The New York Times Current History of the European War, Vol. 1, January 9, 1915: What Americans Say to EuropeVarious
Philosophy
The New York Times Current History of the European War, Vol. 1, January 9, 1915: What Americans Say to Europe
Various
World War, 1914-1918
World empire now, as always, is to be won by force--that is, by conquest
and holding possession. So Assyria, Israel, Macedonia, Athens, Rome,
Islam, England, and France have successively believed and tried to
accomplish in practice. United Germany has for forty years been putting
into practice, at home and abroad, the doctrine of force as the source
of all personal and national greatness and all worthy human
achievements. In the support of this doctrine, educated Germany has
developed and accepted the religion of valor and the dogma that might
makes right. In so doing it has rejected with scorn the Christian
teachings concerning humility and meekness, justice and mercy,
brotherhood and love. The objects of its adoration have become Strength,
Courage, and ruthless Will-power; let the weak perish and help them to
perish; let the gentle, meek, and humble submit to the harsh and proud;
let the shiftless and incapable die; the world is for the strong, and
the strongest shall be ruler. This is a religion capable of inspiring
its followers with zeal and sustained enthusiasm in promoting the
national welfare at whatever cost to the individual of life, liberty, or
happiness, and also of lending a religious sanction to the extremes of
cruelty, greed, and hate. It were incredible that educated people who
have been brought up within earshot of Christian ethics and within sight
of gentle men and women should all be content with the religion-of-valor
plan. Accordingly, the finer German spirits have invented a supplement
to that Stone Age religion. They have set up for worship a mystical
conception of the State as a majestic and beneficent entity which
embraces all the noble activities of the nation and guides it to its
best achievements. To this ideal State every German owes duty,
obedience, and complete devotion. The trouble with this supplement to
the religion of valor is that it dwells too much on submission,
self-sacrifice, and discipline, and not enough on individual liberty and
self-control in liberty. Accordingly, when the valiant men got control
of the Government and carried the nation into a ferocious war, they
swept away with them all the devotees of this romantic and spiritual
State. The modern German is always a controlled, directed, and drilled
person, who aspires to control and discipline his inferiors; and in his
view pretty much all mankind are his inferiors. He is not a freeman in
the French, English, or American sense; and he prefers not to be.
What German Domination Would Mean.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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