Omaha daily bee., 1915-01-09
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ISuItur and CnItnre.

OMAHA, Jan. S-To the Editor OF The
Bee: A friend Of mine wants to know
II making Belgium a door-mat ian ant
expression once used in your columns) IS
applicable TO the meaning OF the Ger
man word "kultur?"
Wren a German says he will kur you,
he only means he will treat you and not
necessarily make you well as we mean
by the word cure in English.
So. too. with this word "Iultur," which
has a somewhat different meaning than
our word culture"
But Just what "kultur' means in Ger
man is hard for the average American
to grasp, unless IL means discipline by
the state or nation, but the Germans do
not give TO IL this meaning exactly.
The mixup in translating this word
into English is amusing. 1t is said 10
mean industry. order. filisl obedience
and love OF soap and water" But so did
our word culture" at the beginning evil
IDENTIFY mean that and now also for those
coming up in the scale of civilization.
Again IL is said TO apply only to a ma
ton as a whole, Implying an enlight-
cned government to which the individual
is strictly subordinased and that the peo-
pie as individuals must sacrifice their in
dividuality to the state"
II that be its meaning II Is hardly
democratic and would surely not comply
with our Declaration OF Independence.
Whatever be it's meaning, for it is GER
tainly a conundrum to an American, a
few words on culture may not be aniss.
This twentieth century war has GER
tainly destroyed a lot OF ideals that mod
ern civilization has been striving for and
our word culture has been stampeded
and all that It is built upon in esthetics,
ethics, science Of government, religion
Qaith), etc.
1t brings US back to the weaknesses OF
human nature ard not to that culture
OF ancient democratic Athens, nor to that
OF the Roman republic. which did SO
much to stiffen the backbone OF human
nature for all time by example.
Only to destroyed by the caesars
of Rome when an empire, greedy for
power by tho ruling classes, and then to
dissipation and licentiousness, and down.
went Rome like McGinty.
To us the word culture seems synony-
nous with education. and more. demo-
cratic IL WOulO seem imam appleo 10 the
state. unless the state be a republic,
where all can have a voice and be heard. :
The stencil of the dead on the battle
field in summer or of the trenches does
not appeal to our culture, and there
surely must be some better way that
the fittest should survive as slowly but
surely by the science of eugenics. for in
stance, in the distant future of the race
In our time. at least, one philosopher
and two statesmen in this order, Metz
schke. Trietchke. Bernhard. have taught
peculiar doctrines, it would appear to us
In this country.
When Nietzsche taught that the ma
jority of mankind were incapable OF
original thought and perforce the people
must be led, unwittingly he insulted the
of the people of the United
States. or he had no knowledge of us.
II Taft or Roosevelt or their parties do
not suit us We choose Wilson.
Those who do not believe in such as
Inc beattudes like Nietzsche. that
blessed are the meek. for they shall in
he1it the EARTH" will now have an OPP
to refute Them for the fight is
pm and much of civilization is engaged in
This. we hope, the last of all wars on
earth. GEORGE p. WILKINSON.