The Power of a Lady

The Iron Lady-

The Russians gave Margaret Thatcher that name.  Even the commies knew she was tough stuff.

Back in the summer, I finally watch Iron Lady and wrote about it. I went on to read The Downing Years, but I didn't write about that. 

Isaac texted me yesterday shortly after dropping me off at work to tell me that Margaret Thatcher was dead.  Tears swelled into my eyes, despite knowing she'd been ill for sometime and probably herself admit that she was no longer quite the spring chicken she had been. 

How does one properly describe a woman so loved by many and hated by others?  To me, Maggie is a hero of the modern age, shaping Britain into a nation where private business and the pride to care for oneself were priority.  She stood firm in her belief that free market enterprise was the way to secure Britain back into the world picture after destruction and recession from WWII.  She thought little of the EU and worked hard to keep Britain sovereign from it.  If you know your end times Bibical prophesies, you know how wise this is.  Yet, I know she stepped on many toes and upturned lives as she pushed for less unions, less government involvement of business, and a retraction of the 'nanny state' that Britain had become.  Evidence of those still ruffled feathers were on prominent display in many city centers across the UK as news of her death was revealed.  It saddens me that anyone would rejoice in any death.  We're not home yet....

Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, another hero of mine, had such a complex relationship, and I love that the non-history buff types are starting to see that as the media as played on it in the last 24 hours.  I find it fascinating how they worked together to bring a collapse to communism in Russia and throughout Eastern Europe with diplomacy and not guns.  They chose to keep their enemies close and look for common ground to make their case. 

The world needs more women who don't necessarily scream women's lib or sex appeal but have the spunk and determination to make a difference in the world.  She used class and grace to make a point in a male dominated world.  The power of good will win-I think she learned this well.  The world will miss you, Maggie.  Thank you for leaving it a better place. 

Favorite quotes from the Iron Lady:

Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't.

Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction.

What is success? I think it is a mixture of having a flair for the thing that you are doing; knowing that it is not enough, that you have got to have hard work and a certain sense of purpose.

 It pays to know the enemy - not least because at some time you may have the opportunity to turn him into a friend.  (said about Gorbachev...love!)

Democratic nations must try to find ways to starve the terrorist and the hijacker of the oxygen of publicity on which they depend.

Ought we not to ask the media to agree among themselves a voluntary code of conduct, under which they would not say or show anything which could assist the terrorists' morale or their cause while the hijack lasted.

(During Margaret's  time as Prime Minister, the Lockerbie Bombing and a personal terroristic attack on her by the IRA shook Britain hard.  These last two quotes speak to me, especially in light of what would later occur in American history.  If only these bits of wisdom had been heeded).