Why I’m obsessed with Winston Churchill

I have a deep infatuation with a man who is not my husband. I realized it earlier this month, on a cold, dark and short March day. I was done with all the bad men who crossed my path during that time. I really needed someone who was authentic, committed and courageous.

I teach global studies at Longwood High School in Middle Island. Each March, as we go through the New York State curriculum, both teachers and students arrive in a time filled with really bad dictators: Stalin, Mussolini and Hitler. Having to recount the horrors that those men inflicted on the USSR, Italy, Germany and the world at large in the early 20th century really started to depress me. Combine those lessons with our traditional Long Island winter weather and I really needed an educational and emotional boost. I found all I need in one man: Winston Churchill.

In today’s troubled world, and especially in contrast to our nation’s turbulent presidential election, he still stands out.

The son of an American mother and an English aristocrat, Churchill did not have an easy go of it. He had trouble in school, by his own admission could never please his father, was a key player in a major British naval loss in the Great War (Gallipoli), lost five major British elections, was almost killed by a taxi in New York City, endured with his wife the death of his young daughter, and after the Allied victory in World War II was resoundingly evicted from 10 Downing St. (when the Conservatives lost to Labour).

However, he did not let these disappointments define him; Churchill struggled and rose to his challenges and by doing so inspired many people to face their own problems. Never was this more important than in the late 1930s, when Churchill stood in the House of Commons (sometimes with very little audience) and implored the British people to push back against Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, who conquered countries (a lot of countries) with pomp and relative ease. His singular resolve during a time when appeasement was the foreign policy du jour was amazing.

In June of 1940, as the Battle of France raged on, Prime Minister Churchill prepared the British for what would lie ahead.

“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,” he told the House of Commons and repeated on the radio. “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 with the hindsight that comes with studying history, we know that the British would prevail and push back the ultimate bad guy. And for that crucial stretch of history from 1939 until 1941, they did it alone. And they did it because of him.

Churchill is so relevant; a world leader who constantly speaks to us. Especially in this year’s U.S. election, I think many people would like someone who, in good times and bad, will speak the truth from a position of knowledge and courage. Even after his loss as prime minister, Churchill did not give up on democracy. “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time,” he said.

I really, really like Churchill. I share my obsession with my students as I teach about his speeches, decisions and career. He is the epitome of how one person can set in motion a chain of events for good in the face of very evil men and very bad odds. He made sure that Britain had its finest hour during its darkest time. Churchill lived to the amazing age of 90, and his story continues to captivate me, inspire my World War II lessons and brighten those March days. He wasn’t perfect. But for me, quite sincerely, Winston Churchill saved the world in the 20th century.

In a world awash in terrorist threats, unsure economies, divisive politics and a rapidly changing society, our times are complicated and challenging. We could use someone like Churchill just about now.

Reader Jeanne Knudsen lives in Ridge.