Maggie Smith as the dowager Countess of Grantham in the PBS series Downton Abby (fanpop.com).
Every once in a while, there’s a nugget in “Notable & Quotable,” a feature usually found at the bottom of The Wall Street Journal’s op-ed page, and on Feb. 2, 2016 there was one of those worth sharing with those of you who may have missed it. If you are a fan of the PBS TV series Downton Abby, especially of the actress Maggie Smith, it will be even more meaningful.
“Dowager Countess of Grantham (Maggie Smith): For years, I’ve watched governments take control of our lives, and their argument is always the same – fewer costs, greater efficiency. But the result is the same, too. Less control by the people, more control by the state, until the individual’s own wishes count for nothing. That is what I consider my duty to resist.
The point of a so-called great family is to protect our freedoms. That is why the barons made King John sign Magna Carta.
Lady Rosamond (Samantha Bond): Mama, we’re not living in 1215. And the strength of great families like ours is going, that’s just fact.
Dowager Countess of Grantham: Your great grandchildren won’t thank you when the state is all-powerful because we didn’t fight.”
