At one end of the spectrum are the terrorist gangs within our borders, and the terrorist states which finance and arm them. At the other are the hard left operating inside our system, conspiring to use union power and the apparatus of local government to break, defy and subvert the law.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Thatcher identifies two extremes of threat: external terrorist groups and internal political factions using unions and local government to undermine the law.
- In plain terms
- Danger comes from both terrorists outside and political groups inside breaking the law.
- What can you take from it?
- Governments must defend against threats from both outside and inside.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Where is the line between dissent and subversion?
- How to protect democracy internally?
Another view
It conflates political opposition with terrorism.
More from Margaret Thatcher
I like Mr. Gorbachev. We can do business together.
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Permalink to quote #26 We must try to find ways to starve the terrorist and the hijacker of the oxygen of publicity on which they depend.
Permalink to quote #29
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