What kind of a People do they think we are? - Winston Churchill

Second, Churchill managed to embody in himself both alove and display of excellence and deep, abiding democraticconvictions. Quite often you get one or the other,but not both. He had a deep belief in the combined wisdomof the people when it was finally brought to bear onan issue. But at the same time, he never abandoned himselfto the things we see today, where politicians readpolls every day and try to decide where they are going togo based on what people happen to be thinking at anyfleeting moment. And so Churchill is important fordemocracy itself, I think, to show, as Lincoln showed,that great character and great minds can be happy in democraticsocieties and can flourish in them.WILLIAMS: As we sit here in the United States, I'm surethere are some viewers who might say: What aboutFranklin Delano Roosevelt, who was a contemporary ofWinston Churchill's? Wouldn't he qualify as the greatestfigure of the 20th century?WALLIN: The problem with the title "greatest" is thatthere can only be one. If you grant me "great men of the20th century," Roosevelt would certainly be up there.Certainly one can't imagine United States history withouthim, and perhaps one could even say the history ofWorld War II without him. So he was undoubtedly agreat man. Churchill's life spanned a longer period ofboth peace and war. He was involved in the First WorldWar in a responsible position, in the Second World War,and all the great controversies in between them and agood number of them before even World War 1.1 thinkChurchill brings a stronger vision to politics than Rooseveltdid. And I don't mean to detract from Roosevelt atall, who certainly was a great statesman.WILLIAMS: What was the vision that Churchill broughtto politics?WALLIN: Churchill's vision was primarily one of the importanceof human freedom. In many ways, I think ofhim as a 20th century parallel to Abraham Lincoln. Lincolnthought long and hard and deep about what humanfreedom really meant in a way that we don't today. If, forexample, you walk into a classroom and you say, "Howmany of you approve of slavery?" everybody will say,"Oh, no. It's terrible." But ask the question: Why? Whyis it a bad thing? If you can get someone else in yourpower, they work and you eat, as Lincoln said. Lincolnthought that if you couldn't answer that question reallydeep in your soul, you were not able to defend freedom.Churchill's love of freedom comes from the same sourceas Lincoln's. And that is the American Declaration of Independence.He gave a wonderful speech about the Declarationof Independence and the truths that it contained.So I think, when you consider the whole sweep ofhistory, if what you really care about is human freedomand the development of human character from all classesof society—not just the high and mighty class that hecame from himself—then I think Churchill stands outamongst all men.WILLIAMS: Hearing you say that Churchill delivered aspeech on the Declaration of Independence reminds usthat Churchill holds a fascination for Americans, a surprisingfascination given that he wasn't an Americanleader. Why are Americans so taken with WinstonChurchill?WALLIN: Well, partly because he was part American. Hismother, Jennie Jerome, was an American. And so he alwaysconsidered himself a blend of the two. I think thereason he appeals to Americans was his wonderfulspeeches that crystallize an incoherent belief of the people.People can have strong convictions and not be ableto express them clearly and articulately. That's whatChurchill meant when he said he was not the Britishlion, but the voice of the lion. But at the same time, bycrystallizing it, by giving it substance in speech, you createit a little bit, too. I think Americans are drawn to thatkind of rhetoric, because Americans have always seen thiscountry as a "city on a hill," as it used to be called. Thatis, something that stands for a vision beyond itself, a beaconto other countries on how people can live togetherfrom diverse backgrounds in different countries, howthey can pursue freedom, how they can pursue democracyin a lawful manner. Churchill embodied that. Heloved that characteristic about the Americans. And heloved also their spontaneity and can-do attitude. He understoodthe nature of tyranny. He was not overly concernedwhether the tyranny was from the left or theright. He despised the Nazis—or the "Narrzees" as hecalled them.WILLIAMS: He called them the "Narrzees," you said?WALLIN: Yes. He had a way of saying it that was almostlike spitting the word out. He despised the communists.He once said of the communists that the infant Bolshevismshould have been strangled in its cradle. He alsosaid that none of the ideas of communism went far beyondthe idea of the white ant's view of organizing society.It was quips like that that would bring him to the attentionof people all across the world. He loved humanfreedom. He believed that individual human beings werecapable of living their own lives, if well led.WILLIAMS: Jeffrey Wallin of The Churchill Center, thankyou so much for joining us.WALLIN: You are welcome, Juan. I enjoyed being here. M>FINEST HOUR 112/25