May 8th and Counterfactuals in British History

Counterfactual history might suggest that the latter anniversary wouldn't have been possible without the former. Of course, pop culture increasingly marginalizes the former while deifying the latter. It's a kind of messed up world that way, but a reckoning is coming, political, economic, and cultural, and I mean a reckoning for the better (Melanie Phillips declares the pox, and the lesson for U.S. conservatives is not Tory moderation).

That's Winston Churchill: "Churchill waves to crowds in Whitehall on the day he broadcast to the nation that the war with Germany had been won, 8 May 1945."

That's the Beatles: "Forty years ago this weekend, the greatest band of all time gave the world their final album together: On May 8th, 1970, the Beatles released Let It Be, the Phil Spector-produced LP that featured hits like the title track, "The Long and Winding Road" and one of John Lennon's most famous compositions, "Across the Universe." While the album was recorded during the band's caustic final days, Let It Be would go on to become one of their most celebrated records: it ranked Number 86 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time."

Hat Tips: At Twitter, Here and Here.