, no it doesn't.

I'm sure the mansions and the estates took a lot of money and time, but I also bet that that money had to actually be worked for. I don't understand the hostility of the comments, what's the issue? Can't people just not take things so seriously these days? None of the castles were actual castles---yes, people are well aware of that. CNN called them castles, not the people who built them. In fact, in the article itself they went on to say not castles in the "classical" sense. Like with the Biltmore, no one in North Carolina calls it The Biltmore Castle. People call it the Biltmore Estate, because that is what it is. Sometimes I believe that people just try to stir up trouble or just make it a personal goal to be so judgmental and not take pleasure in anything. At least, that's what seemed to be the case in the comments. All of the places, castles or not, were all beautiful and grand. It's not being silly or an obsession. One commenter went on to say how the US has no culture and is all "boxes"---and went on to prove his point by nodding towards McDonalds and Walmart as his "proof". If he'd do his research, or even travel across the States, he would see the opposite. America's culture is its own and is mixed with almost every other culture in the world. We don't all speak only one language, we don't all have the same accent, we don't all do the same things, etc.

I've been to places where signs are translated into other languages. I've heard Americans speak other languages, and have seen whom I took to be tourists speak another language fluently. My point is, there's nothing wrong with building something grand. There's no reason to be so hostile towards another country or buildings. People need to learn how to enjoy life again, while they are able to. I don't know if all of these places' official names have "castle" in them, but it still stands that people don't have to take it so literally. Sometimes a name is just a name.