Baroness Margaret Thatcher died today. I didn’t know her personally and don’t really pay much attention to politics. Besides, I was only seven years old when she became the first and only female Prime Minister of England. But she has always fascinated me. Or should I say I have always been fascinated at how many people seemed to despise her. So much so that she even got the nickname “The Iron Lady”, which is really not very becoming is it? So when a movie about her life came out I went off to see it.
Turns out, The Iron Lady had a huge effect on me and gave me a whole new perspective on what her life (or any woman in a position of power) must’ve been like and, being a woman, for living life myself.
My favourite quote from the movie was this…
“I will never be one of those women, who stay silent and pretty on the arm of her husband. Or remote and alone in the kitchen doing the washing up for that matter. One’s life must matter, Denis, beyond all the cooking and the cleaning and the children. One’s life must mean more than that. I cannot die washing up a teacup.”
Gasp! In “those days” women were generally thought to be better off in the kitchen making dinner, washing the dishes, taking care of the house and tending to the children while their husbands went out into the world and earned a living. But there was going to be none of that for Ms Thatcher. And good for her, I personally couldn’t think of anything worse. I am no major feminist (and yes, I do like a man to open a door for me, it’s called manners), but I am grateful that we have come a long way since then - and that dishwashers were invented.
I also tend to agree with her opinion that people should be encouraged to stand on their own two feet and stop whining when things go bad and do something to change it, instead of hoping someone else will.
“What I do think is a man should be encouraged to stand on his own two feet. Yes, we help people. Of course we help people, but for those who can do, they must just get up and do. And if something’s wrong, they shouldn’t just whine about it. They should get in there and do something about it. Change things.”
And here’s one that our country’s leaders could learn from…
“Gentlemen, if we don’t cut spending we will be bankrupt. Yes, the medicine is harsh, but the patient requires it in order to live. Should we withhold the medicine? No. We are not wrong. We did not seek election and win in order to manage the decline of a great nation.”
Baroness Margaret Thatcher, aka The Iron Lady, was all about principles and about working hard for what you wanted (for yourself and the good of your country) and not relying on handouts. I have the same belief system. She also became Prime Minister in a man’s world and that wasn’t easy either. Things have changed a lot these days, but it still essentially a man’s world, so I really admire her for that.
Despise her all you like, she had strong beliefs on how things should be done. Many of these beliefs are lacking today and, in my mind, attribute to the downward spiral that the world is going on. Yes, perhaps she was a little “hard” and made some mistakes, but from politicians to women, we desperately need more people like her in this world today.
RIP Baroness, I shall raise a cuppa to you this evening. And I promise not to die washing the teacup.
“Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's a day you've had everything to do and you've done it” - Margaret Thatcher
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