The Churchill Series – July 3, 2007

(One of a series of weekday posts on the life of Winston S. Churchill.)

This post comes with a “Caution” label. I’ve selected some “Churchill quotes” from a site, Brainy Quote, that seems reliable but doesn’t cite sources for the quotes.

I checked about 50 of the Churchill quotes there and, with one exception, they’re all quotes I recognize as Churchill’s words.

The one exception is that old, well-worn “I may be drunk but you’re ugly; and tomorrow I’ll be sober and you’ll still be ugly.”

I don’t know of Churchill ever having said it. It or something very close to it has been attributed to just about everyone except Gandhi and Mother Teresa.

Now the Churchill quotes:

"Eating words has never given me indigestion."

"I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught."

"Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential."

"Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things."

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject."

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."

Folks, as many of you know, the socialism quote reflects beliefs Churchill held throughout his political life. He despised socialism for just the reasons stated in the quote.

Now I’m not sure I should end with the following quote on the eve of the Fourth of July, but here it is anyway - -

"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."