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Weaver: Thatcher Was A True Leader

A post-Vietnam America adrift in self-doubt; a hostage crisis in Iran; gas lines; stagflation biting at family budgets: This was the weary reality of 1979, the year I was born. But it also marked the rise of Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II and Margaret Thatcher, a generation of world…

A post-Vietnam America adrift in self-doubt; a hostage crisis in Iran; gas lines; stagflation biting at family budgets: This was the weary reality of 1979, the year I was born.

But it also marked the rise of Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II and Margaret Thatcher, a generation of world leaders who in the famous words of William F. Buckley dared to “stand athwart history yelling ‘Stop!’”.

And this week, as we commemorate the life and passing of the last of these transformational figures, I stop to consider the personal impact of this lady I never met.

The friendship of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan form my earliest political memories. Even as a child, there was something deeply compelling about the British lady with the famous iron will. The Christmas I was 14, I asked for and received her memoirs, “The Downing Street Years.” While much of the policy was beyond my understanding at the time, I distinctly remember being struck by the clarity of her conviction and one specific bit of wisdom she shared early in the book: “You cannot lead from the crowd.”

It is this conception of leadership that I believe defines the essential meaning of Lady Thatcher’s legacy, whether you agree or disagree with her policies.

In a post-modern world where all truth is said to be relative, it may seem the height of arrogance to be so sure of your principles. But in reality, exactly the opposite is the case. Humility – paired with unshakeable conviction – defines transformational leadership by keeping a leader focused, not on the constant criticism or fleeting praise of people around them, but on the ultimate goal.

And this unwavering focus was a hallmark of the leadership of both Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. They were willing to be lonely, mocked and even put in harm’s way for their unshakeable conviction in the power of freedom to bring down tyrants and unleash opportunity for all. And they were relentlessly optimistic in their approach to challenges.

Their leadership brought an Evil Empire to its knees. Their leadership reversed a generation of economic downturn and stagnation. Their leadership shifted the entire paradigm of a generation of political thought, left and right, back towards market-based policies.

And their leadership taught us to hope. To believe once again in the boundless possibility of free men and women working together in common cause. Looking back, I now realize what an immeasurable blessing it was to grow up this time of renewed optimism, where even in the face of daunting obstacles, we were assured that our best days were still to come. That decline was not inevitable.

But their leadership also demonstrated the timeless words of Jefferson that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. Armed with courageous conviction, faith and abiding good humor, they faced down the existential challenges of their time. And their shining example beckons us to do the same.

May our generation prove worthy of their legacy and sacrifice. Rest in peace, Lady Thatcher.

Ellen Weaver is president and CEO of the Palmetto Policy Forum. Her column – reprinted with permission – originally appeared in The Greenville News.

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24 comments

lowcorider April 17, 2013 at 4:26 pm

Brilliant article and without a single use of the word bitch.

Reply
9" April 18, 2013 at 5:00 am

Suck my dick,you brain-washed,no account,Bitch!

Reply
Lowcorider April 17, 2013 at 4:26 pm

Brilliant article and without a single use of the word bitch.

Reply
9" April 18, 2013 at 5:00 am

Suck my dick,you brain-washed,no account,Bitch!

Reply
Nancy Yates April 17, 2013 at 5:05 pm

LOVE Margaret Thatcher and Jefferson! Great article – only wish I had written it with such eloquence :)

Reply
9" April 18, 2013 at 5:03 am

I’d recommend the mad-cow infected sweetbreads ,whore.. ..

Reply
Nancy Yates April 17, 2013 at 5:05 pm

LOVE Margaret Thatcher and Jefferson! Great article – only wish I had written it with such eloquence :)

Reply
9" April 18, 2013 at 5:03 am

I’d recommend the mad-cow infected sweetbreads ,whore.. ..

Reply
Rush Limbuagh's pill box April 17, 2013 at 7:30 pm

Good riddance.

Reply
Guero April 17, 2013 at 10:22 pm

The people who knew her best flooded the BBC’s lines with requests to play Ding Dong the Wicked Witch is Dead. No one but wingers in America gave a shit about the ultimate English 1%er.

Reply
Rush Limbuagh's pill box April 17, 2013 at 7:30 pm

Good riddance.

Reply
Guero April 17, 2013 at 10:22 pm

The people who knew her best flooded the BBC’s lines with requests to play Ding Dong the Wicked Witch is Dead. No one but wingers in America gave a shit about the ultimate English 1%er.

Reply
fred April 17, 2013 at 10:24 pm

Do you think that jeffy duncan is sitting on the crapper with this photo in one hand and god knows what in his other?

Reply
fred April 17, 2013 at 10:24 pm

Do you think that jeffy duncan is sitting on the crapper with this photo in one hand and god knows what in his other?

Reply
9" April 18, 2013 at 4:56 am

if you can’t handle a negative comment;DELETED,why print this fucking bullshit,you motherfucking NAZI bitches

Reply
Smirks April 18, 2013 at 3:53 pm

Makes me wonder what the comment was. :

Reply
Nancy Yates April 18, 2013 at 3:56 pm

Me too, considering the content of the one above, I can only imagine….LOL

Reply
9" April 18, 2013 at 7:39 pm

I don’t expect much from the likes of you brain-washed, Reagan/Thatcher babies…who’re the tail-end of whatever you think America was.You’re going to Disney World!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj6gKxMzzG0

Reply
Nancy Yates April 19, 2013 at 6:00 pm

Awww…Poor 9″, you are mad that we can afford to go to Disney, because we never bought the BS of “socialism” and we didn’t spend YOUR money…cry me a river. Who is brain washed? You think I should YOUR way to Disney?

“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”- Margaret Thatcher

9" April 18, 2013 at 4:56 am

if you can’t handle a negative comment;DELETED,why print this fucking bullshit,you motherfucking NAZI bitches

Reply
Smirks April 18, 2013 at 3:53 pm

Makes me wonder what the comment was. :

Reply
Nancy Yates April 18, 2013 at 3:56 pm

Me too, considering the content of the one above, I can only imagine….LOL

Reply
9" April 18, 2013 at 7:39 pm

I don’t expect much from the likes of you brain-washed, Reagan/Thatcher babies…who’re the tail-end of whatever you think America was.You’re going to Disney World!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj6gKxMzzG0

Reply
Nancy Yates April 19, 2013 at 6:00 pm

Awww…Poor 9″, you are mad that we can afford to go to Disney, because we never bought the BS of “socialism” and we didn’t spend YOUR money…cry me a river. Who is brain washed? You think I should YOUR way to Disney?

“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”- Margaret Thatcher

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