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Jewish World Review Apr. 16, 2013/ 6 Iyar, 5773 Britain's hateful politics By Cal Thomas
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
If you think U.S. politics has become too corrosive, consider the British variety. Call it patty cake vs. cage fighting. "Death parties" have been held across the UK at which anti-Thatcherites celebrated her passing. Anarchists, who demonstrated their hatred for Thatcher over the weekend, plan to join other haters for a demonstration at her funeral on A veteran The Daily Mail reported that a drama teacher named Romany Blythe called Baroness Thatcher a "despot" and said: "They danced in the streets when Hitler died, too." Some students who attended death parties were too young, or not yet born, to be aware of the Thatcher years.
These are the products of "higher" education. One student who attended a death party was quoted as saying she didn't become a liberal until she went to university. No surprise there. Why such visceral reactions to a woman who served her country for 11 years as prime minister? For many, government is a drug to which they have become addicted. They need the drug to survive. The British press has reported on families in which several generations have been on "benefits" with no expectation of ever working, and no motivation for finding work. They are offended by suggestions they look for a job. Thatcher sought to break that cycle and in so doing angered many who thought it their "right" to be on the receiving end of other people's money. The debate in the UK mirrors that taking place in The battle being fought in both countries is between those who value the individual as supreme and others who regard the state as supreme. In the UK and U.S., government has exceeded its boundaries and just as last winter's floods in the UK have caused severe damage, there has been similar damage to liberty and the promotion of capitalism in both countries. The Cameron government has cautiously tried to emulate Thatcher in its reform attempts. These include the costly and underperforming National Health Service -- a preview of coming attractions if Obamacare is fully implemented in the U.S. next year. If Cameron succeeds, the left will probably celebrate his eventual demise, too. Such is the poisoned well of British politics.
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JWR contributor Cal Thomas is co-author with Bob Beckel, a liberal Democratic Party strategist, of "Common Ground: How to Stop the Partisan War That is Destroying America". Comment by clicking here.
© 2011, Tribune Media Services, Inc.
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