Churchill will go down in history as one of the greatest leaders in the world. His influential speeches and expert political decisions helped lead Britain from the brink of disaster to a victory over Nazi Germany. While Winston Churchill may have been voted the "greatest Briton", he was not as perfect as many people are lead to believe.
Throughout his life, Churchill struggled with depression, or as he labeled it, "black dog". In order to combat this depression, Churchill often leaned on alcohol and tobacco. This lead to him commonly being drunk, and it was reflected in the way he talked to others. After Bessie Braddock, a member of parliament, pointed out how drunk Churchill was, Churchill responded by saying, "Bessie, my dear, you are ugly, and what's more, you are disgustingly ugly. But tomorrow I will be sober and you will still be disgustingly ugly". Churchill was an aggressive and bombastic man and was unable or unwilling to filter his thoughts before speaking.
During and after world war 2, Churchill's conditions began to worsen. In this time period, Churchill suffered multiple minor heart attacks and strokes. However, through sheer determination, he was able to power through and continue leading the country. However, these did have a serious effect on his ability to lead, and Churchill was forced to spend most of his time at his homes in Kent and Hyde Gate park in London.
Churchill also had strong opinions about race and religion and was a well known imperialist. He publicly stated his distaste for Indian people and was directly responsible for the devastating famines that lead to over 3 million people dead. Additionally, he proposed to use poison gas to squash rebellions of "uncivilized tribes". He commonly insulted and degraded non-Western civilizations strongly supported military action to crush insurgents as well and riots. Churchill was a flawed and controversial figure, and it is important to realize that his positives do not completely make up for his negatives.
https://richardlangworth.com/drunk-ugly-braddock
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/02/03/the-dark-side-of-winston-churchills-legacy-no-one-should-forget/?utm_term=.8bc36a8b7715
https://www.biography.com/people/winston-churchill-9248164
This is an interesting post about the human side of this leader, rather than just his political facets. It turns out that his disorders did act as even more stressors for him during the war years, but he seemed able to recharge through painting and a good family life, so his actions weren't too swayed by his volatile moods. However, in his second term from 1951-55, he suffered from strokes and seizures, which certainly affected his cognitive skills negatively. One unanswered question which is still debated today is whether his bipolarism was one of the reasons that he was so resilient and optimistic against Hitler's might, even during the scariest hours.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting and well written post displaying the sides of Churchill often forgotten. I did some follow up reading on his ideas of imperialism, and found that he was extremely racist, no surprise there. He even called the Palestinians, people who would later be under British mandate, "barbaric hordes who ate little but camel dung."
ReplyDeletehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/02/03/the-dark-side-of-winston-churchills-legacy-no-one-should-forget/?utm_term=.712261ae2b09
I find it interesting how we often tend to forget the dark sides of our political leaders. Although Churchill did lead Britain to victory in World War II and is rightfully celebrated for doing so, he was also racist towards the inhabitants of India, even going so far as to call them "barbaric." He believed he was part of "a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly wise race," using this to justify his imperialist ambitions.
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http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29701767
This is a very interesting insight into the person who many people called a great and ruthless leader. He is well known for his military push and ambition for his country, not so much as a compassionate and loving man. His ambitions were so great that despite having life changing medical conditions, he fought through to continue to lead and value his cause. He had a strong opinion about immigrants and minorities, religion, and imperialism. All of these very controversial topics he was very passionate about. Although he was a passionate Brit, his mother was actually American, making him half American. Churchill also had a brother. After his father's death, Churchill's mother remarried twice more.
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