One of the great lines in the movie, Darkest Hour, for which British actor Gary Oldman won an Oscar for his role as Winston Churchill, was not originally uttered by any Englishman. It is all American in origin.
In the movie, Churchill, on the verge of WWII, makes his famous “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” speech to Parliament. He concludes this very dramatic moment with lines that live in history, “We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, 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.”
In the movie, members of Parliament stand and cheer.
As his opponents ponder what has just happened, one bemoans, “He just mobilized the English Language and sent it into battle.”
What a beautiful sentiment. What literary license.
Yet history proved the controversial Prime Minister to be true time and again.
Interestingly, among 2017 movies, Darkest Hour and Dunkirk, both of which feature the small boat rescue of thousands of British soldiers, were nominated for Best Picture awards. It is a moment in history that historians, politicians, citizens, movie makers revisit again and again.
But that intriguing line about mobilizing the language?
Many history buffs want to cite President John F. Kennedy in his April 9, 1963 address to confer honorary citizenship on Churchill for the famous line about the English Language. More than 250 guests, diplomats, members of Congress, government officials, close friends of Sir Winston and the President’s father attended the ceremony in the Rose Garden. JFK, in an eloquence comparable to the former British prime minister, said, “In the dark days and darker nights when England stood alone--and most men save Englishmen despaired of England's life--he mobilized the English language and sent it into battle. The incandescent quality of his words illuminated the courage of his countrymen.”
However according to The New York Sun, JFK’s speech writers actually borrowed the line from famed newsman Edward R. Murrow. In his Columbia Recording entitled “I Can Hear It Now,” Murrow coined the phrase. The original statement is “Now the hour had come for him to mobilize the English language, and send it into battle, a spearhead of hope for Britain and the world. We have joined together some of that Churchillian prose. It sustained. It lifted the hearts of an island of people when they stood alone.”
Now that we have properly credited the source, the English teacher in me wants to salute not only the wordsmith Murrow, but also President Kennedy and New Zealand screenwriter Anthony McCarten for recognizing the power of a well turned phrase and of personification, the literary device giving human characteristics to nonhuman abstractions. Words do matter. What we say and how we say it matters. Of course, the teacher in me also screams, "cite your sources."
And as we American citizens observe this Fourth of July, inching ever closer to the 250th anniversary of the nation, we must heed the lessons not only of language, but also history. Multiple folks have refined in their own words the observation of Irish Statesman Edmund Burke who said, “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” However we phrase it, it rings true.
I was only a child during WWII, the event that defined our parents and grandparents as “the greatest generation.” For me, the most memorable days of that time surfaced as my uncles came marching or sailing home.
I remember blackouts, war bond sales, ration stamps. I was protected from the dark hours and darker news. But, with age and study, I’ve learned of the Holocaust, Pearl Harbor, the Atomic Bomb, Japanese Interment. We do not want to relive those events because we have forgotten our history lesson. Instead, we must heed the challenge issued by Time Magazine contributing editor, Michael Duffy. “Rise to the challenge history hands you.”
Let us celebrate this Fourth with reflection as well as fireworks, hot dogs and parades.
2018
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