Margaret Thatcher Belongs to the Ages Now

The funeral for Margaret Thatcher was formal and personal at the same time. It is not often that when a casket enters a church the mourners rise to applaud. They applauded Mrs. Thatcher today at St. Paul's Cathedral. The British people turned out in the thousands to watch the cortege pass. Those who had threatened to interfere were few and unimportant. The woman who was the creator of modern Britain still dominates post-World War II British politics. Her conservative beliefs about personal liberty and responsibility, her speeches and leadership style are the foundation for all British political discussions and programs -- one is a Thatcherite or one is not, but one must deal with the Iron Lady. In Europe, that legacy is carried on by current British Prime Minister David Cameron and if his call for Europe to roll back much of its mindless regulation to the member nations succeeds, it will be another victory for Mrs. Thatcher. We who loved Margaret Thatcher for her political courage and determination also knew that she was a Christian whose efforts at making economic and political equality a reality were founded not only in her conservative principles but in her religious convictions. Representatives from 170 countries were present to bid her farewell today. She is gone from us but her long shadow protects and encourages us still, wherever we may be in the world she loved, challenged and left better than she found it.