Margaret Thatcher was humble-home raised by hardworking parents ... and Oxford educated because Margaret worked diligently ...and lived according to principles of personal responsibility. She became the first woman elected to Parliament ...and the only woman for a very long time.
With deep courage, Margaret led her colleagues to bypass succumbing to fear of being "unpopular." Constituency were clamoring for more, and more, then even more government hand-outs. Margaret's forecast was certain: succumbing to fear of political censor would bankrupt Great Britain. Burgeoning labor union activists riled up and inflamed unionized workers to out-of-hand protests, hate, victim -thinking ... mob acts of bullying.
In spite of the smears, malignant, violence, work shut-downs that made the country literally stink, Margaret steadfastly refused to succumb to misguided entitlement thinking and community organized gang tactics. Well-known today, the result of standing firm on principle "put the great back in Great Britain" because representatives followed her caution to think and act according to this principle: human beings have inherent powers causing them (when not patronized, underestimated) to develop personal industry, personal and social responsibility, and self-respect through activating their own powers in the world, making contributions of social merit.
Margaret encouraged parliament to behave on principle, not fear: "Shake the shackles of socialism!"
When desire to preserve the good life is threatened by fear and denial, too many of us are seduced into thinking what we see, hear, practice currently through our presidential policies, are not the toddler steps toward Socialism.
It's comforting instead to think "positive" thoughts, hoping our freedom life needs no preservation, conservation, affirmation, nor persistent attention. Mindful attention and visioning are necessary but are they sufficient in this material world where some play "nice" and other play bully?
I prefer to follow Quaker advice: Pray, but move your feet! When budgets are avoided, bills are passed into law without being read, elected officials are admonished into voting BEFORE reading, social security served as a slush fund, and our tax dollars are blown because big brother lobbies promise votes and campaign money then we all need to study the underlying issues. It's comic relief though to simply recall the song so many grew up on ("It's not easy being green...").
And we've been culturally trained by media to think kindly of green...mother nature's green, you know. Spring and summer are green. Things that grow and clean the air we breathe are green. We have really deep and vital associations with the color green. Don't we?
Marketing knows that. Advertising knows that. Community organizers know that. Hmmmm, we thought green could only be good ... never considered those wily ways...how could the deep meaning of green change?
" It's not easy being green...easier, sweeter to disregard the direction in which this leads us. This quandary brings to mind Laugh-In's Arte Johnson's soldier, characterized as peering out from brush. As he cautiously takes in the panorama, we hear him whisper, "Interesting! ... Very interesting! ... Interesting ... but STUPID!"
We prefer to be polite, well-mannered, "trusting." So we think instead that America will always be America ...just different. Yes, we can change. Life changes, even when we don't want it to. All changes are not good. All differences are not the same . We live on a planet where everything is relative and all choices matter.
It's tempting to blur our acquired view of the Emperor -not look beneath his very fancy rhetoric, not connect the his vague dots, not notice his nakedness. (Cognitive dissonance is an exacting psychological master.)
It's impolite to pull back the curtain of OZ and see behind what is pocketed, hidden, covered up. Civilized, cultured adults tend to avert their gaze from ugly, even unpleasant revelations . And it takes time. And we've learned to be rushed...and gratified...and we feel better about ourselves, about our lives when we behave in polite ways...even when "others" won't!
But just from time time to time pay a little attention to elsewhere:
...look to Greece,Portugal, Italy, Ireland noticing how socialism plays out far away
...look to Syria, Egypt, Yemen (yeah, might as well scan the entire Middle East) to see how well polite people's sanctions work to reduce big boy "bullying." (Professionals know that the only thing to reverse bullying in schools is All Hands On Deck. (All adults, including the kids' parents, strictly confronting and staving even "hints" of bullying.)
...look to history, for instance the revolutions of France and Russia: the recipe for violent destruction is to increase class consciousness while simultaneously frittering away resources (very passive aggressive), fuel strong divisions and distrust based on money and affiliations, fan flames of anger into sizzling hatreds, encourage outrageous mob behavior (bullying), finally use "fear-speak" to threaten and forecast victimization.
I look and listen and vote for the conservation of the America (imperfect but growing more conscious each decade). What principles grow a greater and better garden of diversity and human best?
No comments:
Post a Comment