THE FAITH OF BARONESS THATCHER

IT IS hard to imagine a prime minister doing such a thing now, and even then it seemed rather surprising. In May 1988 Margaret Thatcher went to the General Assembly of the (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland and gave what would soon be called the Sermon on the Mound. It was an impassioned statement of a certain form of Christianity. The Conservative leader stressed individual salvation over social reform, the legitimacy of moneymaking when combined with altruism, and the “responsibility that comes with freedom and the supreme sacrifice of Christ”.

In religion, as in so much else, Mrs (later Lady) Thatcher was a bundle of paradoxes. She was the last British prime minister openly and emphatically to acknowledge the influence of Christianity on her thinking, in particular terms not fuzzy ones.
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Precisely because she had such well-defined ideas, Mrs Thatcher was almost bound to have stormy relations with England’s established religion. In her time, the Archbishop of Canterbury was Robert Runcie (pictured above), an Oxford contemporary who irked her considerably. A decorated tank commander, he commemorated the Argentine dead at a service following the Falklands war; he produced “Faith in the City”, a left-wing tract on urban blight; and he chided the government for demonising its opponents. Mrs Thatcher preferred the chief rabbi, Immanuel Jakobovits, who shared her view that self-improvement, not subsidies, would relieve poverty.

She helped to ensure that Archbishop Runcie was succeeded by George Carey, an unpretentious evangelical who this week remembered her as a person of “uncomplicated but very strong faith”.

Thatcher's political philosophy, nurtured by her view of Christianity that little resembles the Gospel, put the baroness squarely on the side of pulling oneself up by one's bootstraps and not looking to the government for support.  Her speech makes for quite an interesting read, and it's easy to see why she and Runcie did not get on, and why she wished to insure that he was not followed by another archbishop who would write "left-wing tracts" against war and sympathizing with the plight of the poor and unemployed.   Thatcher speaks of the Kingdom of God in her speech:

The New Testament is a record of the Incarnation, the teachings of Christ and the establishment of the Kingdom of God. Again we have the emphasis on loving our neighbour as ourselves and to "Do-as-you-would-be-done-by".

I believe that by taking together these key elements from the Old and New Testaments, we gain: a view of the universe, a proper attitude to work, and principles to shape economic and social life.

We are told we must work and use our talents to create wealth. "If a man will not work he shall not eat" wrote St. Paul to the Thessalonians. Indeed, abundance rather than poverty has a legitimacy which derives from the very nature of Creation.

Thatcher's view of the Kingdom of God sounds very like the prosperity gospel preached today.  All Christians are meant to be prosperous, and those who are poor - well it's their own doing.
  

TRUE HEIR TO MARGARET THATCHER - BOBBY JINDAL

What she did do was redistribute the burden of taxation downward, cutting top income tax rates while raising consumption taxes, which fall most heavily on low incomes. Her downfall came with the poll tax, a drastically regressive tax — the same amount for everyone, regardless of income — that was too much even for her own party.

And what that means is that her truest heir in America is … Bobby Jindal, the not-so-whizzy whiz-kid governor of Louisiana, who proposed scrapping his state’s income tax and replacing it with sales taxes.
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But strange to say, it’s not just Acela riders who hate this idea; so do the citizens of Louisiana, who disapprove by 63 to 27 percent. Jindal’s own approval has collapsed, so he’s having his own poll tax moment.

Bobby will be so proud.  Who knows but that Krugman's "tribute" might push Bobby's poll numbers up a bit?

ST MAGGIE AND ST RONNIE

 

I hear from English friends that the media there is trying to pretty up Margaret Thatcher's legacy, though they are not quite as fawning over there as the media here in the US. So. We have to put up with St Ronnie over here. Why shouldn't the English have St Maggie over there? It's only fair. Besides, the two were such good friends.

BARONESS MARGARET THATCHER IS DEAD

What to say?  I'd like to say R.I.P., Maggie, but what I will say is borrowed from an idea of my good friend Pj on Facebook.

