"Not at all," responded Oqua. "When all the people enter into an
organization of society, the primary object of which is to provide
the best possible conditions for each of its members, the personal
interests of each, will, to say nothing of the moral obligations,
impel them to perpetuate such organization, by doing everything in
their power to promote the best interests of all. Hence, just as soon
as all have been made secure in their natural rights to life, liberty
and those equitable conditions which place happiness within the reach
of all, sound policy, as well as equal liberty and even-handed justice
demands that all should have an equal voice in the conduct of public
affairs in which all are equally interested. It would be manifestly
unjust and oppressive, to ask the people to submit to regulations to
which they never consented."
"I admit the force of your reasoning," said the Captain. "The same
ideas, expressed in different language, were adopted in my own country
and have served to embellish platform utterances and sensational
newspaper appeals, but in practice, they have been treated as mere
'glittering generalities.' Here, you seem to regard them in a far
different light, as something to be reduced to practice in every day
life; and with a people as well educated as yours this seems to be
easy, but, with an ignorant and brutal populace the case would be very
different."
"Not so," said Oqua. "There is more good than evil in the human soul.
The populace might be made ignorant and brutal by the violation of
these principles, and if so, the application of these principles in
all the transactions of life would inevitably produce an intellectual
and refined populace. This is no 'glittering generality,' but a sober
truth, and this is the lesson that your people must learn before they
can ever reach their ideal of what they ought to be. When the leading
minds among any people realize that there is absolutely but one way by
which the masses of mankind can ever be elevated to higher and better
conditions mentally and morally, and that way is, by placing them
under better conditions physically, it will be found that the whole
people can be lifted up to a higher plane of being as if by magic. It
is on this line that the people of this country have been moving for
centuries and it is to this that we desire to call your attention. We
give you a number, which signifies that because you have an existence,
you are entitled to the blessings of our civilization. But now we want
you to register your name, as a co-worker. When you take this step, you
will have given us your permission to ask your co-operation whenever it
is needed. Are you willing to register and assume the duties incumbent
upon citizenship?"
"Certainly," said the Captain. "You have a right to command our
services and all we want is to know what is required of us."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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