Mental Wanderings

More From AngularJS

by Cory

                 <div ng-app="" class="example">
                  <dl class="dl-horizontal">
                          <dt><label for="name">E-mail Name</label></dt>
                          <dd><input type="text" name="name"></dd>
                          <dt><label for="address">Domain</label></dt>
                          <dd><input type="text" name="address"></dd>
                  </dl>
                  <p>
                    » {{ name }} @ {{ address }} « 
                  </p>
                 </div>
            

The Blog Subtitle

by Cory

For a long time, one of my favorite "quotes" was one that has been widely ascribed to Winston Churchill.  Its likely you've heard it.  My favorite variant, (there are several), goes like this:

You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.

The impact of this expression is undeniable.  Certainly, part of it's power is simply the fact that it has the "ring of truth" to it; but there is something more.  The evocative power of such expressions fascinates me.

Imagine my disappointment to learn that there is no evidence that Churchill ever said it.  Certainly, it sounds like something he might have said, considering the frustration he often felt over U.S. policy – particularly during the course of the Second World War.  It also reflects his biting wit, making it, perhaps, something he might have wished he had said.  The good folks at QuoteInvestigator.com have done their research on this one, however, and it seems that the orgins of this idea first appeared two years after Churchill's death.  Specifically, former Israeli politician and diplomat, Abba Eban, was the first who could be credited with a similar expression. The New York Times quoted him in 1967:

“Men and nations behave wisely when they have exhausted all other resources.”

This is why I have used the subtitle, "Exhausting-All-Other-Resources," for this blog.  Its not as "impactful" as a quote ascribed to Churchill, but it is also not attributed to someone who actually never said it.

This expression was a favorite of Eban, and he is known to have repeated it a number of times in subsequent speeches.  The first time this sentiment was ever applied specifically to "America" was recorded in a transcript of a Congressional hearing in 1970.  Interestingly, the record does not clearly identify who was speaking. 

By 1980, this "quote" about America was being regularly ascribed to Churchill in articles and speeches.  This "organic attribution" is a fascinating psychological effect of the Age of Mass Media.  Some ideas and expressions – somehow – "become attached" to individuals for no other reason than these individuals just feel like the most obvious source.  It may also be done in a deliberate act of misappropriation in order to "lend weight" to the expression.  This was a common and accepted practice in the ancient world.  The New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, and John, for example, were almost certainly not written by the actual apostles of Jesus, but it made them "more acceptable" if they were attributed to these important figures.  

Once such false "assigned attribution" is done by one source – whether deliberate or accidental – many are happy to jump on the bandwagon and embrace the enhanced impact of a "more important" author.  Churchill is, and remains, a towering icon of the 20th century who understood America as few outsiders ever could.  His voice offers that "knowing insight and gravitas" that poor Abba Eban could never provide. 

If only Churchill had just said it!