Winston Churchill

In a world where diversity dominates in all sectors, different people demonstrate varying traits that make or unmake a person’s reputation. Reputation, therefore, refers to the general opinion or judgment that is held by the public about a given person. It is a redundant and one of the false temperaments that are often received without any merit. However, it is also lost without any justification. With the passing of time, contrasting biographies of iconic historic leaders has been established. The emergence of these contrasting biographies indicates how perceptions of varying historical changes evolve with time. All reputations including those of national icons rise and fall over time. A large part of Churchill’s life has represented him as a controversial figure. With the changing perspectives on such iconic figures, a change in interpretation is often not avoided. Churchill’s personal determination and willingness is one of the major factors that led to his great reputation.

Winston Churchill is one of the most recognized leaders in the British history. His iconic leadership is illustrated through his devotion and active participation in leading British through the Second World War. This was one of the most tumultuous times in the British history. Churchill was born in 1874 from a privileged family. However, since his father was not the firstborn son, he did not bear the family title (Rothstein, 2005, 96). In spite of the fact that his father did not receive a seat at his father’s house, he was able to ascend to the highest level in the British politics. Churchill had a wide range of behaviors that made him become transformational. His charisma enhanced him to adopt a vision and focus on the bigger picture which enabled him to gain a state victory. Initially, Churchill attained a political reputation. This was largely contributed through his charisma and his great oratory power (Reynolds, 2005, 16). In most cases, the public is more likely to point out charisma to leaders when they feel a strong urge to change. They often do this when they are faced with personal or even social crisis. For instance, the British public in 1939 failed to attribute Winston Churchill as a charismatic leader. However, a year later this perception about him changed following his great vision, poise and communication skills. These qualities made the public to attribute him as charismatic given the anxieties that they experienced during and after the Dunkirk evacuation. Unfortunately, in 1945, the public started focusing on the construction of welfare rather than winning the war. As a result, they voted Churchill out of office. His charisma, in this case, failed to predict his electoral defeat (Rothstein, 2005, 96).

According to Reynolds, (2005, 16), he asserts that Winston’s executive achievements did not contribute to his reputation at that period. However, even with his controversial reputation, in 1911, he was given a role in the navy. He was assigned as the lord of the Admiralty. In one aspect of his life, Churchill met the hour where he was the most outstanding in the British History. However, in all of the other aspects, he was just another politician in the making. His great achievements came about not because of his particular character.

The myth surrounding Churchill is way too much. It is therefore important for us to fully look at the reality behind his works and life. In doing, this, a true perspective about him will be attained. In the first half of the 20th century, Churchill’s myth keeps us from making an honest interpretation of the true occurrences in our history. As from 1940-45, Churchill’s image is created. His image is falsified and romanticized. This is a huge hindrance to true understanding. His determination to fight rather than make a dialogue with Nazi Germany was out of the ordinary with the British monarchy. His reputation, therefore, did not coincide with that of the British public opinion (Heffer, 2015, 20).

The relationship between myth and history led to the construction of Churchill’s reputation. The British people thought that Churchill’s political judgment was unreliable. He was widely blamed for the Dardanelles fiasco that occurred during the First World War (Heffer, 2015, 20). This was a risky venture and people thought that Churchill failed to think through it properly. In history, politicians who often change parties usually lose the public trust. Churchill was a victim in this case as he had changed his parties not only once but twice. With such a record, a cynical optimism was blown off. The fact that people’s view differs completely from so many aspects is a reflection of the diverse personalities. Therefore one has to really get outside of oneself in order to get a truly objective view. History, on the other hand, plays a major role in building a person’s reputation. Over the years, Winston Churchill’s reputation has been strongly constructed by the myths and the history surrounding his life. The mythical stories of Churchill constructed a bad reputation for him for the better part of his life (Heffer, 2015, 21). Historians failed to compare stories so as to decide which of these stories were more credible and those that were an exaggeration. Reasonable objective accounts on Churchill have however captured the desired everyday detail of history.

As a politician, Churchill has had a share of praise and excoriation over his lifetime. As a writer, he has had an influence on the people as he has created a reputation of admiration through his writing. He has therefore been largely admired for his writing prowess depicted in his earliest publications (Reynolds, 2005, 16). However, there has been an obvious bias in much of his works. Some of the critics and historians over the years have attributed his writing success to his conduct of dictating his work. Many therefore argue that it is through this habit that he has been able to easily gained interest and sympathy from the public.

In conclusion, it is quite evident that Churchill’s personal determination and the drive was a factor that led to his great reputation in the after years. He is the man that had inherent will to survive and beat all odds. His courage and natural capacity to come up with action plans paved a way for him into attaining a national repute. As an iconic leader of the 21st century, Churchill made his bold and overt trait an important element of his leadership prowess and a symbol of his Great War effort. His stubborn unwillingness to give up on the war that would disrupt the normal life in British led to people’s admiration. British people gained confidence in him and believed in his ability to protect their state. However, his reputation was unstable and it kept on changing with time following the different views held by the British people. His image has thus been painted and interpreted as one that is controversial.

References

Reynolds, D 2005, 'Churchill the Historian', History Today, vol. 55, no. 2, pp. 16-17.