Jeremiah, Churchill and the Teachable Moment

In 608 B.C., the nation of Judah, once the chosen people of God, had lost their religion, and their self respect. They were soon to lose their freedom as well. Jeremiah, the son of a priest, warned Judah to repent of its political and moral corruption.

King Jehoiakim was torn between two rival superpowers - Egypt and Babylon. Which to pledge allegiance to? The idea of Judah simply standing up for itself just wasn't on the table. The kingdom had already let itself become far too weak for that.

Jeremiah warned the king repeatedly, not to throw in the nation's lot with Egypt. He prophesied defeat by Babylon and captivity for the people. For his troubles, he was thrown into prison as a traitor.

In 586 B.C, the predicted disaster came. Judah was destroyed. Jeremiah, heartbroken, was in no mood to say 'I told you so.'

Let's fast forward, to the 20th century...

World War I, fought badly and stupidly, resulted in staggering slaughter. Both sides kept each other in a murderous and endless stalemate in the trenches. But then America entered the war, fought differently, and won it.

German submarines were decimating shipping. American rear admiral William Sims solved the problem by instituting a convoy system.

Meanwhile, soldiers' lives were being squandered in the trenches, and the generals could think of nothing better than to find more cannon fodder. American general John Pershing would have none of that. He insisted on keeping his units separate and independent, and upon an aggressive strategy that ended the stalemate and won the war.

The end of World War I was a teachable moment - a point in time when people were open to a new idea, a new way of looking at things. The old ways of thinking, about war, peace and civilization, no longer looked viable. But what to believe in their place?

England and the United States turned pacifist. "Never again" was their reaction. It proved to a self-defeating reaction.

In England, the Anglican Church adopted a pacifist position, prominent intellectuals such as Aldous Huxley came out for pacifism, and the politicians pursued disarmament and appeasement at all costs. Nothing Hitler would do or say could dissuade them.

In America, pacifism also was the mood of the day. Students at the University of Kansas went on strike to protest war. And famed aviator Charles Lindhbergh actually became a Nazi sympathizer.

Meanwhile, France was too timid to act against Hitler alone. France had learned cowardice. Not pacifism, but a less subtle form of cowardice.

Other nations were taking a still different lesson from this teachable moment. It wasn't war they decided to hate, but defeat. Germany, Italy and Spain turned fascist. The stage was set for another world war.

Not one nation learned the two lessons that seem obvious to me:
1. Freedom must be defended.
2. If you're going to fight, fight in such a way as to win.

Instead, half the world was looking for a substitute for freedom, and the other half was looking for a substitute for victory. There are no substitutes!

In 1928, nations on both sides signed the Kellog-Briand pact, declaring that they would never again resort to war to resolve their differences. Yes, Germany was a signatory.

It seems idiotic to us now, but in 1938, when Neville Chamberlain accepted the Munich Agreement, he honestly believed that he had achieved "peace in our time." But when Hitler invaded first Czechoslovakia, then Poland, Chamberlain knew he'd been taken for a ride.

Meanwhile, a back bencher by the name of Winston Churchill had been against pacifism all along, and had been eloquent and forceful all along. But no one would listen to him... until now. This was a teachable moment, and Churchill made the most of it. The voters chose his party, and he became both Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. The rest is history.

So what does this all mean to us who who would influence public opinion? I see four lessons:

One: eloquence may be necessary, but is not sufficient. The audience must be willing to listen.
Otherwise, they'll react to your truth with hostility. No amount of skill in communicating will make any difference, if they just don't want to hear it. Only when a teachable moment comes will they be willing to listen.

Two: by the time a teachable moment arrives, much damage may have been done already. England's disarmament and appeasement had put it in a very weak position by 1938, and so the war against Hitler was much longer and more bloody than it need have been. We might even have avoided it altogether. The Unnecessary War, Churchill called it. If only they'd listened to him sooner!

Three: When the teachable moment hits, people are so shaken up they'll listen to anything, regardless of merit. The one who is most eloquent and persuasive has the edge then, not the one who is most right. After World War I, many were persuasive, but none were right.

Finally: for some people, the teachable moment never comes.
Jeremiah preached the truth his whole life, but the king would not listen,
and his words were all wasted.

Bottom line: a teachable moment is a rare and precious gift. Be prepared to make the most of it. You may never get a second chance.

My strategy is to tell the truth constantly, starting as soon as I have it in hand, so that when the moment comes, I'm already up to speed, and I don't have to worry about missing it for failure to recognize it in time. Churchill did this, and it worked for him. If it was good enough for him, it's good enough for us.

Besides, the liars are doing the same thing.


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