Best movie ever?

I rarely have anything good to say about Hollywood, but I surely do today. I saw the Winston Churchill movie The Darkest Hour last night. It may have been the best movie I have ever seen. Gary Oldham as Churchill was phenomenal. The dialogue was superb in every scene. Fabulous!

Churchill comes to America immediately after Pearl Harbor

At Lifezette Lee Habeeb tells us that on the day after Pearl Harbor Winston Churchill left England on a boat for America. On December 26, 1941 he addressed Congress. There is this 6-minute video at Lifezette, and I think YouTube may have others, at least in audio.

Habeeb gives us more information here.

No stronger retrograde force exists in the world.

Here is a quote from The River War: An Historical Account of the Reconquest of the Soudan (1899), by Winston Churchill, concerning his experiences as a British Army officer, during the Mahdist War (1881–99) in the Sudan.

How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property - either as a child, a wife, or a concubine - must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen: all know how to die: but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome.

h/t Maetenloch, who points out,

Note that this quote would be considered hate speech in Britain today.

Courage, and the lack thereof

"Politicians committed to deeply held principals that guided their policies, and that clarity gave the people something that's sorely lacking in America today: well defended moral, ethical and philosophical principles upon which to base politics, policies, and, eventually, votes!"

"We need young, tough, and fearless fighters, and we need them not now, we need them yesterday!"

This was their finest hour

America in inevitable decline? Remember this: decline is a choice. Surrender is a choice. Cowardice is a choice. Fear is a choice. So is Rebirth, Resistance, Courage, and Hope.

The need for prudent American realism

Mac Owens writes,

Ending wars is no virtue if the chance for success has been thrown away, as it was in Iraq.

Observers disagree about the causes of the Obama failures in foreign policy. Some attribute them to indifference, others to incompetence—although the two are not unrelated. Still others contend that the results we are seeing represent the desired outcomes of more insidious motivations. But no matter the cause of Obama’s dysfunctional foreign policy, the result is the same: weakness that opens the way for those who wish America ill. Winston Churchill’s 1936 characterization of the Stanley Baldwin government as Hitler gained strength on the Continent echoes ominously today: it was, said Churchill, “decided only to be undecided, resolved to irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent.”

The United States must return to the more classical connection between force and diplomacy. For too long, American policy makers, motivated by the assumptions of liberal internationalism, have acted as if diplomacy alone is sufficient to achieve our foreign policy goals. But as Frederick the Great once observed, “Diplomacy without force is like music without instruments.” Prudent American realism recognizes that diplomacy and force are two sides of the same coin. Finally, the United States should not hesitate to use its economic power as an instrument of foreign policy. The changing geopolitics of energy provides an opportunity for the United States to counter the likes of Putin, and others in the world who have wielded the energy weapon against America in the past.

For those who desire freedom and prosperity, there is no alternative to the United States.

Read much more here.

Thanks to Grim.

Be king; not forever, just for today

I have a confession of ignorance to make. I know nothing about Sauron, Isildur, Narsil, Luke Skywalker, Aragorn, Gandalf, Boromir, Arthur, Elendil, and Anduril. I do know about Winston Churchill, whose bust was returned to the British by Obama in one of his first acts as president. I do know about Bill Whittle, who writes about all of the above in an essay this morning, linked to by Glenn Reynolds.

Bill is urging us to "fight them," to be king; not forever, just for today."