In May 1940, the British looked to be finished in the war with Germany. With almost no hope left, the nation turned to Winston Churchill, the one man who had spoken the truth for years, saying nasty things about Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, even though it cost him in terms of political success and personal reputation.
“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”—Winston Churchill
Newly elected Prime Minister Churchill used language to rouse the fighting spirit he believed was still alive in the British people, saying, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” And the line that summed up his personal career and the spirit that led the British people to victory: “Never, never, never give up.”
He said, “All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.”
—From a Forbes.com column by Geoff Loftus, exhorting business leaders to step it up after the recession.
Watch Your Mouth
Of 198 countries in the world:
32 forbid blasphemy
20 prohibit apostasy (abandoning your religion)
87 outlaw defamation of religion or hate speech.
Muslim countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific have the most laws governing religion and speech.—Pew Research Center
What Congress Believes
56% of the incoming U.S. Congress identifies as Protestant (299 of 530 members who identified their faith) compared to 48% of the total U.S. population.
30% identify as Catholic (121 members), compared to 22% of the general population.
The 113th Congress also has its first Buddhist senator, first Hindu in either chamber, and first member who identifies as “unaffiliated” with any religion. That one member, at 0.2% of the legislative body, compares to 20% of the total U.S. population.—Pew Research Center
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