A dark-blue flag stands on a rocky mound beside a round brass shield beneath storm clouds.

Original artwork, not a still

Margaret Thatcher

A man may climb Everest for himself, but at the summit he plants his country’s flag.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker claims that even a personal challenge, like a mountain climb undertaken for one's own satisfaction, ends with a national gesture, as a man marks the summit with his country's flag. In this view, private ambition still carries a sense of allegiance.

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