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Tony Benn seriously ill in hospital.
BrokenArrow
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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/veteran-leftwing-politician-and-activist-tony-benn-seriously-ill-in-hospital-9123064.html
One of the old guard that holds the courage of his convictions.
One of the old guard that holds the courage of his convictions.
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Agreed. Had the pleasure of meeting him once - a proper gentleman.
Though not the one he and many of his kind believed in and that was to surrender to the I R A.
Though was an idea he seemed to move away from in latter years.
I don't remember that one.
I know he was anti EEC, proved to be right on that one.
That is far more than you can say about the majority of MP's today whose beliefs seem to change dependant on what time of day it is.
i have to say i struggle to understand this point of view.
i don't see that the strength with which one holds ones convictions is automatically something to be celebrated. particularly in the event that i judge those convictions to be wrong.
nobody i know has ever saluted a suicide bomber for his courage of conviction. or someone who has worked diligently for the KKK all his life in the face of much pressure, by saying well i disagreed with him but you have to admire his conviction.
i think he was wrong, i think he was a danger to this country. it is a personal tragedy for him and his family, obviously. but that is all.
Perhaps given the above you will then understand why there are many of us who felt the same way about Margaret Thatcher (although I hold that distinct from the abuse she received from some quarters).
In any democracy you need both those who are willing to compromise and those that are prepared to argue their own beliefs until the end. If you only have the first then you have a political process with no principles and if you only have the latter you have no political process at all.
Out of interest Flagpole - do you think it's fundamentally wrong for someone to be a Socialist?
One thing a lot of people who celebrate Margaret Thatchers convictions forget is that Tony Benn was a conviction politician wether you agreed with him or not,convictions are something very lacking in todays politicians.
He also flew a Hurricane in WW2 so he is one of a few left.
I am glad i saw him in october last year.
And another thing if it had not been for Tony Benn intervening Concorde would probably have not been developed.
Get well soon Tony one of the last of a few.:)
It is/ was in my eyes.
And here we have the I R A 's view. ;-)
Why? surely a united country is best for all its people regardless of religeon which is the real problem in ireland lets face it.
And here we have the UVF view,,,,,
No.
To both your points.
Let's not hijack this thread, I've said my bit.
I shared many of his views, not all.
You may say. that,
I couldn't possibly comment. ^_^
Politically, I find this very bad news, particularly coming so soon after the death of Pete Seeger. I have never been aligned with the Labour Left just as I have never lived in Stonehenge. But the loss of Tony would feel to me like the human equivalent for our society of losing Stonehenge. It would leave a far, far greater vacuum than the loss of any Canary Wharf. Particularly now, we need him and the few who are like him to retain our bearings as a country. They have almost a spiritual role which, while difficult to quantify, is never airy. Rather it is rock solid and at the heart. The specifics of their outlook are the lesser part in my opinion. Any fool can create noisy argument and impress with showy egotistical pretence. There are as many on the left end of the spectrum as the right. What matters is the depth of feeling, the positive vision and the knowledgeable overview. Foot had it - and so, with warts, did Powell.
Tony has consistently provided a link with the nonconformist past of the Chartist movement and early 20th century socialism. It is a strand of our culture that, in its dignity, has had a capability for firmly placing every shallow tabloid piece in its crass short-term context. What it has also done is remind those who are willing to listen that the soulless nature of much of modern life reduces its size. That applies not only to many aspects of extreme capitalism and their impacts on economy and lifestyle even if such things are glaringly obvious. It also applies to the often petty and hypocritical character of labour relations squabbles although not to the key objectives of the trade unions. Any taking forward of his principles requires the same positive outlook, the same knowledge of history, the same emotional depth and the same self-deprecating humour. Sadly, there are not many I can think of who will be able to step up to the mark. For some of us, the abyss will feel enormous - but, ethically, real weight is in the legacy.
I see the portrayer of Tony Benn as devil incarnate has stirred.