An Empire

    Historian Martin Gilbert wrote the seven-volume official biography of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. This great man accomplished the staggering feat of saving the Western world from Nazi tyranny. You would think that revealing Churchill's motivation would take up an entire volume. The first book that Churchill himself wrote was about the theme that motivated him so powerfully. The Lodestar that guided Churchill's actions was his desire to sustain The British Empire.

   Lord Moran, Churchill's doctor for the last 25 years of his life said, 'If Winston has believed in anything at all in the course of his long life, it has been in the British Empire and all that it stands for.' So strong was this motivation that when Britain prevailed and ended World War II, and the world could see Churchill's role in saving it, he felt like a failure. The reason was that although Britain had survived and won the war, he knew the British Empire was collapsing.

    Kirk Emmert summarized Churchill's view this way: 'The glory of  the British Empire was its service to a cause that transcended Britain, that transcended history, that transcended time itself, that acts to lift human life away from barbarism and savagery towards civilization and human excellence.'

   Churchill realized the value of an empire and how much it can accomplish if everybody is behind it. It was a high and and noble purpose in his mind. The British Empire was working with peoples who had languished in poverty and under barbaric practices. For millions of people, the empire provided prosperity, freedom and direction that civilized their lives. Churchill was willing to give up anything, even his own life, for that cause.

    Nineteenth-century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli stated in a famous dictum: 'I have endeavored to develop and strengthen our empire, believing that combination of achievements and responsibility elevates the character and condition of a people.' Developing and strengthening an empire the right way builds character in people. An empire transcends the individual, the self - it transcends politics and petty divisions. That motivation makes leaders stronger, and it makes followers into leaders. - G. Flurry