May the Zooniverse look kindly upon Margaret Thatcher. And should the Almighty Ones see fit to send her on another journey through this earthly realm (once she graduates from the re-education center along with her bast mate Ronnie), may they remember to equip her with a heart.

Gold, pure gold.  My comment:

"While Maggie and Ronnie are in the great re-education center in the sky, I'd hope they'd be forced to meet up with people who were hurt by their governance, which might speed up the growth of hearts for the two."

So before I say R.I.P, I'd like that bit of re-education to happen.  Perhaps if Maggie and Ronnie met with the people who suffered from their policies, they might grow hearts that feel empathy and suffer a little for a spell as their eyes are opened.  Pj says further:

If only they could come back and tell their followers what they've learned. 

If only....  Pj, you are an inspiration.

Maggie will have a state funeral a ceremonial funeral with full military honours, without a fly-by at her own request, all the wonderful trimmings, as only the Brits can do it.  Thatcher was all for people taking care of themselves and not depending on the government, but the costs of the funeral will be great, and we know who will pay.

The leaders of both Britain and the United States seem to have got carried away in their initial statements.  We're told not to speak ill of the dead, nor are we to dance on their graves, but surely the commentary from both men is over the top - way over. 

David Cameron, who is cutting short his trip to Europe to return to London following the news, said: "It was with great sadness that l learned of Lady Thatcher's death. We've lost a great leader, a great prime minister and a great Briton."

He told the BBC: "As our first woman prime minister, Margaret Thatcher succeeded against all the odds, and the real thing about Margaret Thatcher is that she didn't just lead our country, she saved our country, and I believe she will go down as the greatest British peacetime prime minister."
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In a statement, President Barack Obama said that, "the world has lost one of the great champions of freedom and liberty, and America has lost a true friend."

"Here in America, many of us will never forget her standing shoulder to shoulder with President Reagan, reminding the world that we are not simply carried along by the currents of history—we can shape them with moral conviction, unyielding courage and iron will."

He added that her premiership was "an example to our daughters that there is no glass ceiling that can't be shattered". (My emphasis)

Thatcher is not the first woman who would leap to my mind as "an example" for my granddaughter or any other young girl or woman I knew.  Ruthlessness is no compliment to either sex, nor is it character trait worthy of recommendation to those of an impressionable age.

Perhaps the Reformers of Christianity made a mistake when they threw out Purgatory.  My vision for Purgatory would be an afterlife Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in which not just Margaret Thatcher, but all of us confront those whom we have hurt, acknowledge what we have done, and experience at least part of the pain we have inflicted on them.  Then we ask and receive forgiveness and move ahead together through the Pearly Gates.

I much preferred writing about the other English Maggie. 

NO THANK YOU, SARAH

For what it's worth, I'm trying not to write about Sarah Palin, but the article in the Guardian about Palin's attempt to have a photo-op with Margaret Thatcher tickled my funny bone.

A firestorm on the US right has erupted after the Guardian reported that Sarah Palin will be denied a meeting with Lady Thatcher on the grounds that it would be "belittling" for her to meet the darling of the Tea Party movement.

Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio host, devoted the opening section of his radio show to denouncing the "preposterous" Guardian report, as Palin supporters accused Thatcher's circle of disgracing the former prime minister.

The US conservative right reacted furiously after the Guardian reported that Thatcher's aides had decided it would be inappropriate for her to meet Palin, who is planning to visit London next month en route to Sudan.
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One Thatcher ally told the Guardian: "Lady Thatcher will not be seeing Sarah Palin. That would be belittling for Margaret. Sarah Palin is nuts."

I don't know about the rest of my fellow Americans, but I take the aide's remark as a personal affront. My favorite radio talk show host was right there with me in high dudgeon. You ain't seen nuthin' yet, until you've see Rush in firestorm mode, which he's in nearly every day. What a wonder that Rush so often finds an issue, or two, or three to set him on fire.

Lady Thatcher will be busy on July 4th attending the unveiling of a statue of Ronald Reagan in front of the US Embassy on the 100th anniversary of his birth. My question: Will Palin crash the event?

Thanks to Doug for the link.