The isolation of America in the past has been in line with her destiny; it was necessary for her to develop to her present state of power without interruptions, or the influence of international complications upon her statesmen. Free and alone, she has not had to become a part of the great and creaking machine of international diplomacy and intrigue. But now she is independent, and, politically speaking, her character is formed. You may say that America has attained her majority, and is entitled to vote in the councils and elections of the world. She has much to do for both France and England, as they have both done so much for her in the past. They have formed her culture and influenced her spirit; now she will influence their spirit. When you read the other day of the work which our soldiers are doing in France, helping in many little ways in the villages and on the farms, your heart glowed with pleasure; you remembered what I said to you before America came into the war, that our men were to go to France and to work, work, work for the upbuilding of France. That is only the beginning. More and more will our men work over there, during and after war. Soon there will come a call for a new kind of work--new for us. There is deep meaning in this bringing together of the nations for a common cause. From that, there is only a step to the bringing together of _all_ nations for _one_ cause. The force of revolt in the world must spend itself, as the force of race hatred has spent itself--for it is already spent. The continuation of the war will be practically without the rage of the beginning. We go on because it is our job, and even in New York now there is no longer the fierceness of two years ago. And in England it is lessened, and in France it is lessened, and in Germany it is lessened. War has now become a task like any other, to be gone through with. When it no longer seems worth while, it will stop. The question of America’s part in the federation of states interests me now. LETTER XX THE NEW IDEAL _August 19, 1917._ SINCE Germany evolved her idea of flamboyant nationalism and tried to foist it upon the world in imperial fashion, the world has grown skeptical of the national fetish. It will believe in the good intentions of no nation or race that flaunts its perfections in the face of friend or enemy. America, as she grows more and more sure of her high destiny, must also grow more modest. She must realize herself as one of the sister states in the great commonwealth of nations, and the eagle will take lessons in voice culture. As a quiet voice can make itself heard in a medley of noises where a screaming voice would be inaudible, so must America’s voice become deep and quiet. She is paying for her place in the councils of the world. Let her voice be heard by reason of its dignified and restrained accents.