Maybe it’s our inattentiveness (though we doubt it) but we note that most of the day has gone by without anyone taking proper note of today’s date: September 1st, 2009, the 70th anniversary of the start of World War II. To most Americans World War II began on December 7, 1941, the date that lives on in infamy, to borrow FDR’s line, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. But to much of the rest of the world the war began on Septemeber 1st, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland thus setting off the horrors that would engulf the world as a result.
Much has been said about that war, and much more could be said, but we won’t attempt to do so here. We only wish to take the time to reflect on the heroism of the many who fought in that war to protect our liberty and to vanquish our vicious foes who slaughtered millions in their failed effort to dominate the world. We also wish to acknowledge the contribution to that effort of Winston Churchill, in our opinion the greatest man of the 20th century, who with astounding clarity saw what was coming and tried to warn his countrymen of the danger ahead. We wish we had another Churchill now, someone with a similarly clear vision of what lies ahead and similar rhetorical gifts with which to arouse the citizenry and make it mindful of the new horrors that face us.