When will Labour learn that you cannot build Jerusalem in Brussels.
Margaret ThatcherRead
There is no week, nor day, nor hour, when tyranny may not enter upon this country, if the people lose their supreme confidence in themselves, and lose their roughness and spirit of defiance. Tyranny may always enter—there is no charm or bar against it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote stresses the importance of self-confidence and resilience in preventing tyranny.
In this quote, Margaret Thatcher warns that tyranny is always a possibility in a society, especially if its citizens lack confidence in themselves and become complacent. She emphasizes that a loss of spirit and defiance among the people can lead to the rise of oppressive forces, highlighting the ongoing need for vigilance and self-assuredness in the defense of freedom.
Themes
TyrannyConfidenceFreedomDefianceVigilance
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about democracy and civic engagement, one might reference this quote to inspire people to stand up for their rights.
More from Margaret Thatcher
All quotes →Never in the history of human credit has so much been owed.
Margaret ThatcherRead
The battle for women's rights has been largely won.
Margaret ThatcherRead
Ought we not to ask the media to agree among themselves a voluntary code of conduct, under which they would not say or show anything which could assist the terrorists' morale or their cause while the hijack lasted.
Margaret ThatcherRead
Israel must never be expected to jeopardize her security: if she was ever foolish enough to do so, and then suffered for it, the backlash against both honest brokers and Palestinians would be immense - 'land for peace' must also bring peace.
Margaret ThatcherRead
If it's me against 48, I feel sorry for the 48.
Margaret ThatcherRead
Similar quotes
The government is tottering. We must deal it the death blow an any cost. To delay action is the same as death.
Vladimir LeninRead
Democrats lead in all the polls by at least ten points, except one.. Fox News. That is with a margin of error of plus or minus the facts.
Stephen ColbertRead
Until politics are a branch of science, we shall do well to regard political and social reforms as experiments rather than short-cuts to the millennium.
John B. S. HaldaneRead
To think that our political organisation is immutable is the best way to hand the country over to the extremes.
Emmanuel MacronRead
Whenever you have political conflict, such as the one that we have now between Russia and Ukraine, but also in many other conflicts around the world, it has always proved to be right to try again and again to solve such a conflict.
Angela MerkelRead
Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship.
George OrwellRead