The death earlier this week of Baroness Thatcher has caused many to stop and think and remember Britain’s only female prime minister as a dedicated person of strong will, who made it to the top through hard work, personal effort and commitment to cause.
We cite these qualities because, at a time when the profession of politician has become a dirty word and with all kinds of allegations about vote buying and the like, it is timely to reflect on the life and times of a woman who decided, at a very early age, that she was committed to the patriotic cause of serving her country.
She had to overcome mountainous odds to reach the pinnacle of success but overcome them she did; and at a time when there was just enough of a breakthrough in changing attitudes towards women to allow her to be elected head of a leading political party in a major western democracy.
It was a stunning achievement and the lesson, from which we all can learn, is one that spreads far beyond politics and her native Britain. For it is in every respect a lesson for leading a purposeful life anywhere!
Many of us may take objection to the principles for which she stood; but there are certain values she upheld that are as beneficial in a local cultural context as they are wherever applied –because they “travel well”.
Courtesy, hard work, honesty and dedication to cause, and the capacity to defend one’s deeply held moral principles against deviant subcultures will ensure success wherever these qualities are practised. We have many local and regional examples of lives purposefully lived similarly exemplifying these virtues.
Yet, no man or woman is an island; and in these challenging times when some seem to think that the ancient landmarks of hard work, honesty and similar attitudes should be jettisoned in pursuit of the selfish and socially destructive mantra of a get-rich-quick mentality, the examples of those who choose a different path of the straight and narrow road must be held up for public applause and as worthy examples that our younger citizens may wish to emulate.
The point is made time and again about the impact of cultural penetration and the evils associated therewith; but it is just as easy to cull the good habits of others as it is to follow other examples of destructive behaviour. Cultural penetration will often also expose us to inspiring examples that are worthy of admiration and imitation.
Before Baroness Thatcher, it was unthinkable that a girl – born without the trappings of wealth, or the prestige of the aristocracy or the landed gentry; whose father ran a little corner shop on the first floor of his house while his family lived upstairs – could attain the powerful office of prime minister. but the major obstacles of lack of wealth, class and gender were defeated in a life of public service to country, which we commend as an inspiring example to people everywhere.
The words of the poet Henry Longfellow are appropriate:
Lives of great men all remind us /We can make our lives sublime /And, departing, leave behind us /Footprints on the sands of time.
Or, to put it another way, we all can resolve to write our name on history’s page!