Of Margaret Thatcher and Honorary Degrees
Had I been a graduate of the University of Oxford instead of having acquired my degrees from those of Bristol and East Anglia (and unlike holders of Master of Arts degrees from Oxbridge, my M.A. is a real one, earned by a year of postgraduate study and by passing further exams) I would have voted in 1985 to grant Mrs Thatcher an honorary doctorate, as all previous Prime Ministers who attended Oxford had been given.
Yet I notice that Mrs T herself seemed remarkably unconcerned by the successful campaign to prevent her receiving such an award. She always struck me as far more interested in ideas and in getting things done than with titles and honours.
Perhaps she was too big a person to allow herself to be upset when her political opponents tried to snub her or perhaps she just realised - correctly, I am certain - that if she showed dignity by refusing to get upset over not being granted an honorary title she would look like a much bigger person than those who took part in the petty vindictiveness of withholding it.
Oxford University at its' best is one of the very finest centres of excellence and learning in the world. At its' egregious worst it is, as one of Oxford's own most distinguished graduates said,
"A sanctuary in which exploded systems and obsolete prejudices find shelter and protection after they have been hunted out of every corner of the world."
(Adam Smith)
In the past few years there have been suggestions that the decision not to award Maggie an Honorary Doctorate should be reversed, which have been raised again following her death, now as a proposed Honorary doctorate.
Do I think that the lady herself would regard this as a worthwhile use of the energies of her supporters? No, I doubt it. She stood above petty bickering over trinkets in life: let her memory do the same now she is no longer with us.
Let Oxford go its' own way, and let those who think - as I do -that Baroness Thatcher stood for some great principles which are still highly relevant today, continue to promote those principles. That would be a far more fitting legacy for a great woman.
Yet I notice that Mrs T herself seemed remarkably unconcerned by the successful campaign to prevent her receiving such an award. She always struck me as far more interested in ideas and in getting things done than with titles and honours.
Perhaps she was too big a person to allow herself to be upset when her political opponents tried to snub her or perhaps she just realised - correctly, I am certain - that if she showed dignity by refusing to get upset over not being granted an honorary title she would look like a much bigger person than those who took part in the petty vindictiveness of withholding it.
Oxford University at its' best is one of the very finest centres of excellence and learning in the world. At its' egregious worst it is, as one of Oxford's own most distinguished graduates said,
"A sanctuary in which exploded systems and obsolete prejudices find shelter and protection after they have been hunted out of every corner of the world."
(Adam Smith)
In the past few years there have been suggestions that the decision not to award Maggie an Honorary Doctorate should be reversed, which have been raised again following her death, now as a proposed Honorary doctorate.
Do I think that the lady herself would regard this as a worthwhile use of the energies of her supporters? No, I doubt it. She stood above petty bickering over trinkets in life: let her memory do the same now she is no longer with us.
Let Oxford go its' own way, and let those who think - as I do -that Baroness Thatcher stood for some great principles which are still highly relevant today, continue to promote those principles. That would be a far more fitting legacy for a great woman.
Comments