BY RICHARD TAYLOR For someone with zero classical education, the ideas of the French philosopher Voltaire, such as Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien, can seem rather abstruse. I know a little about Winston Churchill, such as his quote, ‘Perfection is the enemy of progress’. The ideas of both Voltaire and Churchill are relevant in the world of education as it grapples with the impact of artificial … Continue reading How Perfect is the Enemy of Good?
BY DANIEL JUPP I read a very interesting article recently about the way the woke mainstream and the Left hate heroes, about why they always try to destroy heroes from the past or people we might have good cause to celebrate today. We have seen it with the rabid lies told about Churchill, the hatred of one of our greatest ever figures. We see it … Continue reading Why the Rejection of Heroes?
BY ROGER WATSON My wife and I had not taken a significant journey from Victoria Station for 40 years. On that occasion we were heading to Paris for our honeymoon. We had spent our wedding night at Victoria Square in the home of our good friend Bunny Austin (the best player who never won Wimbledon). While I lagged with our cases, Bunny was keeping my … Continue reading Pullman Pleasures
BY STEPHEN PAX LEONARD It was the spring of 2003. Amidst a vortex of gorging humanity, the statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad was being ripped off its plinth by excitable vandals. Many western television viewers sympathised with these young men dressed in thawbs who were celebrating the end of decades of repression and dictatorship. For the majority of Britons watching very similar events unfurl … Continue reading Descent into Cultural Nihilism
BY ANDREW MOODY Aleister Crowley, the Great Beast, dictated nearly forty years after preparatory school at the Plymouth Brethren: “I had been the butt of every bully in school. My whole life seemed at times to be one slimy subterfuge to cozen death.” While perusing the National Portrait Gallery some years back, I noted Crowley’s magical portrait (it did not represent his image but worked … Continue reading Crowley Demystified
CSM EDITORIAL There is a scene in Joe Wright’s Darkest Hour when the brilliant Gary Oldman as Churchill rides on a London tube. At the time Churchill is wondering whether to allow peace negotiations with the Nazis – between Mussolini and a team set up by Lord Halifax. Churchill asks members of the British Public whether they should enter the peace negotiations. All on the … Continue reading May’s Darkest Hour
BY RUTH LEVINE At the outbreak of the Second World War, zookeepers killed all the poisonous insects and snakes in London Zoo in case it was bombed and they escaped. In the summer of 1940 Winston Churchill faced a terrible dilemma. France had just surrendered and only the English Channel stood between the Nazis and Britain. Germany was poised to seize the entire French fleet, … Continue reading Sobering Thoughts
