This year marks the 50th anniversary of the passing of arguably the greatest Briton that ever lived. Those who read my column will know that I have often quoted Sir Winston Churchill, because I find his life and the principles he stood for mesmerising. Churchill personified the greatness of the British Empire and his death in 1965 marked its spiritual end. I wholeheartedly believe that our anaemic leaders in Thailand should study his legacy, because even half a century after his death, Churchillian principles still have the unique ability to inspire.
Churchill was never afraid to be himself. He was a child of the Victorian age, a direct descendent of the first Duke of Marlborough, defender of the British Empire and he made no apologies for it. From reading his speeches and watching old footage of him, one instantly obtains a sense of who Churchill was, because in many ways he was a living caricature of himself.
This whisky-guzzling, cigar-chomping, chauvinistic, imperialistic, egotistic, aristocratic Englishman almost singlehandedly came to symbolise what it meant to be a Briton.
As a natural conservative, there is little doubt that if Churchill was Thai he would have joined the Democrat Party. However, he would have been livid at how this institution has turned into the election dodging, double speaking, hate mongering, uninspiring political party we see today. But the worst quality the Democrat Party possess, which would have annoyed Churchill, is their lack of fight and tendency to surrender whenever they face the formidable political machinery of Thaksin Shinawatra.
Imagine the Democrat Party had fought on alone, despite probable defeat at the polls but rallied and inspired the people to defend genuine democracy. This abundantly talented political party has more to offer. I haven't given up on them completely, but when the Democrat Party decides to fight for a free and fair society again, I for one, will back them all the way.
Also worth noting was Churchill's honesty about some of his more antiquated and controversial views. For example, he was openly against universal suffrage for women and didn't see the need to allow them into the realm of politics, something which he deemed exclusive to men. In his own words: "Nothing would induce me to vote for giving women the franchise. I am not going to be henpecked into a question of such importance."
Even with this record he managed to win the votes of countless women when they finally did get to vote, no thanks to him.
Churchill, although renowned for his bravery both on the battlefield and as wartime prime minister, feared and respected one thing above all else: parliament. In 1942, even in the midst of war with the dark forces of the Nazi regime, the retreat in the face of the Japanese assault and fall of Singapore, Prime Minister Churchill submitted himself to two parliamentary votes of confidence and defeated both of them.
So if Great Britain throughout the Second World War managed to avoid stripping citizens of their basic civil liberties and never once suspended the principle of parliamentary democracy, why does the Thai government deem it necessary to keep us under martial law and abrogate all notions of democratic governance? Are we facing the imminent threat of invasion? And if yes, is it a more sinister threat to our existence than Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and the forces of the Japanese Empire?
All great leaders exude confidence, often stubborn and egotistical. Churchill was the very definition of an egoist. After the war when his greatness was at its pinnacle, a pesky young lad approached him in awe and asked,
"Mr Churchill, are you the greatest human being that ever lived?", he replied without hesitation, "Of course I am, now buzz off!". Vintage Churchill.
Churchill always made unreasonable demands on life and always sought to make his mark. But he relentlessly pursued personal ambition by dedicating himself to achieving greatness for king and country and that is what sets him apart from our leaders here. Former prime minister Thaksin was also an egoist. If only he could have achieved greatness for Thailand without asking anything in return except for the love and respect of his countrymen. If he had done that, we might be falling over ourselves to build bronze statues of him outside our Houses of Parliament. What a pity.
But what I love most about Churchill was his humility in recognising the bravery and huge sacrifices made by ordinary men and women of this small island nation.
During the war, Churchill paid the highest compliment to a group of courageous young fighter pilots that fought and died in the pivotal Battle of Britain. Those young RAF pilots died defending freedom.
Hundreds of young Thai students throughout history, also died to give us freedom and democracy. They too, deserve to be honoured in the same manner. Therefore, I would like to borrow some words from Winston Churchill and dedicate these words in their loving memory, because Thailand owes them a debt of gratitude we must at least try and repay. "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
Songkran Grachangnetara is an entrepreneur. He graduated from The London School of Economics and Columbia University. He can be reached at Twitter: @SongkranTalk