The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-07-09
Liberal Viewpoint
by DIR. HARRY ELMER BARNES

| FOURTH OF JULY speakers touchingly eulo-
gize the principles of democracy and lib
erty. Yet it is probable that democracy is in
greater eclipse today than at any time since
the failure of the revolutions of 1848. The great
majority of the civilized world is today operating
under some form of dictatorship Just why is
| it that the war to make the world safe for
democracy ended up by making democracy more
unsafe than at any time for generations? What
is there about dictatorship which causes it to
grow by leaps and bounds?
This important question of our era is an
swered by John Martin in his interesting book
on "Dictators and DenocracieS Today" (The
Rollins Press 50 SOD Mr.. Martin makes it clear
that relationships make precise, positive and
consistent appeal which democracy has thus
far lacked
First, the relationships organize and propa-
gandize their ideal of the State. They have
positive convictions. They do not shily-shally
and advise this creed this day and another an
other day. They do not fill the land with criti-
cism and fault-fndng. The dictators know
what they want They call upon the youth as
sduousy, tirelessy, to accept the state faith of
the leaders, and youth responds to the express
sion of deep conviction. Hitler in his labor
camps puts before the eyes OF all youth such
signs as: The people are everything. You, IN
dividualy, are nothing We were born to ole
! for Germany.
"CECOND, in each dictatorship an ideal Of the
! - state has been formulated and announced
an ideal of national unity which contains some
fine features and calls the individual from self
ish absorption in his own welfare to a realza-
ton of the millions of his fellow citizens-a
brotherhood based on nationality and race, or
in Russia, on community of belief In each
case the dictator promises to bring to all his
citizens a fuller material life These promises
have been only partially kept. Perhaps it was
impossible to keep them in decade. But the
promises inspired the young. Hitler said last
winter: No German shall freeze or starve. The
whole German people shall be one people to
the extent that individual in the national
family shall be left helpless That promise he
redeemed.
Stain inspires his youth by a picture of an
earthly paradise which is to be attained by
whole hearted devotion to the Communist party
and the teachings of its leaders. In doing this
the dictators, while sometimes repudiatng re-
| ligion and denying God, have seized upon one
| of the fundamental doctrines of the Christian
religion, that he who loSeth his life shall find
| it; that happiness comes through duty fulfilled
| to human beings outside oneself, outside even of
ones family
I'VE in democratic America have not yet
caught the force of that doctrine, and have
not organized it in the state. We have few
formulated ideas of state obligation. The best
among us have been afraid to preach patriotism,
/ because parlOClSm mas Deen 1QentlQed almost
exclusively with militariSm.
"NTHEN the war broke out the government
w at once treated us. we treated each other,
shall I say. as one nation. The most poverty
stricken ignorant. degraded share choppers in
the deepest South were not too far away from
Washington to be reached by the drafting board.
\ For war purposes everybody was expected to
serve, and America discovered, what the coun-
tries Of Europe also discovered, that in the mass,
the youth, convinced that it was serving some
higher cause than its own selfish interests, did
enthusiastically leap 20 the breach.
But in peace TING patriotism is pallid and
anennic visitor from Mars would think that
patriotism means shifting the taxes to the other
fellow. We have seemed to be afraid to call
upon our youth for valor in peace time; for
patriotic service in anything but war. Nobody
in official power has formulated the modern
American ideal for which youth might be sum-
moned to service. Yet, surely. democracy has
visions more glorious than Hitler's or Musso-
lini'S."
If education is TO be any safeguard against
dictatorship. it must be modernized and adapted
to the realities of our day. This fact is driven
home by Joseph K Hart in his Education for
an Age of Power" (Harpers, $3.50, which also
deals in Illuminating fashion with the social and
educational significance of the Tennessee Valley
authority.