Looking back at Churchill’s “Finest Hour” speech
I’ve said many times that I don’t much care for political oratory. In my lifetime, I don’t recall any political speech that interested me at the time, although in retrospect I would rate some of Reagan’s as quite good. But I think Lincoln and Churchill were geniuses of the art, with Churchill maybe edging out Lincoln but just by a hair.
Yesterday I had occasion to quote this famous 1940 speech of Churchill’s, and it got me to thinking:
Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour.”
There are so many things about that speech that would never be said today. The first is a statement about the Western world that characterizes it as “Christian civilization.” The second is the idea of Empire as something of which to be proud; even in Churchill’s time, speaking that way was somewhat of an anomaly and he was considered an old-fashioned throwback. But he was the throwback Britain – and the West – needed at the time. And the idea the speech conveys of World War II as a nearly apocalyptic crisis, pitting the forces of good against evil, was actually not an exaggeration.
But it’s this sentence that seems so apropos to me: “But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science.” Does it not feel as though we’re on the brink of something like that now, only not from an external enemy but from internal weakness? A sort of cultural, moral, and spiritual suicide being committed by the West? And science has only become more and more advanced as well as more “perverted” in its uses, particularly the propaganda and surveillance and control made possible by the internet.
It’s certainly not our finest hour. But we can hope that our finest hour will come – perhaps in some way we can’t foresee – and that we’ll measure up to it. And let us also fervently hope it doesn’t involve carnage, unlike the terrible catastrophic bloodbath that was World War II.
Churchill was a great orator and the right man for the times he was Prime Minister (1940 -45) as he understood what Hitler stood for from the very beginning, he was also more realistic about the evil of Stalin than the naive FDR was, but as a military strategist he was a complete disaster.
neo writes that “science has only become more and more advanced as well as more ‘perverted’ in its uses, particularly the propaganda and surveillance and control made possible by the internet.”
Yes. And let us not forget . . .
– perverted climate “science”,
– perverted covid “science”, even
– perverted transgender “science”.
I stumbled across the ‘perverted science’ phrase perhaps 15 years ago and it has stuck with me.
The greatest political oratory was the ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech delivered by British MP Enoch Powell:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivers_of_Blood_speech
It is playing out in the U.S. right now.
Erronius
I and friends just spent 2 weeks in France and England. In France we studied the start of the shooting war in the West and Dunkirk, how it was done and where it happened. We walked the Mole (new one replacing the old one damaged in the War), getting a feel of the evacuation.
In England we studied the Dowding System created by Air Marshall Dowing. His system allowed the Brits to respond to the German Air Forces. Churchill’s speeches at the time paid tribute to all of the people involved in the endeavor.
As a Bonus we attended an Air Show at Duxford where they flew a “Big Wing” of 16 Spits and 4 Hurricanes. Also a Lancaster Bomber, one of only 2 flying in the World, did fly bys, some with a B-17.
I would agree that Lincoln and Churchill are a virtual toss up in political oratory – among the greatest in the history of our language. How astounding it seems to me that Lincoln reached those heights almost entirely self educated.
Reagan’s “… tear down this wall” speech still gives me goosebumps when he says the famous line.
Well, as the saying goes: Strong men create good times, good times create soft men, soft men create hard times, and hard times create strong men.
And Churchill would be rolling over in his grave were he to see what has become of the country he once led.
Yes, we are on the brink, from an enemy within. To spit in my face, I received today an email from my senator, Peter Welch, that an IRS provision in the Orwellian-Named Inflation Reduction Act will – wait for it! – recover more that $100 million from tax evasion over THE NEXT TEN YEARS. Wow. A big help there (please say you sense my sarcasm). Harass taxpayers over the next ten years to recover essentially nothing compared to the scandalously excessive and unending multi-trillion dollar deficit spending.
It was Peter Robinson who wrote the famous “tear down this wall” speech. He discusses it in an episode of Uncommon Knowledge. I am not attracted to his speaking style, but he has some decent interviews on occasion and I found this episode quite enjoyable to listen to. So many wish to downplay that moment, but the fact is that Reagan stood there, at the edge of the Soviet empire, and said those words, for all to hear. Thanks to Mr. Robinson for putting those words on paper. And thanks to Ronnie for saying them.
Mike Plaiss,
I agree on Lincoln. How he figured out all that he figured out, nearly completely independently? A remarkable human being!
T-Rex,
I agree on Robinson’s speaking style. He seems like a genuinely amiable, sincere and wonderful man, but he is not a natural at interviewing others. His taste in whom he interviews is impeccable and he does a lot of research and preparation. It’s just how he says what he says that I struggle with. “… and I quote…”
The last quoted line of that speech calls to mind the St Crispin’s Day speech in Shakepeare’s Henry V:
I’m guessing Churchill knew his Shakespeare.
