La dame de fer (the iron lady) has left the building; departing with her coat buttoned and her dignity intact, as my mother would say.
A few days ago, the mob demonstrated their hatred of her.
The ferocity that the Iron Lady Prime Minister stirred up in the public mind, was unprecedented.
Glenda Jackson spewed venom in the house of commons, mob demonstrations took place on London streets, anger not displayed since the poll tax days.
Unbridled hatred from men and women of all rungs along the rickety social ladder, united by intense, and longstanding grudges against MT.
Bile from all classes, and the usual outpourings from the usual gentlemen with the rotten teeth, a scene Dickens would have relished.
With 4000 police in force and cameras watching each minor episode of the parade, it would have been difficult for the protesters to emit more than a weak boo here and there. This was evident as the coffin was making its way along the route, demonstrators were muffled with applause.
The Iron Lady Prime Minister was wrong in some of her key judgements, but whether or not she was the evil witch portrayed is another matter.
Her limitations and prejudices were on show, yes, indeed they were; never hidden, and to her credit, she never flinched from criticism. Her ambition was obvious; Margaret Thatcher owned up to and expressed her ideas to the hilt; she was often unbearable.
She was a lioness, and a decisive leader. My ancestors in Ireland may spin in their graves, I'm supposed to dislike her for what she represents. Yet I feel admiration. Perhaps Margaret didn't spare much of a thought for those who stumbled outside of her ideology; people such asthe Irish, or those whom she regarded as 'terrorists',people like Nelson Mandela (and maybe also the Scots, was the Baroness of Kilmarnock at St Pauls I wonder?).
Or so we are led to believe.
But how much of this anti-Thatcherism is rhetoric, the story of seething 'socialism', stripped of its innate power and dignity, reduced to rabble rousing contempt, a hatred of her individuality as it may appear in their eyes. Did Margaret Thatcher destroy pure socialism and the welfare state?
Or was socialism already in decline by the time she put the final nail in the lid of its coffin.
In Brighton, her stance against the bombers was brave, foolhardy, and politically brilliant. I believe she was right in facing down the IRA, and who cannot admire such a show of strength against the extortionists of fear.
Her political reign oversaw an era of enormous conflict and social change. When the dust of history settles we may consider her with fresh eyes, or we may not.
If nothing else, we need to understand this lady, what made her tick, what were her true greatnesses, and flaws. Can we learn from her in a balanced, detached, and yes, scientific way, as cold as that seems.
Adopting comfort zone slogans is a useless strategy; a strategy of the weak. It won't teach anyone much. We ought to acknowledge the artfulness of a distinctive mind. Whatever else she was, Margaret Thatcher was possibly the most skilful player of the world political game, at least during the latter half of the 20th Century.
That may be her memory.
A few days ago, the mob demonstrated their hatred of her.
The ferocity that the Iron Lady Prime Minister stirred up in the public mind, was unprecedented.
Glenda Jackson spewed venom in the house of commons, mob demonstrations took place on London streets, anger not displayed since the poll tax days.
Unbridled hatred from men and women of all rungs along the rickety social ladder, united by intense, and longstanding grudges against MT.
Bile from all classes, and the usual outpourings from the usual gentlemen with the rotten teeth, a scene Dickens would have relished.
With 4000 police in force and cameras watching each minor episode of the parade, it would have been difficult for the protesters to emit more than a weak boo here and there. This was evident as the coffin was making its way along the route, demonstrators were muffled with applause.
The Iron Lady Prime Minister was wrong in some of her key judgements, but whether or not she was the evil witch portrayed is another matter.
Her limitations and prejudices were on show, yes, indeed they were; never hidden, and to her credit, she never flinched from criticism. Her ambition was obvious; Margaret Thatcher owned up to and expressed her ideas to the hilt; she was often unbearable.
She was a lioness, and a decisive leader. My ancestors in Ireland may spin in their graves, I'm supposed to dislike her for what she represents. Yet I feel admiration. Perhaps Margaret didn't spare much of a thought for those who stumbled outside of her ideology; people such asthe Irish, or those whom she regarded as 'terrorists',people like Nelson Mandela (and maybe also the Scots, was the Baroness of Kilmarnock at St Pauls I wonder?).
Or so we are led to believe.
But how much of this anti-Thatcherism is rhetoric, the story of seething 'socialism', stripped of its innate power and dignity, reduced to rabble rousing contempt, a hatred of her individuality as it may appear in their eyes. Did Margaret Thatcher destroy pure socialism and the welfare state?
Or was socialism already in decline by the time she put the final nail in the lid of its coffin.
In Brighton, her stance against the bombers was brave, foolhardy, and politically brilliant. I believe she was right in facing down the IRA, and who cannot admire such a show of strength against the extortionists of fear.
Her political reign oversaw an era of enormous conflict and social change. When the dust of history settles we may consider her with fresh eyes, or we may not.
If nothing else, we need to understand this lady, what made her tick, what were her true greatnesses, and flaws. Can we learn from her in a balanced, detached, and yes, scientific way, as cold as that seems.
Adopting comfort zone slogans is a useless strategy; a strategy of the weak. It won't teach anyone much. We ought to acknowledge the artfulness of a distinctive mind. Whatever else she was, Margaret Thatcher was possibly the most skilful player of the world political game, at least during the latter half of the 20th Century.
That may be her memory.
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