Lest We Forget: World War StoriesThompson, John G. (John Gilbert)
History
Lest We Forget: World War Stories
Thompson, John G. (John Gilbert)
Readers -- History; Readers -- World War, 1914-1918
We Americans are the children of the crucible. We have boasted
that out of the crucible, the melting pot of life, in this free
land, all the men and all the women who have come here from all
the nations come forth as Americans, and as nothing else, like
all other Americans, equal to them, and holding no allegiance to
any other land or nation. We hold it then to be our duty, as it
is of every American, always to stand together for the honor and
interest of America, even if such a stand brings us into
conflict with our fatherland. If an American does not so act, he
is false to the teachings and the lives of Washington and
Lincoln; he has no right in our country, and he should be sent
out of it; for he has shown that the crucible has failed to do
its work. The crucible must melt all who are cast into it, and
it must turn them out in one American mold, the mold shaped one
hundred and forty years ago by the men who, under Washington,
founded this as a free nation, separate from all others. Even at
that time, these true Americans were of different races; Paul
Revere and Charles Carroll, Marion, Herkimer, Sullivan,
Schuyler, and Muhlenberg were equals in service and respect
with Lighthorse Harry Lee and Israel Putnam. Most of them,
however, were of English blood, but they did not hesitate to
fight Great Britain when she was in the wrong. They stood for
liberty and for the eternal rule of right and justice, and they
stood as Americans and as nothing else.
So must all Americans of whatever race act to-day; otherwise
they are traitors to America. This applies, especially to-day,
to all Americans of German blood who, in any manner, support
Germany against the United States and her Allies.
Many pacifists have during the last three years proved
themselves the evil enemies of their country. They now seek an
inconclusive peace. In so doing they show themselves to be the
spiritual heirs of the Tories, who, in the name of peace,
opposed Washington, and of the Copperheads, who, in the name of
peace, opposed Lincoln. We look upon them as traitors to the
Republic and to the great cause of justice and humanity. This
war is a war for the vital interests of America. When we fight
for America abroad, we save our children from fighting for
America at home beside their own ruined hearthstones. To accept
any peace, except one based on the complete overthrow of Germany
as she is under the ideals of Prussia and the Hohenzollerns, we
believe would be an act of baseness and cowardice, and a
betrayal of this country and of mankind.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account