I was taken by the relevance of Milton to contemporary political discourse and I am pleased you made that link.

One of my favourite political anecdotes refers to the great British left-wing firebrand Michael Foot – a highly respected figure on all sides until his death last year – and it was a friend of his who recounted the story of how one day they both went to watch a football (soccer) match, the second passion in the life of Michael – his other being literature.

“We turned up at the away end,” the friend wrote. “Michael was asked if he had an offensive weapon on him, at which point he produced a battered copy of Milton’s Selected Works out of his coat pocket and gave the steward a lecture about how the poetry of Milton had been one of the most important weapons in English history.

“We got in.”

Foot was also once asked by a student of politics, which, out of a selection on a university list of politics books, he should read.
“That depends if you want to know about politics or rather, understand its heart,” he replied. “If it is the latter then don’t read any of that nonsense, read Milton.”