Margaret Thatcher in her last speech to the House of Commons, 1990. Text of her exchange here if you wish to print this out. Hat-tip to super-blogger MAinfo.com for finding this video. Nearly twenty years ago, this outspoken woman, a champion of free markets and liberty, pinpointed precisely the disease that afflicts our America. Today’s Obamanation and Congress, their fanatic obsession with attempting to level the playing field, a disaster in the making, an end-goal of equalizing misery –
“The hon. Gentleman is saying that he would rather that the poor were poorer, provided that the rich were less rich. That way one will never create the wealth for better social services, as we have. What a policy. Yes, he would rather have the poor poorer, provided that the rich were less rich. That is the Liberal policy.”
Coming from a woman whose physical stature does not allude to such a strength of character and ideas. My mind hearkens to another of modest stature and a true hero of freedom – Milton Friedman. Such simple beauty in calling a spade a spade; a socialist a socialist –
“I think that the hon. Gentleman knows that I have the same contempt for his socialist policies as the people of east Europe, who have experienced them, have for theirs. I think that I must have hit the right nail on the head when I pointed out that the logic of those policies is that they would rather the poor were poorer. Once they start to talk about the gap, they would rather that the gap were that—[indicating[—down here, not this—[indicating[—but—[indicating.] So long as the gap is smaller, they would rather have the poor poorer. One does not create wealth and opportunity that way. One does not create a property-owning democracy that way.”
This video taken in 1975, Thatcher does some ‘spring cleaning’, sweeping away the ills of socialism in this early rallying speech. Brilliantly simple, why don’t we have leaders today that champion the simple notions of individual liberty; that economic freedom and a free-market notion are as simple and necessary to a society as any other right? That to squander such freedom is no different than silencing free speech or other basic rights in a free society?
Thatcher – “Some socialists seem to believe that people should be numbers in a State computer, we believe they should be individuals, we’re all unequal, no one thank heavens is quite like anyone else however much the socialist may pretend otherwise…..a man’s right to works as he will, to spend what he earns, to own property, to have the State as servant and not as master, they are the essence of a free economy and on that freedom, all our other freedoms depend.”
Thoughts to ponder this weekend….
Reader William, inspired by the simple Thatcherisms writes –
“Truly inspiring! Margaret Thatcher stood up to the British socialist machine, known as the Labour party, with ferocity, and conviction in values that hadn’t been seen on the world stage, since a band of “right-wing extremists,” denounced the suppression of liberty from one King George the third, of England.”
“Margaret Thatcher dragged Britain out of the dark ages of soft tyranny, and into a bright and shining future filled with prosperity, natural rights and hope for generations to come. What Margaret Thatcher knows, is human nature. She understands that you can not make everyone equal in outcomes of life. Margaret Thatcher knows that through social engineering, you can not make everyone the same. Margaret Thatcher knows that by doing so, the end result is nothing more than a society of drones, as demonstrated in George Orwell’s “1984.” This is the folly of the left, and their lack of understanding of the infinitely complicated world of needs, aspirations, and ideas of the human experience. This the recklessness of the left’s lack of compassion for its fellow man.”
“And what did Britain do to reward its citizens down the road after Thatcher’s tenure? They sold out their own people, as they once did by honoring the great Winston Churchill and his defeat of evil, by voting socialists in to govern themselves. Churchill warned Britain of the persistent, yet fatal poison of collectivism, as did Lady Thatcher. And as history always does, by the sheer ignorance of those who have been victimized by propaganda and the educational system , repeats itself.”
“We’ve seen this as evidenced by Tony Blair’s so-called “third way” of looking at things, and the subsequent, malignant disaster of Gordon Brown’s “progressive,” statist policies. “
“Fortunately for Britain, and much of Europe, a shift to the right is taking place. Great orators like Daniel Hannan, armed with an abundance of strong conservative ideas, values, and the will to once again live a life of liberty, will lead the great people of Britain who have been famished by oppressive servitude, into a flourishing world of honest hope and change, for their children, and the children of their children . “
“The great people of Britain will once again turn their cloudy island of soft despotism, into the sunny greatness of liberty”
Well said William, any other thoughts dear reader?
