Some events in the last 24 hours have made me ashamed to be British. The "parties" that took place in Glasgow, Bristol and Brixton to mark the death of Lady Thatcher were an absolute disgrace, and reveal just how utterly sick many on the Left are. They may not have agreed with her policies, but to mark her demise in this way is a singular act of ill-taste. In the heat of my anger at these morons, I did momentarily wonder whether I might have joined in a party to celebrate the demise of, say Tony Blair or Peter Mandelson, but in reality, I could not see myself actually doing this. After all, God "delighteth not in the death of the wicked," so those of us that seek to follow Him should imitate His example.
There was an earlier occasion when the death of a female British ruler was marked by celebrations. In November 1558, when Queen Mary died, bonfires were lit to mark her passing. During her five-year reign, no fewer than 300 people had been put to death by burning, purely because they had come to trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation, and rejected the superstitions of the Roman Catholic church, in particular the absurd doctrine of transsubstantiation - that the bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. However, it wasn't just Evangelical believers who must have rejoiced on hearing the news that this reign of terror was now over. Most of the population were glad to see the end of her. Besides the burnings, her reign was marked by the loss of the last of England's possessions in France and by our subjugation to the might of Spain. National self-esteem had taken a nosedive under her rule. One can understand, with such a catalogue of disasters, why the nation celebrated so enthusiastically the thought that her half-sister Elizabeth was to replace her on the throne of England.
Of course, the revellers in Glasgow would probably wish to paint Lady Thatcher in similar language, but they are wrong - totally wrong. Rather than dragging our nation down, she raised it up again. Rather than persecuting, she brought in freedom. She is accused of creating a divided society, but this is nonsense. A nation like Britain will always be divided. There will always be both the aspirational and the lazy, there will always be both freedom-lovers and control freaks. There will always be both entrepreneurs and whingers. Mrs Thatcher favoured the former of each of these three categories above, and not the latter. She was right to do so.
The irony is that those who are celebrating her demise in such a despicable fashion owe to her the very freedom to do so. When she came to power in 1979, the threat of totalitarian Marxism was very real. By the time she left office, the Warsaw Pact was gone and the Soviet Union had less than a year to go. Perhaps those who denigrate her might like to reflect what would have happened to anyone who celebrated the death a year ago of North Korea's Kim Il-Sung in Pyongyang in similar style to last night's "partying" in Glasgow - and be thankful for her legacy.
There was an earlier occasion when the death of a female British ruler was marked by celebrations. In November 1558, when Queen Mary died, bonfires were lit to mark her passing. During her five-year reign, no fewer than 300 people had been put to death by burning, purely because they had come to trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation, and rejected the superstitions of the Roman Catholic church, in particular the absurd doctrine of transsubstantiation - that the bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. However, it wasn't just Evangelical believers who must have rejoiced on hearing the news that this reign of terror was now over. Most of the population were glad to see the end of her. Besides the burnings, her reign was marked by the loss of the last of England's possessions in France and by our subjugation to the might of Spain. National self-esteem had taken a nosedive under her rule. One can understand, with such a catalogue of disasters, why the nation celebrated so enthusiastically the thought that her half-sister Elizabeth was to replace her on the throne of England.
Of course, the revellers in Glasgow would probably wish to paint Lady Thatcher in similar language, but they are wrong - totally wrong. Rather than dragging our nation down, she raised it up again. Rather than persecuting, she brought in freedom. She is accused of creating a divided society, but this is nonsense. A nation like Britain will always be divided. There will always be both the aspirational and the lazy, there will always be both freedom-lovers and control freaks. There will always be both entrepreneurs and whingers. Mrs Thatcher favoured the former of each of these three categories above, and not the latter. She was right to do so.
The irony is that those who are celebrating her demise in such a despicable fashion owe to her the very freedom to do so. When she came to power in 1979, the threat of totalitarian Marxism was very real. By the time she left office, the Warsaw Pact was gone and the Soviet Union had less than a year to go. Perhaps those who denigrate her might like to reflect what would have happened to anyone who celebrated the death a year ago of North Korea's Kim Il-Sung in Pyongyang in similar style to last night's "partying" in Glasgow - and be thankful for her legacy.