Charles Krauthammer Archives - Richard M. Langworth

In Defense of Churchill (2): Precepts -Surrender Nothing, Honor the Whole

31 May 2021 Comments 0 Comments

Text of my Zoom address to the Chartwell Society of Portland, Oregon on 10 May 2021, 81st anniversary of Churchill taking office as Prime Minister. “Current Contentions: Precepts” is part of as an iTunes audio file. For a copy, please email rlangworth@hillsdale.edu.

Precepts for defenders (continued from Part 1)

Here are two precepts for us to follow when confronting perversions of the truth surrounding Winston Churchill.

First, “Surrender nothing”

In protecting his good name we cannot dissemble. As Mark Steyn says in another context[13], “Unless you’re prepared to surrender everything, surrender nothing.…

Churchill Derangement Syndrome: A is for Aryans, R is for Racism

3 March 2020 Comments 4 Comments

“Quality local journalism”

In our electronic Speaker’s Corner (the Internet), Winston Churchill is beset by haters. Their knee-jerk spouts are laced with out-of-context quotes and preconceived notions. Call it Churchill Derangement Syndrome. Where is the truth? Perhaps we need a Derangement Index. Click on “A” for Aryan Supremacy, “B” for the Bengal Famine, etc. A handy reference to every derangement you can access with a couple of clicks.

An e-zine called This is Local London, describing its offerings as “quality local journalism,” is a standard example. Well, maybe not so standard. “The Problem with Glorying Winston Churchill” was written not by a historian or researcher, but a student at Wallington County Grammar School.…

“Darkest Hour” Myth-Making? Don’t Mess with Marcus Peters

17 January 2020 Comments 6 Comments

Cue Left: Marcus Peters, May 1940

Marcus Peters (Adé Dee Haastrup) is a neatly dressed West Indian riding the London Underground on 28 May 1940. Whom should he meet but Prime Minister Churchill (Gary Oldman)! The scene (fiction) forms a dramatic moment in Darkest Hour, Joe Wright’s great film on Churchill in 1940.

Churchill, per the movie, has entered the Underground for the second time in his life. (The first was in the 1920s, when he couldn’t find his way out and had to be rescued.) He goes there as the Germans are rolling up Europe.…