Rot and Decay

The outrage over the rotting state of the Danish Churchill in Copenhagen continues. People from all sides of the political spectrum are having their voices heard. It is only fair to allow free speech in a European democracy. Somewhere and after everyone has been allowed to express themselves Copenhagen City Council have a decision to make. It is rather simple; Do they want the bust of Winston Churchill to remain in Copenhagen? If they don′t then we shall consider two alternative sites in the South of England. The first preference is for the Danish Churchill to be located near the lake at Chartwell or somewhere near his favourite places inside the garden. The second location is within the Italian Gardens at Hyde Park in London where he can be positioned for all to see. The Churchill quotations will go wherever he goes and be united as one. This is obstructed by bureaucracy in Copenhagen.

It is important that people weigh all sides of the debate and remember what Churchill meant for Denmark in 1945. He represented victory and freedom against an evil empire built by Adolf Hitler and the SS. He gave Denmark a voice and hope not only in the months after the end of the war but also during the Cold War. He predicted an Iron Curtain separating a people by different rules, laws and ideology. A bronze of Churchill is what the Danes wanted in 1955, a symbol of victory but also a continued self belief that freedom always had to be protected and defended.

Today, the Danish Churchill can be viewed as a rotting neglected work of art that carries the memories and hope of a nation after the end of the Second World war. As time goes forward people who experienced the Nazi atrocities die and their stories are forgotten. The Holocaust is remembered through physical places to visit such as the horrific concentration camps. They have fortunately been preserved so people can remember all the horror of the SS. It begs the question should people only be allowed to judge Churchill after they have visited a Nazi concentration camp?

The old Churchill from the 1940′s is slowly slipping away and yet he is still relevant today for his inspirational leadership. Ukraine is a country that regularly uses his example in their cry for help. Mention of his name ticks all the right boxes in Washington, London and Copenhagen. The internet giant Amazon could never have wished for a better global publicity stunt. But STOP and Think!

Winston Churchill was a human. He lived and breathed just like any human. He was a father, a husband and grandfather. He was a Statesman, an author, a Nobel Prize Winner, an artist, a bricklayer and much more. He also got sick just like ourselves and people with responsibility took care of him to ensure he made a full recovery. Perhaps, this is what the Danish Churchill represents today in Copenhagen. A sick person who has been neglected by people in a position of responsibility who have allowed a deadly, rotting cancer to spread throughout his body. It has been suggested by M?rsk that he was given an impression they would take action in 2002. In recent mails from Copenhagen City Council it appears that Churchill′s name has been missing from a number of schedules for maintenance. They have provided no further details on whether this was a human error or a computer issue.

The Churchill Path of Destiny is about reflection and learning. In the most recent years people may think that the Danish Churchill of today has stood up as a voice for all the sick people who lost their lives and succumbed to cancer. Whatever people think, the fact is very simple. People in a position of responsibility should have taken action in 2002. They had a responsibility to halt something very serious that is clearly evident today.