Earlier this week the death was announced of Margaret Thatcher, Baroness, former Prime Minister, ex Member of Parliament, wife, mother and grandmother.  As regards the plaudits, I could go on and on.  Since her death was announced, at the age of 87, the political pundits, politicians from the various parties, former statesmen and women, peers of the Realm, union leaders, union members and many people from all walks of life – especially commoners – have been voicing their opinions on television.  When watching the news programmes, etcetera, it has been impossible to escape the political winds of opinion that have been advanced – and, to say the least – the immediate conclusion to which one is forced is that they are all very widely at variance, one with another.

Many experts have said that Mrs Thatcher, if nothing else, exerted a very divisive influence on the Nation, and this is certainly one of the big impressions one is left with, after listening to all the reports.  By many, especially the past and present members of her own Conservative Party, she was a very strong Prime Minister who, to some extent, restored Great Britain to something of its former glory; they would argue that her influence and legacy is still apparent today.  There are millions, I would suggest, holding firm to quite the opposite point of view.  To the unions and many of the union members, she was hated for the policies she adopted, forcing these through Parliament and into legislation in the teeth of virulent opposition; millions of working class people still blame her Thatcherite policies for the effect they had on them, their families and their working lives.

In this short blog, I have no wish to join the debate, one way or another; I do not consider myself qualified to judge the lady who was re-elected three times to the highest office in the land.  I am quite sure that, just as we are all less than perfect, so was Margaret Thatcher. She will have introduced many things into this United Kingdom that were good.  Equally, I am quite sure that, in some areas, she made mistakes; in all of us, there is good and bad, correctness and error – and sometimes it takes time and distance in order to assess, correctly and with prudent detachment, the rights and wrongs of a person’s life – especially, one in high office – the highest in the country.

But, there is one point I wish to make – and to make it forcefully.  Since her death was announced just a day or two ago, many of her supporters have heaped praise on her as a person and on the politics she followed.  Many have disagreed with such opinions and have decried her and her policies, and they, to be sure, are entitled to their opinions.  But, already, we have heard many heaping shame on her and her life.  I have heard at least one say she should have died 60 years ago and then the damage she did to this country would not have happened.  There have been ‘malodorous’ celebrations of her passing in Scotland, in some areas of the North of England and some politicians have voiced their view that she was the most divisive person ever to have held political high office and that the population will never recover from the disastrous things she did in the name of Britain. What has not so much surprised me, rather confirming in me the lack of good values in our British society is the apparent hate, that did not take long to come to the fore, in some sections of the population. Some exhibit the most disgraceful lack of respect for a person that has just died, but this does not seem to matter to the people who are calling her by every infamous name conceivable.

In my humble opinion, a woman, ostensibly a Christian, who served the country as a ‘patriot’ for many years, wife, mother and grandmother, has died and gone to meet her Maker.  I believe she will have to account for her actions when she meets her God in heaven, and in such circumstances, demanding the proper level of respect from ordinary people everywhere, is the least we should be doing.

Our Christian values are not to pour scorn and hatred on her and her life, when her body lies inert in its coffin. The negative values may be understandable, as she may have hurt some classes of people – in whatever way.  But, the values we should live by, and the only ones that will bring peace and harmony to our country, include that we should forgive those who have ‘trespassed against us’. There is no real alternative: it is the only way to live out our human existence. The laws of the Gospel are not so much remote laws from on high; rather, they set out what is true for the inner spirit of the person and therefore of the community or common good. What is presently going on in this country of ours, from some sections of the population, is nothing to do with love or forgiveness:  the message is simply one of hate, hate, hate!

I write this, not judging those who engage in this futile exercise, but pointing out the objective facts. It is well known that hate does more harm to the hater than the hated. This does not mean that we should not have opinions that we passionately believe in; rather it is the hate, itself, that is in question.

So, just what are so many of our fellows in Britain playing at in 2013? It seems to me that whatever it is, it has nothing to do with Christianity; yet, it has a lot to say about our British people of today.  I have a feeling that there may be more balanced feelings for her in foreign lands.  I wonder!

Socius