Evening star., 1934-04-22

shall We make use of leisure which
cannot be put to immediate economic
use? Individual initiative will have
abundant opportunity for exercise in
devising practicable answers to these
questions.
What about religion? In Russia
they are trying to abolish it entirely.
And in this country, from time to
time. we hear reports of its declining
influence. The controversies which
such reports usually provoke should
| indicate to us that religion itself has
suffered little loss of vitality. 1t will
surely survive in the new world, if
only because it satisfies a profound
and perhaps ineradicable need in hu-
man nature. The accounts which mod
ern science gives us Of the universe
which We inhabit, and of our own in
| significant place in it. fails to sat-
/ isfy our hearts. no matter how thor
oughly it convinces our minds. We
require, in addition, another interpre-
! tation of the facts. We want the re-
| current and universal drama Of hu-
man life explained in terms Of its
spiritual values.
! Literature and art furnish partial
| interpretations, but religion offers a
| complete one. For those who find its
account acceptable, it reveals the sig
nifcance Of our career on this earth.
Will Democracy Survive?
| What about democracy? AS a prin-
ciple Of government it recently has
/ 81 ~, e&t
countries. Do we want it to survive
in the United States? Or is it obso-
lete, inappicable in a modern world
a romantic dream inherited from the
remote past? American faith in de-
mocracy has been as fundamental as
American faith in individualism
Has that faith been misdirected? De-
mocracy is, essentially, the concession
of rights to minorities, often hostile, by
a majority. 1t is, so to speak, a de-
cision to share existence with an
enemy, even with a weak enemy. Is
| this noble decision incompatible with
human nature as We know it?
In Europe Mussolini and Hitler and
Stain have answered that question.
How shall we answer it? Experience
has demonstrated that democracy is
often efficient and always costly.
Nevertheless it remains the only prin-
ciple thus far devised which makes
government and the state instru-
ments of the collective will of the
people In that collective will every
qualified individual has an equal
share. To contribute to it such wis
dom as he may possess is, under the
American theory, his privilege and
obligation. If he fails to discharge
that obligation, and enough of his
fellow citizens do likewise. the pen
atty will be bad government. If he
and his fellow citizens exercise their
privilege. the ideal possibility is gov
ernment both responsible to and rep
resentative of the peoples wishes.
Virtue of Democracy.
The paramount virtue of democracy
is likewise the great merit of liberty
as we Americans have traditionally
defined it: A recognition of the moral
dignity and worth Of every human
being. Both democracy and liberty
conceded the individual freedom to
choose, and to choose without fear
Both are founded upon a faith that
he may learn to choose wisely. To
abandon the Democratic principle,
therefore, would be to renounce our
faith in human nature, to proclaim
the spiritual bankruptcy of the aver
age man and woman. That autocracy
in some form may be superior to de-
mocracy. as respects efficiency and
economy. Is certainly possible But it
is not ultimately important. What is
important is that Government shall
have its source in freedom and ma
tional life its origin in moral oppor-
tunity.
Life. liberty and the pursuit Of
happiness" We memorize the phrase
in school, and vaguely most of us sub
scribe to the doctrine that it EMU
merates mans inalienable rights Do
we really believe this? Or do we to-
day relegate the pursuit Of happiness
to the ghostly immortality of an out
worn sentiment? Would we substi-
tute for it, in our creed, the Com
munist ideal of universal economic
equality, or the Fascist ideal Of the
welfare of the State? Would we find
acceptable a definition of happiness
imposed upon us by dictatorship, how
ever enlightened?
Diversified Temperament.
Probably not, for the national tenn
perament is addicted to diversity. We
have the reputation of being a Nation
which practices conformity an stand
ardizes its life. But the reputation
is relatively undeserved. Actually, at
the root of American character lies a
belief in the individuals right to be
different from his fellows. The Amer
ican may not choose to carry this
right into practice. but theoretically
he refuses to surrender it.
Sometimes foreigners rebuke us for
not expressing, in our national life,
coherent and unanimous vision of a
desirable existence. But the answer is
clear. and should be obvious. We have,
in common, profound faith in diver
sity, a profound conviction that the
more varied the ideals which human
nature may propose to itself, the more
rich will become human life for all
Of us. Therefore in our new world
mans right to the pursuit of happi-
ness will continue to be more than
merely an empty phrase.
The elements Of our life alluded to
are so much a part of our daily ex-
istence that usually we take them for
granted without reflection. They are
part Of that past, that tradition of
civilization which today is everywhere
under challenge to prove its right to
survive. If they are to survive, per-
haps we must be prepared to define
and defend them. In other countries
we have lately seen them discarded.
In ours, shall we not say, these things
shall live!"