I’m a firm subscriber to the “Great Man”
theory of history, which posits that the course of history largely (but not
entirely) has been determined, for better or worse, by the decisive impact of individuals
of unique vision and indomitable will. What would the world look like had
Alexander the Great, for example, never been born? Or Jesus Christ? Or George
Washington? Or Adolph Hitler, for that matter? Fortunately for the world,
Hitler’s impact was checked by the timely emergence of another towering figure who
validates the Great Man theory: Winston Churchill.
Now conservative author and speaker Nick Adams
has written a book linking Churchill to President Donald Trump as men who share
certain qualities that Adams believes confirms their stature as history’s two greatest defenders of
Western civilization.
If you’ve ever seen my friend Nick Adams speak
in person or in the news media, you know that one would be hard-pressed to find
a more enthusiastic cheerleader for America – especially considering that he’s from
Australia (he describes himself as an American trapped in an Australian body).
A legal immigrant, Nick is genuinely so grateful and excited to be an American
that he founded FLAG, the Foundation
for Liberty and American Greatness, a non-profit organization dedicated to
educating Americans about the values and principles that make our nation
exceptional. Toward this end, FLAG promotes civics education to K-12 students
across the country.
Nick has also written a number of books extolling
and defending American virtues, including Green Card Warrior: My Quest for Legal Immigration in an Illegals'
System, Class Dismissed: Why College Isn’t the Answer, and Retaking America: Crushing Political Correctness. His latest book, available May 19, is Trump and Churchill: Defenders of Western Civilization – “part
historical, part rallying cry, part sociological analysis,” as he puts it. In it, Nick examines the former
British Prime Minister and America’s 45th President through a combination
of ten qualities crucial to their greatness, each of which is assigned its own
short chapter: genius, patriotism, prescience, instinct, defiance, pugnacity, and
ebullience, among others. He asserts that the mix of these qualities enabled Churchill
and Trump to rise above adversity, controversy, and overwhelming opposition
both without and within their own governments to become the saviors of Western
civilization and its values at moments in history when the West was challenged
by perilous threats, and he predicts that Trump will surpass even Churchill in
terms of his historical significance for our way of life.
that one of the first victories for each man
was that he stemmed the tide; he defended Western civilization first by halting
the expansion of anti-Western, anti-freedom ideals, and then by moving the ball
back in the other direction. Trump himself is not going to fully restore all respect
for free speech, police officers, or the rule of law. But he is first stopping
the damage wrought by Obama and then reversing the damage by restoring respect
to these institutions and ideals. Similarly, while Churchill helped stop Adolf
Hitler and Joseph Stalin, he himself could not completely stop the ideology that
had infected the people in their countries, as some of that sadly still lives
on today. He was able to halt their harm and make progress toward undoing their
damage.
Trump, more
specifically,
has helped defend Western civilization by
promoting true equality, by helping move the country toward better
opportunities for all Americans, including Hispanics and African Americans, and
especially those in poorer areas who are often ignored by leftist politicians except
when campaign season comes around. In this way, Trump has defended Western
civilization by helping unify the country around the shared goal of a stronger
economy.
“Both Churchill
and Trump had the weight of civilization on their shoulders, but they never
once shrugged,” Adams continues. “Instead, like the great leaders they were,
Churchill and Trump soldiered on with ebullience, projecting an optimism to the
people they were leading as well as their enemies, who surely thought they
would be demoralized.”
In addition to
sharing many qualities crucial to greatness, both men, Adams writes, “recognized
the importance of free enterprise, the rule of law, limited government, religious
freedom, and the freedom of speech.” Both “took over from weak predecessors” who
had left their countries on the brink of crisis, and “both men at different
times had to upend traditional ‘wisdom.’” Like Churchill, Trump is known for working
obsessively long hours. Also like Churchill, Adams writes, Trump is a flawed man
who is nevertheless putting everything of himself on the line for the defense
of the country he loves and the Western values he cherishes.
Pointing out that
Trump is an admirer of the British leader, Adams notes that, “one of the first
acts that Trump took as president was to bring the bust of Winston Churchill
back into the Oval Office” after his predecessor Barack Obama shamefully and
insultingly returned the gift to England when he took office. Adams goes on to
claim he feels certain that Churchill, were he alive today, would be an admirer
of Trump as well, partly because he too was “despised by the elites and the
resistance of his day” but his “decisions and philosophy were, by and large,
proven correct.”
In addition to quoting
liberally from Trump and Churchill throughout the book, Adams includes fifty
pages of rousing speeches from both men in which they defend the values of
Western civilization: Churchill’s 1938 speech about the Munich agreement before
the House of Commons, his 1938 Chancellor’s address on civilization at Bristol
University, and his 1918 Liberty Day Meeting speech at Westminster; and Trump’s
inaugural address, his 2017 speech in Warsaw, and his February 2019 State of
the Union address.
Adams concludes
the very readable Trump and
Churchill by reaffirming his prediction that “President Donald Trump is going to be
a greater defender of Western civilization than Prime Minister Winston
Churchill.” That will be left to the judgment of history, of course, but
considering the existential threats the Western world is facing – a growing favorability
toward socialism among our youth, the subversion of cultural Marxism, leftist
totalitarianism, Islamic fundamentalism, and open-borders globalism – if Trump can
lead a turn of the tide and Make Western Civilization Great Again, then Nick
Adams will be proven right.
From FrontPage Mag, 4/23/20
