The Denver Jewish news., 1920-01-14
Tne Immigrant Of Today
Rabbi A. H. silver.

He is just as poor in possessions ana
just as rich in promise as the immi-
grant of the thirties and forties and
fifties. He is not guilty of a double
allegiance. He does not refuse to be
Americanized and he does not hinder
| the experiment. in American demo-
cracy.
tablishing these facts. l would not
have to go very far afield to prove
that the immigrant to Americh has con-
tributed tremendously to the economic
and the political and the cultural
achievements OF America during the
past years; that the immigrant has
responded most eagerly and most read
lily to every Intelligent agency for
Americanization.
And were proof needed of his loyal
ty, this war has yielded that proof
abundantly and superbly. If the i'm
migrant needed vindication, the war
has indicated him If the immigrant
needed justification the war has com
FiNtSis anu Ju'tiA'ta AiAA
1 venture to say that no nation, not
even France, which first felt the in
undation of German invasion, respond
| ed so singlemindedly, 50 readily, so
completely to the call of duty in the
cause of civilization as did that rain
bow of nations, that gem of Il hundred
| slittering racial facets-tne American
nation.
And no people fought more heroic
ally and more unselfishly in this
| greatest of all wars than the Ameri-
can people. And why? Because each
group felt the urge and press of n
great past and the promise of a greater
future. The Greek fought in the spirit
Of NLeonidas, the Czecho heard in it
the voice of Huss the Italian caught
the spirit of Garibaldi again express
ing itself in glory, and the Pole, the
spirit of Kosciuszko. The native of
ard the jew felt the impact of the
spirit of the Maccabees.
And all of them felt strongly the ap-
peal of the great destiny of America.
the charm and grace of its wonderful
promises which they were helping to
make real. They fashioned the tools,
built the ships and welded the sword
for the glory of their sires and the
l,opes of their children.
Did you read the list of casualties
aa they came to us daily? Did you
pcruse the lists of the men who were
singled out for distinction and honor.
and did you catch the full Significance
Of these names? The names spoke of
ancient and distant Hellas, the wide
sweeping steppes of Russia, the crags
and fens of Scotland, of the snow
wastes of Finland; they spoke of the
Morse, and Dane, and Finn, and Czech
dred races and hundred tongues,
fused and blended into one 10y tine
heat of great emotion. They spoke
of an unsurpassed unity in spite of Il
racial diversity.
The world needed an experiment
not an experiment in democracy only
but an experiment in universalism, in
cosmopolitanism. The world needed
an experiment in real humanity. the
world needed to establish the truth on
vast scale that national and racial
and religious differences may be tran
scended by hOlier and lOftier cause
and purpose: that the differences
among peoples may be adjusted and
harmonized in spirit of compelling
hope and aspiration.
And so, by the grace Of God Amer
truth. America has become the great
proving ground for the hopes of the
world. America is the misCrOcosm OF
which the whole of humanity Is tine
inicrocosm. America is not like unto
ether nations. and will not lie. like un-
to other nations.
| We are unlike them: we are all of
them combined we are their hopes
their souls. their blood, thcit strength
their passion anG their genius. Amer
lea has taken them from The four cor
ners of the earth and dissolved their
particularisms, crushed their crusts,
and blended their souls. America has
taken the many-colored strands and
threads of the world and has woven
the tapestry of a miniature humanity.
America is neither Anglo-SaXon, nor
Teuton, nor Celt. nor Slav. nor He
brew. 1t is all of these plus. Amer
lea uses race antecedents and race
qualities as stepping stones. Race and
race traditions may be a virtue or Il
vice as we use them or abuse them,