Winston Churchill: A great American

Nov. 30 is the birthday of Winston Churchill, one of our greatest Americans. Wait a minute. Wasn't he British? Wasn't he prime minister of England during the Second World War? Yes, that is true. However, Winston Churchill was the son of Jeanette "Jenny" Jerome, who was born in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn, New York, in 1854 when Brooklyn was still a separate city. He was given honorary American citizenship by an act of Congress in 1963, and that makes him an American. He was one of the greatest leaders and personalities of the 20th century, and even if he wasn't born an American, he had the spirit, drive and determination to which all of us should aspire.

He also was one of the greatest of inspirational speakers, the kind who could lift the emotions of listeners and motivate them to do what was necessary and what was right. We could use him today in the U.S. Congress or in the pulpits of America. He was dynamic. Listen to some of his words.

On Politics: "You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something in your life." "Politics is the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And, to have the capability afterward to explain why it didn't happen."

On Americans: "You can always count on Americans to do the right thing -- after they've tried everything else."

On Democracy: "It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried." "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."

Exchanges with others: With Bessie Braddock: "Sir, you are drunk." "Yes, I am, but you are ugly. In the morning I shall be sober." With Nancy Astor: "Sir, if you were my husband, I would give you poison." "Lady Astor, if I were your husband, I would take it." On Clement Atlee: "He is a modest man, who has much to be modest about."

On the war effort: "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." "What is our aim? I can answer with one word: Victory -- victory at all costs, victory despite all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be." "Let us, therefore, brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth lasts for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour'!"

Happy Birthday, Mr. Churchill. When you stood toe to toe with Hitler, you may have saved us all.