Churchill at Ten
Posted on November 15th, 2009 by James Higham
One ought never to turn one’s back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!
Filed under: Life issues & people
He looks rather similar to the Birmingham bull.
What would’ve happened to the British Army if it had a adopted that attitude at Dunkirk?
Of course that is advice for men only right? Lest the women be perceived as kick ass boring types like Jolie?
There’s one in Birmingham? Hmmm.
Andrew – strategic withdrawal is not running away – it’s regrouping. There was never an intention to cower in a corner. There were many brave men and women in those boats.
Don’t know who Churchill had in mind actually. I don’t think he was fixated with gender when he said that. Perhaps he was thinking of Chamberlain.
Oh. I think an addendum is needed for us men though: “…Never run away from anything. Never!… Unless it’s an angry woman.”
James, I’ll remember that next time I am running away, and I’ll shout over my shoulder “This is a strategic withdrawal!” And of course I was not questioning anyone’s bravery in the little boats, just the ridiculous sentiment of the quote. Sometimes running away (aka strategic withdrawal) is the bravest thing to do, and the most sensible in the long run.
As a “for example”, in a dark street in Edinburgh, in my youth, I was once confronted by a group of four rather drunk yobs, one of whom was wielding a knife and was telling me what he intended to do to me with it. I ran away, and being sober, I outran them. I had no intention to ever return and face them. Did I do the wrong thing?
Then there are the children, one of whom I know, who ran away from the building where the Dunblane school massacre was taking place a few miles down the road from me. Did they do the wrong thing?
Churchill’s statement for tonight is nonsense.
@Andrew: running away often a good idea, unless like me you’re a lousy runner. But in defence of Churchill in the context you’re citing, I suppose you could say that the danger was in the 30s, and not facing it (12 million members of the Peace Pledge Union in Britain, a government resolutely refusing to rearm) led to Dunkirk.
Churchill was to a small degree conscientious and I am sure he did not steal from R L Stevenson intentionally. I imagine Churchill to be on his feet, toasting straight from the Pol Roger bottle when the paraphrase slithered into his mind.
Churchill was talking about a specific threat not generalising and because he had looked at all the options it was a considered response and not one to be taken out of context.
Yes, Sackers, MTG and Lord T – that is so.