“The Irrepressible Churchill”
Compiled by Kay Halle
Robson Books, 2000 reprint
The tragedy that befell the American people — when two passenger planes crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, when one plane hit and exploded on the Pentagon, and when one other jetliner crashed in the state Pennsylvania — assumed such a depth in human tragedy and such a scale of destruction that officials and reporters admitted that they were at a loss for words.
President George W. Bush read a hastily prepared statement that failed to communicate the severely seared American soul, especially when he called the terrorists “folks”!?. Others used superlatives like “unbelievable,” “the work of madmen,” and the ever-ready label of “terrorists.”
Words were one of the few ways to communicate the shared grief and agony of the entire humankind, the shared fierce tears and anger of the world, and the shared resolve and courage — not only to bring justice and quick retribution but also to rebuild one’s hope and faith with one another.
How we wish we had someone during these times who could rally the troops to fight a common enemy; one who, with words like “with blood, sweat and tears,” could unite an entire nation to resist the invaders; and who, when one battle was won, could draw from his magnificent arsenal of words and thus declare: “This was their finest hour.”
I am referring to the inimitable Winston Churchill, whom the book calls “The Irrepressible Churchill.” There was no television then, no CNN to capture his sound bites and his smirk. He used an old-fashioned radio technology, and — with his booming voice dominating the stutter of guns, roar of fighter planes and endless siren sound — he succeeded in steeling the resolve of nations to win a catastrophic war.
This book (bought in Bangkok a few months ago), written by journalist Kay Halle, who tracked down Churchill for 30 years, shows that Churchill already had the gift of gab and wit early in life – serving him in good stead throughout his tumultuous but no less heroic career.
Some samplers of Churchill’s admirable turn of phrase abound in this rare book (you must check Amazon.com for it, and it’s well worth the web surfing, if I may add).
The wit of Churchill was demonstrated in this famous exchange with American-born Nancy, Lady Astor, when both were weekend guests at Blenheim.
Lady Astor said: “Winston, if I were your wife I’d put poison in your coffee.” And the famous Churchillian reply was classic: “If I were your husband, Nancy, I’d take it.”
Churchill usually always had the last word in any argument. For example, when a former officer of the Admiralty, Lord Charles Beresford, criticized Churchill, he didn’t escape the wordsmith’s acid tongue: “He (Beresford) can best be described as one of those orators who, before they get up, do not know what they are going to say; when they are speaking, do not know what they are saying; and when they have sat down, do not know what they have said.”
On his war rhetoric, the book has a lot to offer the readers. This one quote should be lesson on strategy, when Churchill commented on navy estimates on both sides. He said:
“The offensive power of modern battleships is out of all proportion to their defensive power… If you want to make a true picture in your mind of a battle between great modern ironclad ships, you must not think of it as if it were two men in armour striking at each other with heavy swords. It is more like a battle between two egg-shells striking each other with hammers … The importance of hitting first, and hitting hardest and keeping on hitting … really needs no clearer proof.” (Hear ye, anti-terrorist force!)
Churchill, in fact, has something to say about the value of an aggrieved country to respond from a high moral ground and a sense of righteous indignation, if I may add:
“Moral force is, unhappily, no substitute for armed force, but it is a very great reinforcement.” In another quote, he says: “In war, you don’t have to be nice – you only have to be right.”
His advice about dealing with the Germans then could be useful to those hunting the perpetrators of the airline crashes. He is quoted thus in the book: “Those who fight the Germans fight a stubborn and resourceful foe, a foe in every way worthy of the doom prepared for him.” Substitute the names, and you’ve got a contemporary thought, especially for those driven by fanaticism. In fact, our wordsmith defines “fanatic” as “one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.”
And, if America does go to war, she must be driven by another quotable quote from Churchill: “If we win, nobody will care. If we lose, there will be nobody to care.”
This is the strategic equivalent of the advice I knew since childhood which I now paraphrase: “Win and the world wins with you; lose and you lose alone.”
God bless America, everyone now says, and we join the world wholeheartedly. The words of support came even from known critics if not enemies. But allies America needs right now. And this quote is timely, when Churchill spoke about England’s ally — France:
“There is only one thing worse than fighting with allies, and that is fighting without them.”
The entire world now views the American people with a new eye. There is admiration for their selflessness, their readiness to close ranks — the calm with which they pick up the pieces and the steely resolve to hunt the terrorists. Churchill began doubting Americans, but actually gave allowance for their courage and determination. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the announcement that the U.S. was entering World War II, Churchill had grudging admiration for Americans after all:
“Silly people and there were many … might discount the force of the United States. Some said they were soft, others that they would never be united. They would fool around at a distance. They would never come to grips. They would never stand blood letting. They would be just a vague blurr on the horizon to friend and foe. Now we should see the weakness of this numerous but remote, wealthy, and talkative people. But I had studied the American Civil War … American blood flowed in my veins.”
This book has an abundance of quotes and background of these in the checkered life of this great man. The book, according to “The Times,” is one “to brighten the dullest moments.” Actually it is also meant to brighten one’s hope wherever it is needed.
To his dying day, Churchill was his witty self. The book says: “As he lay dying in the darkened room of a London House at 8 Hyde Park Gate, he said about life: “I am bored with it all.” He quickly added with, maybe, his last breath: “But the journey has been enjoyable and worth making — once!” If you are at a loss for words, check out Winston Churchill. He had the witty words and the eloquent phrases all his irrepressible life.
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