Appease At Any Price?

England stood on the brink of disaster in 1938. Hitler's rise to power was unopposed in Germany, as was his aggressive rearmament of Germany, in blatant disregard of the Versailles treaty closing WWI, which limited German production of war materiel. Austria fell. Czechoslovakia lay in Hitler's sites. Neville Chamberlain went to Munich to negotiate with (As Churchill called him) "Herr Hitler." He returned, triumphant, with a piece of paper mutually signed, stating Germany and England would never go to war. A naive venture. Leadership calls for a willingness to stand for principle and to speak plainly about the issues. The stakes are high when principle is cast aside in the face of empty promises or in the face of throwing away all that is valuable and hard won. The following words from Mr. Churchill, given in the midst of those turbulent events, speak volumes, if we will listen.

  Winston Churchill addressed the House of Commons on 5 October 1938 with these sobering, prophetic words. The underlying principles are timeless though the names and dates change. He drew from the vast history of England to inform his remarks and appeal to the lessons of history:

     ...You have to consider the character of the Nazi movement and the rule which it implies. The Prime Minister (Chamberlain) desires to see cordial relations between this country and Germany. There is no difficulty at all in having cordial relations with the German people. Our hearts go out to them, Bu they have no power. You must have diplomatic and correct relations, but there can never be friendship between the British democracy and the Nazi Power, that Power which spurns Christian ethics, which cheers its onward course by a barbarous paganism, which vaunts the spirit of aggression and conquest, which derives its strength and perverted pleasure from persecution, and uses, as we have seen, with pitiless brutality the threat of murderous force. That Power cannot ever be the trusted friend of the British democracy. 
     What I find unendurable is the sense of our country falling into the power, into the orbit and influence of Nazi Germany, and of our existence becoming dependent upon their goodwill or pleasure. It is to prevent that that I have tried my best to urge the maintenance of every bulwark of defence - first the timely creation of an Air Force superior to anything within striking distance of our shores; secondly, the gathering together of a collective strength of many nations; and thirdly, the making of alliances and military conventions, all within the Covenant, in order to gather together forces at any rate to restrain the onward movement of this Power. It has all been in vain. Every position has been successfully undermined and abandoned on specious and plausible excuses. We do not want to be led upon the high road to becoming a satellite of the German Nazi system of European domination. In a very few months, we shall be confronted with demands with which we shall no doubt be invited to comply. These demands may affect the surrender of territory or the surrender of liberty, I forsee and foretell that the policy of submission will carry with it the restrictions upon the freedom of speech and debate in Parliment, on public platforms, and discussions in the press, for it will be said - indeed, I hear it said sometimes now - that we cannot allow the Nazi system of dictatorship to be criticised by ordinary, common English politicians, Then, with a Press under control, in part direct but more potently indirect, with every organ of public opinion doped and chloroformed into acquiescence we shall be conducted along further stages of our journey...(Never Give In! The Best of Winston Churchill's Speeches; Winston S. Churchill)

What do you think stands to be lost as you consider the political and international landscape?