Truly, Sir Winston was a litany of things (KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC),
but he was also an OG.
-Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill
Cliff Rule #85: Calls to action never go out of style.
Churchill was a master of manipulating the English language. As Edward R. Murrow said, "He mobilized the English language, and sent it into battle."
In a time of darkness and desperation, a nation sent for that man because he was the only figure who could see them through the horrors of war with the Teutonic menace. He'd suffered their ridicule and scorn, being shouted down in the House of Commons and branded a loon for his continued aggressive stance on Hitler.
When King and country called to welcome him back, he answered boldly and without malice.
He understood his people, their need for a leader, and used the sense of Duty that lay unactivated within the heart of every true citizen of the Realm, the sort of Duty one seldom sees outside of Gilbert and Sullivan operetas. Duty worthy of being capitalized.
As a student of the Prime Minister's speeches, I can tell you that Churchill knew the power of a good call to action. In almost every speech or written document, statements are issued in the declarative in a stern, unwavering tone. "We will" and "We shall" are thrown about, creating a commonality, an unbreakable bond. Every "We must"is a place where vital life knowledge hangs, waiting to found and consumed.
He had the gift.
I'm moderately obsessed with Churchill. One of my most prized possessions is a first edition copy of his only novel, Savrola.
Like it or not, I know he's not only a major influence on my literary life and tastes, but also my odd penchant for calls to action in my own writing.
I can't resist sounding a trumpet or trying to compel some sort of reaction, some sort of rise from my readers.
It's foolish, I know. Print can't convey the raw emotion and physicality needed for an effective call to action. I can write decent words that can occasionally provoke anger, but I can't start a movement. I recognize my limits.
Some words need the power of voice. The written language should, after all, be little more than a guide for how to produce the spoken language. We should read more things aloud, basking in the glow of hearing the ebb and flow of great cries.
Read Malcolm X aloud. Read "The Frogs" aloud (the brekekes and koaxs are quite fun, I must say). Hell, read Goodnight, Moon aloud.
Take power of the written language and know that unless we speak it and claim what's really there, part of literature lies dormant for us. The Voice grants ownership; use the Voice.
...
A call to action.
I told you, I just can't help myself.
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