Churchill was the right man for the moment, but not the right man for every moment. Gallipoli and the botched return to the gold standard gave Britons reasons to be wary of him, but he did eventually find his moment.
In the age of Biden, eloquence, like empathy, has been cheapened. It’s all part of the ongoing fraud. We know that the media will find the heights of eloquence in speeches by politicians they agree with and will tear apart the speeches of their opponents. Maybe it’s best not to aspire to eloquence, but just try to tell the truth.
Since Biden swore the oath to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution” 8-10 million illegal aliens have invaded the United States. We have $33 trillion in debt. We’re looking into the abyss right now.
Gallipoli and the botched return to the gold standard gave Britons reasons to be wary of him
I have read at least one historian who thinks Churchill got a bad rap with Gallipoli–that his recommendations for the battle were not followed, and he was not well liked by many who took advantage of the debacle to scapegoat him. (Source: Fromkin, A Peace to End All Peace) I don’t recall the specifics, but I think there was a delay in launching the ships, which gave the Turks time to reinforce their positions.
“It’s certainly not our finest hour. But we can hope that our finest hour will come – perhaps in some way we can’t foresee – and that we’ll measure up to it.” – Neo
To measure up we need some leaders of the caliber of Patton, Ike, Halsey, LeMay, etc. Except the fighting men we need are politicians.
Trump qualifies as a Patton. DeSantis is a fighter and has shown some guts like LeMay. Ramaswamy seems a man willing to fight and win if given the chance. Is he a Halsey?
If we are going to pull out of this suicidal dive, we’re going to need high caliber men/women, and a person like Churchill certainly wouldn’t hurt. I don’t see a great orator on our side at this time. The Dems don’t have one either, but the MSM and social media cover for them to shape public opinion.
Is the silent majority beginning to sense the danger that lies ahead? They surely are beginning to feel the pain of inflation and the open border crisis. Some are now connecting the Biden policies with the problems they’re encountering. A great speech by a gifted orator that painted a graphic picture of why Biden’s policies have been so ruinous, and will continue to be ruinous, would be a big help.
Where’s our Churchill or Lincoln?
Can one emerge, or will we have to fight the battle without a gifted speaker?
I have often wondered how countries fell to Socialism/Communism. I never dreamed it could happen here. But here we are.
On Gallipoli:
1. WSC makes it sound as if it the basic idea was 100% his. It wasn’t. It was one of several ideas being kicked around at the Admiralty early in the war, some of which Churchill was just as enthusiastic for as he was for the Dardanelles. (For a quick inside look, Arthur Marder’s Portrait of an Admiral includes Herbert Richmond’s diary entries for the period.)
2. The first attempt was by ships alone, with no troops to take shore positions. Simply to force their way into the Sea of Marmora. Marder thinks this might have worked, but he’s something of an outlier there. (IMO his ideas are based on a level of aerial spotting that was too advanced for the time, depending on experience they just hadn’t yet got to.)
3. The whole thing is premised on the idea that if the RN could reach Constantinople, Turkey would be driven out of the war. That just is not certain.
That said, when they did land troops, it was neither Churchill’s nor the navy’s fault the army milled around without taking the high ground.
In general, Churchill didn’t really get sea warfare. Note that Marder – generally pro-Churchill – acknowledged this. He didn’t understand that, just because they weren’t firing their guns or landing troops, that didn’t mean they were inactive. He was a soldier, and didn’t understand convoys or blockades. A great man, but not a great strategist.
What gives me hope for our future now is that we faced these problems before and defeated them. We will again. It does suck that we have to do it, again.
Anyone with more than a passing interest in Churchill should read “The Splendid and the Vile”, by Erik Larson, an eminently readable book about Churchill during the blitz. All of Mr. Larson’s book are fascinating, and this one fleshes out Churchill, with his family, friends, as well as his task of leading the British government.
Neo: The speech you quote reminds me of the transcending quality of Reagan, Lincoln and Churchill. Yes, they all had faults; yes, they all failed in certain respects; but they were all great orators and great leaders at a time when they were sorely needed.
the abyss of a new Dark Age…
That whole phrase that neo single’s out reminds me of Philip K. Dick’s “The Man in the High Castle,” or the Amazon series version of it. I’ve read that Dick contemplated a sequel novel, but decided against it because of how personally depressing the original effort was.
J.J., I, too, often wonder what happened.
My thinking goes as follows . . .
As the only ‘man’ standing after WWII, we children of that era basked in the good life earned by our parents’ generation. We were trust fund babies, born into a world of huge promise for the smart/disciplined and few to no consequences for idiotic/undisciplined behavior. Traditions, morals and laws followed, slowly morphing over the years to what we see today.
Yes, I think it started back then.
We are not on the brink. We have gone over the edge and are in free-fall to a terrible landing into a bizarre new nation ruled by authoritarians. We had our chances but did not use them.
Sic transit gloria mundi.
Remembering those words, my heart goes to sleep at night with peace.