“You are strong because you are imperfect; you are wise because you have doubts.” (Darkest Hour) These are the words of a very intelligent and loving wife; her name was Lady Churchill. Winston Churchill was sixty-five years old when he became prime minister of England in 1940, and the road he was about to walk would be almost impossible to journey on. When the British and French armies were being pushed into the sea by the Germans at Dunkirk, Winston had almost given up on the positive direction he thought WWII could end on. King George VI told him if there was any Englishman who could lead the country and beat Adolf Hitler, it was Winston Churchill. All he had to do was tell the people the unvarnished truth about possibly being invaded by the Germans, and they would follow him. With that royal support, Churchill launched Code Dynamo to rescue 300,000 British and French soldiers from the shores of Dunkirk.
Convinced that he had the support of the British people, Churchill left his security car as he approached Parliament and visited the underground train to meet with the “real English people.” While there, Winston asked the following questions of those citizens sitting in the cars. “(1.) What is your mood? (2.) What will you do if the enemy comes? (3.) Will you support a peace agreement with Hitler?” To the first question, the people said, “Confident.” To the second, they said, “We must fight!” And to the third, they resoundingly said, “NEVER!” (Darkest Hour) Just before his infamous speech before Parliament, Winston asked members of his own political party, “Your will is to fight and never give in?” They shouted, “May we be hurled out of office if we negotiate with that evil tyrant! We shall FIGHT!” (Darkest Hour)
Knowing that his political enemies, Neville Chamberlain and Viceroy Halifax, wanted to hang him from the nearest tree if he did not negotiate peace with Hitler, Churchill confidently rose from his chair in those sacred chambers to give many reasons why the British needed to fight to the last man, to fight on the land, sea, and air, and most famously, “WE SHALL NEVER SURRENDER!” It is safe to say that if Churchill had not said those courageous words at that precise time in history, the world would be a different place, and there would be more tyrants like Hitler today.
Two words,strength and wisdom, perfectly honorable and courageous words, described a man who really stumbled a lot in the beginning of WWII, but as those five long years continued, fraught with casualties and deaths, economic woes, depleted military equipment, political bargaining, and pain with gain, Winston Churchill proved his metal and tireless courage to lead the British Empire to a successful conclusion of one of the world’s most horrendous wars. “You cannot kill a lion while you are in its mouth.” (Darkest Hour) You have to fight on until you become a lion yourself. As for being imperfect and doubtful, who among us has never shown those attributes. Despite all odds, Winston Churchill did not fail, and he never gave up on the courage and faith of his people. “Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is courage to continue that counts.” (Darkest Hour) And so today, I ask the good Lord for strength and wisdom to carry on in our current times, to walk with my head held high among the “naysayers,” to reach out when others need help, and to say, “Everything is possible with God.” It takes courage to right a wrong, but it takes faith in God to acknowledge our faults and doubts, to move onto a more perfect future.
Anna Hartt
