These words, spoken by Churchill in 1934, absolutely characterize today! Churchill himself was an exception: in a poll conducted by the BBC in 2002, he was recognized as the most outstanding Briton in history.
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Post Editors: Yan Beygelzimer, Dr.Sc., Professor; Victoria Zherdenovska, the editor-in-chief of the Trust but Verify project.
Reference: Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (November 30, 1874 - January 24, 1965) was a British politician and statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom: from 1940 to 1945 during World War II and from 1951 to 1955. He was a member of the British Parliament for more than 60 years (1900-1922 and 1924-1964). He played a decisive role in Britain's defense against the Nazi army in 1940 and in the anti-Hitler coalition (1939-1945).
Churchill's greatness lies not only in the fact that he understood what and how to do for the good of the citizens of his country and the whole of humanity in each particular situation, but also in the fact that he took responsibility for his actions, including his mistakes. Now it has become obvious that Winston Churchill should not just listen, but HEAR, that is, follow his advice. Because the horizon of his foresight covered not years, but dozens of years! If he had been heard after World War I (instead of appeasing Hitler), World War II could have been avoided. Had he been heard after World War II, the turmoil that Europe and the Middle East are experiencing today could have been avoided!
Below are the most relevant, in our opinion, Winston Churchill quotes. We have selected only those whose authorship is documented. Many statements attributed to Churchill, but whose authorship is not reliably confirmed, are not included in this selection.
Quotes
*** 1 ***
"You will never get to the end of the journey if you stop to shy a stone at every dog that barks." (Speech at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London on December 3, 1923).
*** 2 ***
"Socialism seeks to pull down wealth; Liberalism seeks to raise up poverty. Socialism would destroy private interests; Liberalism would preserve private interests in the only way in which they can be safely and justly preserved, namely, by reconciling them with public right. Socialism would kill enterprise; Liberalism would rescue enterprise from the trammels of privilege and preference… Socialism exalts the rule; Liberalism exalts the man." (Speech at Kinnaird Hall, Dundee on May 14, 1908).
*** 3 ***
"Never give in, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense." (Speech at Harrow School on October 29, 1941).
*** 4 ***
"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings. The inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries." (Speech at House of Commons of the UK on October 22, 1945).
*** 5 ***
"The peacemaker hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, it will eat him last." (During a broadcast on BBC radio on January 20, 1940, discussing the pointlessness of appeasing Hitler).
*** 6 ***
"Democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those others." (Speech at House of Commons of the UK on November 11, 1947).
*** 7 ***
"I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air... You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival." (Speech at House of Commons of the UK on May 13, 1940 on assuming the office of Prime Minister during a critical period of Hitler's military aggression for Britain).
*** 8 ***
"I have only one purpose, the destruction of Hitler, and my life is much simplified thereby. If Hitler invaded Hell I would make at least a favourable reference to the devil in the House of Commons." (June 21, 1941, in response to a question from his private secretary how to reconcile his willingness to help the USSR with his anti-communism?)
*** 9 ***
"We must make sure that its [United Nations Organization] work is fruitful, that it is a reality and not a sham, that it is a force for action and not merely a frothing of words, that it is a true temple of peace ... and not merely a cockpit in a Tower of Babel." ("Iron Curtain" Speech at Fulton on March 5, 1946)
*** 10 ***
"Our supreme task and duty is to guard the homes of the common people from the horrors and miseries of another war." ("Iron Curtain" Speech at Fulton on March 5, 1946)
*** 11 ***
"The United Nations Organization must immediately begin to be equipped with an international armed force." ("Iron Curtain" Speech at Fulton on March 5, 1946)
*** 12 ***
"But we must never cease to proclaim in fearless tones the great principles of freedom and the rights of man... All this means that the people of any country have the right and should have the power by constitutional action, by free unfettered elections with secret ballot, to choose or change the character or form of government under which they dwell; that freedom of speech and thought should reign; that courts of justice, independent of the executive, unbiased by any party, should administer laws which have received the broad assent of large majorities or are consecrated by time and custom. Here are the title deeds of freedom, which should lie in every cottage home." ("Iron Curtain" Speech at Fulton on March 5, 1946).
*** 13 ***
"The price of greatness is responsibility." (Speech at Harvard University, September 6, 1943).
*** 14 ***
"The empires of the future are the empires of the mind." (Speech at Harvard University, September 6, 1943)
*** 15 ***
"I have now stated the two great dangers which menace the homes of the people: War and Tyranny... If the dangers of war and tyranny are removed, there is no doubt that science and co-operation can bring in the next few years to the world, certainly in the next few decades newly taught in the sharpening school of war, an expansion of material well-being beyond anything that has yet occurred in human experience... And there is no reason except human folly or sub-human crime which should deny to all the nations the inauguration and enjoyment of an age of plenty." ("Iron Curtain" Speech at Fulton on March 5, 1946).
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In conclusion, an excerpt from the feature film Dark Times (Perfect World Pictures, Working Title Films, directed by Joe Wright, 2017), in which Churchill reacts to his war cabinet's suggestion to begin negotiations with Hitler in the face of what they see as a hopeless situation at the front:
"When will the lesson be learned how many dictators must be wooed, appeased, given immense privileges before we learn the truth?!!? You cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth!"
On the cover: a fragment of a sketch of a portrait of Winston Churchill created by British artist Graham Sutherland in 1954. This portrait has been considered lost to date. Image source: artonline
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