The Co-operative news. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1917-1918, 1918-02-28
RECONSTRUCTION

grew is a failure and must be
reconstructed from. foundation to
roof-tree. Many rcconstructive
steps have been taken by the
United States government as war
measures. We should unite to
preserve them as peace measures.
But this will be difficult. Re
dictionaries insist that the day
peace is made every gain shall be
sacrificed. The wagon of state
must slump back into the ruts
where il used to wobble. Things
will go on after the war just as
they did before, because whatever
you may hope and believe, you
can't change human nature. The
old ways are the safe ways. 1t
is Gods will to send wars to pur-
ify and exalt us. II is His will
that the privileged few should
wallow in superfluity and the
many starve. So it has always
been and so it always will be.
Cease murmuring against His de-
crees and begin TO prepare for
the next war" Patch up the rag
ged garments on the idols. Drug
the old fetishes out of the bloody
mire and paint them over. Stick
glass balls in the eye-sockets of
the dead Gods. Rouge the faces
of the prostitutes, smother their
stencil with perfumes and hug
them again to your bosom. The
good God gave them to us. Bad
as they are, He could do no better.
We should cling to them rever-
emily and thankfully.
So runs the song. Don't blame
politics for the war. Don't blame
Big Business, nor secret diplo-
macy, nor the venal press, nor the
parasitic churches. Don't blame
anything nor anybody. The war
happened because God willed it so.
And since nobody can tell how
soon God in His finite mercy may
will another war. we must dedi-
cate mind and body to prepared
ness.
According to this view, time is
a tread-mill where generation
after generation tolls and sweats,
getting nowhere. The blood and
misery Of the war profit nothing.
From this fit of madness we shall
sink into a fit of idiotic apathy
to be followed i'm Gods good time
by another fit of madness. To me
this prospect is intolerable. From
the psychological chaos where we
write, we might retrieve q recon-
structed world if we could but
break the spell which the social
system has woven about us. 1t is
the spell Of a hypnotic discipline
which Supplies the intelligence,
paralyzes the will and enslaves
the body. 1t fills the mind with
fables in childhood and forever
seals it against truth. 1t chains
our faith to politicians, lawyers
and preachers, though they have
led US to ruin a thousand times
and can never lead US anywhere
else. 1t eclipses hope and blasts
the joy Of living.
The old social system gives the
good Of the world to the idlers
and its misery to the workers and
the workers submit, though they
outnumber the oilers a million to
one. They might tear down the
old system today and build a bet
ter one If they would Only cow
ardice and inertia prevent The
CORY specter Of capitalistic NOR
atty warns them to forbear lay
ing impious hands on the walls Of
their prison house. God or the
devil or Mr.. Rockefeller would be
grieved should they break their
hypnotic chains So they tremble
and submit.
The money kings and religious
parasites, the politicians and law
yers wax fat on the war-makinR
social machine. 1t has been good