10 comments:
That last part just smacked of Rand. Maybe Mrs. Thatcher was a fan.
When I look at how far towards socialism the U.S. and Britain have gone since the days of Thatcher and Reagan, it makes me sad.
Had their ideals carried on, we wouldn't have a nuclear North Korea and Ahmadenijad working on one. 9/11 may have just been another ordinary day. Israel would've wiped the Palestinians off the map with complete backing of the U.S. and Britain. And Iran's people longing for freedom would be acknowledged.
Unfortunately, the 1960's hippies Kumbaya-loving commune defects became old enough to hold office. Back in their youth, they felt they knew better than the adults ("Teach…your parents well…"). The problem is that they never grew up and let go of the fancies of youth.
This is the kind of leadership this world needs.
I fail to see how it would be a better world with this alternate vision of a Holocaust against the Palestinians having taken place.
dmarks — I was not implying that another Holocaust needs to happen. What I am implying is that Israel would've been FREE to defend itself against those whose only vision is to destroy Israel and anyone else who doesn't subscribe to their views. And Israel would've had our backing.
Are there people in the Middle East who truly want peace with Israel? I'm sure there are. Those people, unfortunately, have been betrayed by their leadership. Arafat never truly wanted peace; he was a member of Hamas! Think about this: If the Palestinians truly wanted peace with Israel, don't you think would've happened by now?
Btw…how many stories do you hear of Israelis sending homicide bombers into a crowded market to kill innocent people? If you think of one, let me know.
Truly inspiring! Margaret Thatcher stood up to the British socialist machine, known as the Labour party, with ferocity, and conviction in values that hadn't been seen on the world stage, since a band of "right-wing extremists," denounced the suppression of liberty from one King George the third, of England.
Margaret Thatcher dragged Britain out of the dark ages of soft tyranny, and into a bright and shining future filled with prosperity, natural rights and hope for generations to come. What Margaret Thatcher knows, is human nature. She understands that you can not make everyone equal in outcomes of life. Margaret Thatcher knows that through social engineering, you can not make everyone the same. Margaret Thatcher knows that by doing so, the end result is nothing more than a society of drones, as demonstrated in George Orwell's "1984." This is the folly of the left, and their lack of understanding of the infinitely complicated world of needs, aspirations, and ideas of the human experience. This the recklessness of the left's lack of compassion for its fellow man.
And what did Britain do to reward its citizens down the road after Thatcher's tenure? They sold out their own people, as they once did by honoring the great Winston Churchill and his defeat of evil, by voting socialists in to govern themselves. Churchill warned Britain of the persistent, yet fatal poison of collectivism, as did Lady Thatcher. And as history always does, by the sheer ignorance of those who have been victimized by propaganda and the educational system , repeats itself.
We've seen this as evidenced by Tony Blair's so-called "third way" of looking at things, and the subsequent, malignant disaster of Gordon Brown's "progressive," statist policies.
Fortunately for Britain, and much of Europe, a shift to the right is taking place. Great orators like Daniel Hannan, armed with an abundance of strong conservative ideas, values, and the will to once again live a life of liberty, will lead the great people of Britain who have been famished by oppressive servitude, into a flourishing world of honest hope and change, for their children, and the children of their children .
The great people of Britain will once again turn their cloudy island of soft despotism, into the sunny greatness of liberty.
William – well said my friend, brilliant analysis, what can I say? You are 100% correct, this goes in the post. To think that Britain and Europe are now turning to the Thatcher ideals whilst America turns socialist, statist, progressive. It is a painful irony to say the least.
Great analysis William!! Thatcher was a great leader who fought against socialism. She and Reagan made a great pair of leaders, were close, and worked well together. Obama is leading us down a very dark path. I just hope that we can stop the American people from being led down the dark path before its too late.
Thanks, Teresa! And thank you Tim for your blog and the means to provide a forum for those of us who dissent from the Washingtonians.
Teresa – I hope for the same, thanks for reading!
William – I appreciate your readership as well, and your insightful comments….
The "No, No, No" video is interesting. Talks about handing over currency to the IMF and creating a single currency- the Euro.
Dark Gravity – I agree, thanks for reading
Post a Comment