It’s cool to read old Churchill speeches, right? Of course it is! Why do I even ask?
I discovered something interesting while perusing Churchill’s famous, “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” speech to the House of Commons on June 4, 1940. The entire text can be found here (though most of it is pretty dull).
Now this speech was made about a week after the British troops, after having been driven across France by the Germans, were successfully evacuated from Dunkirk back to Britain. So this was the about lowest point of the war for the Brits.
Now the part of the speech that got my attention was the very end, and it goes as such,
“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”
WHAT!?! Are you kidding me? What kind of leader announces that there are plans to flee your homeland and hide overseas? He basically says that they can’t win on their own, that they need (at the time, neutral) American aid! Boy I’ll bet Brits everywhere felt pretty optimistic the next day, huh? That may very well be the least uplifting thing I’ve ever heard. Crazy drunk!
***
Videos anyone?
An couple of awesome up close videos of a solar flare. Super trippy.
Since I’ve been making a few Dylan references recently I figure another wouldn’t be out of place. This is a parody of D. A. Pennebaker’s 1960-something Dylan documentary Don’t Look Back. Clever, and frankly, very true to the original.
Yes, indeed, let us never forget that it was this great leader, who played as important a role as did anyone in saving the West from Fascism, which was perhaps its greatest threat ever up to that point–and deservedly received credit for that by history–was ultimately run off by his friends (!!!) who just couldn’t make excuses for him after a time. Let us also remember that it was this same giant who, when he was well into his alcoholic decline, said (paraphrasing) that only the unfeeling are conservatives in their youth, and only fools are liberals in their maturity, which is of course one of the favorite phrases of the Dandies of the Right. He escaped from a Boer prison, too, which was no small accomplishment. Happy Birthday!
Comment by RHazel — September 5, 2007 @ 4:38 pm