Nevertheless, in the long run, the staying powers of the British
opposition have got the better of national barriers; the thought of this
opposition has made its way into France, where some of the leading
spirits are now fully aware of this English work and of these English
struggles. With regret I have to record that the Swiss press has played
no part in promoting the mutual understanding, and I imagine that
neither the French nor the British will forget the fact.
The same thing has happened in the United States of America. The Swiss
periodicals have been delighted to publish whatever the powers that be
have sent them for publication; but, as usual, the opposition has been
forgotten or scoffed at. When by chance a semi-official telegram from
New York, meticulously reproduced (unless it has been obligingly
paraphrased and provided with a sensational headline), makes some
reference to the opposition, it is only that we may be inspired with
contempt. It would appear that any one on the other side of the Atlantic
who proclaims himself a pacifist, even if it be on Christian grounds, is
looked upon as a traitor, as working in the hire of the enemy. This no
longer arouses our surprise. The experiences of the last three years
have been such that nothing can now surprise us. But we have likewise
lost all power of trust. Having learned that those who desire truth will
vainly wait for it to come to them, we set out to seek truth for
ourselves wherever it may be found. When there is no drinking water in
the house, we must e'en go to the well.
To-day let us listen to the words of the opposition in America, as
expressed by one of the boldest of the periodicals serving that
movement, "The Masses" of New York.[19]
Here expression is given to non-official truth, and this, also, is no
more than part of the truth. But we have the right to know the whole
truth, be it pleasant or unpleasant. It is even our duty to know it,
unless we are poltroons who fear to look reality in the face. You need
not search the files of "The Masses" for records of greatness that has
been lavished in the war! We know all about this, anyhow, from the
official reports with which we are deluged. What we do not sufficiently
know, what people do not wish to know, is the material and moral
unhappiness, the injustice, the oppression which, as Bertrand Russell
points out, are for each nation the obverse of every war, however
just.--That is why, as far as America is concerned, we must consult the
uncompromising periodical which I am about to quote.
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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