Regards, Ivan
Posted on 06/12/2004 5:34:12 PM PDT by MadIvan
AND then there was one... The striking, poignant image of a black-clad Margaret Thatcher bowed over the coffin of Ronald Reagan was an iconic snapshot of history. The partnership that demolished Communism had finally been dissolved by death. In the present era of candy-floss soundbite politics, predicated upon nothing more than the acquisition of office by manipulation of the public mood - rootless and purposeless - that wordless farewell was a moment of greatness revisited.
Lady Thatcher is now the sole survivor of a very personal alliance that remoulded the world. It is all too easy to overlook that prodigious reality, because the perception of Margaret Thatcher in Britain is distorted by party rancour, by the lingering shrieks of the dinosaurs she extinguished and by the axiom that a prophet is seldom honoured on the native heath. Yet the world view and the verdict of history place her on a very high plinth indeed - one reserved for those first-rank statesmen who have made a unique contribution to human destiny.
The history of the 20th century is bracketed - like bookends - by Lenin and Stalin at the start, Reagan and Thatcher at the end. "We will bury you!" blustered Khrushchev. Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan determined to reverse that process and to do so as bloodlessly as possible. One document, apparently trivial in character, survives to mark the birth of this formidable partnership.
On April 30, 1975, the day the Communists entered the capital of South Vietnam, bringing to naught the United States’ massive sacrifice of blood and treasure - the date that was the high-water mark of the criminal enterprise launched by Lenin in 1917 - Ronald Reagan wrote a brief letter to Margaret Thatcher. In substance, it was little more than a social thank you note; in essence, it was the launch of a crusade.
"I’ve chosen a dark day to write a belated thank you for being so generous with your time on the occasion of our recent visit," wrote the future president. "The news has just arrived of Saigon’s surrender and somehow the shadows seem to have lengthened."
That sombre opening did not reflect a defeatist attitude: he went on to invite Mrs Thatcher to America, where the alliance was forged that accomplished the destruction of the most gigantic tyranny to have defiled the history of mankind. Four years later, she was prime minister, and, shortly after, he became president of America. The outcome will preoccupy historians for centuries.
Margaret Thatcher’s domestic achievements included the ending of trade union dictatorship, the re-booting of the economy, victory in the Falklands, the reassertion of personal freedom and, above all, the restoration of national confidence and identity. Her successes will be less disputed by historians than her philosophy. Is she, in fact, a Tory? The rigidly academic answer, much rehearsed by young fogeys in watch-chains, is in the negative. According to the high priests of Tory tradition, Thatcherism is economic liberalism of the 19th-century Manchester school, reheated by Sir Keith Joseph and served with a dash of such exotic herbs as Hayek, Friedman and Pirie.
That thesis fails to explain other aspects of Margaret Thatcher’s character and beliefs that are as Tory as the primrose. Her instinctive patriotism and devotion to the national interest, the flag and the armed services; her respect for the monarchy, the House of Lords and all the other elements of tradition with which this intensely innovative prime minister never tinkered (unlike the Blair régime) - these characteristics indicate a more classically Tory mindset than is usually credited to her.
The historic Tory Party has always been a composite body. It is like a country house, with wings and accretions of differing styles and periods clustered around the original 17th-century core. Thatcherism is not part of that ancient kernel; but it is a functional extension that does not clash with the original architecture. Tory pragmatism requires certain adjustments to society in response to events: the advance of corporatism, the debilitation of the economy, the elimination of personal choice were poisons in the body politic to which Thatcherism provided the antidote.
At the heart of the largely wilful misinterpretation of Mrs Thatcher’s agenda is the famous quotation "there is no such thing as society". Taken out of context - as it invariably is - that sounds like libertarianism degenerating into anarchy. It is one of those historical canards, like Marie Antoinette’s "Let them eat cake".
Margaret Thatcher made this remark during an interview with Woman’s Own magazine on October 3, 1987. With her female audience in mind, she was making the familiar point that individuals and families must not surrender their rights and responsibilities to the state: "They’re casting their problem on society. And, you know, there is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families … It’s our duty to look after ourselves and then, also to look after our neighbour. People have got the entitlements too much in mind, without the obligations."
In other words, self-help, tempered with compassion and charity, assistance for those who need it, but no free-loading passengers. Only the most doctrinaire statist would object. Of course, there are plenty of those in Scotland, the Jurassic Park for dinosaurs, courtesy of devolution. Ritual denunciation of the poll tax ignores the fact that it was introduced, at the urgent demand of Scottish taxpayers, to redress a situation whereby 1.9 million ratepayers supported local authorities with an electorate of 3.9 million.
In the teeth of last-ditch resistance by the Scottish Left, Margaret Thatcher increased home ownership in Scotland from one-third of the population to one half. Now local authorities are planning to abolish tenants’ right to buy, as the dark waters of state control again close over the heads of Scots, in the Potemkin village created by devolution.
The sniping of pygmies at a leader of world stature can make no impact on history’s verdict. The solitary woman in black standing before Ronald Reagan’s catafalque is the liberator of hundreds of millions and one of the greatest idealists of the 20th century. In her own words: "Economics are the method; the object is to change the soul."
Regards, Ivan
Ping!
Alright Rack Maggie Thatcher and Ronnie on smackdown Communism
You know what Ivan I saw Maggie accompany Reagan family back to Cali for buriel I think Maggie be next one to go
She go fighting
I hope she has a tremendous showing of affection in Britain when it's her turn to pass from this life. Her eulogy was magnificent. She's quite a lady.
Do you agree or disagree?
Interesting that Margaret Thatcher and Gold Meier, to women of towering strength led their countries at such trying times.
Lady Thatcher's eulogy was absolutely Churchillian.
What a grand lady.
Lady Thatcher is totally cool! Her prerecorded testimonial to Reagan was awesome!
Bookmark/bump.
Thank you Lady Thatcher, Prime Minister Blair and the British people for your steadfast support in defending the precious gifts of freedom, liberty and justice and in extending these gifts to those unable to defend themselves from the throes of tyranny.
Freedom isn't free.
This is going up on my links page. A few things have been going up there these last few days.
"Lady Thatcher's eulogy was absolutely Churchillian.
What a grand lady."
Absolutely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Warmest Regards.
Margaret Thatcher - Top drawer, first class lady.
She is the one foreign leader I love. A few I admire, but that number, sadly, is dwindling.
She is a warrior!
God makes few people with the qualities of Lady Margaret Thacher
As you can see, people are reassessing Our Maggie too.
Well, they damn well better.
Reagan and Thatcher go hand in hand.
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