Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Tony Blair



Last summer I heard Tony Blair speak at a relatively small gathering, and it was clear that he understood some basic truths about the world.
One topic that rang true: He believes that the world essentially has two faces - those who embrace change and modernism, and those who resist it. Open minded vs. close minded. The closed-minded have nothing to offer a nation. They can only delay change that is coming anyway.
This seems to be closer to the truth of the struggle facing the world today. Not the often used "Good vs. Evil".
Now that he has left office, we will see how history treats him as his legacy was so impacted by his alliance with the U.S. during years of unsavory foreign policy.
Honestly, I feel a bit bad for him. The leader of the UK will always have a close working alliance with the leader of the U.S. We are too similar ideologically to separate.
Blair was a savvy, well spoken leader who had the misfortune of being the PM at the same time the U.S. had a sub par president during very complicated years. But did he have to buy into Bush's follies so fervently?