The Coolidge examiner., 1941-03-07
A R1zoNA z{G
IA AIR
by TEX HANCOCK
OUT OF THE LIGHT

we nave been redQlng Jan
Waltin's Out of the Night" 1t
gives the "low-down" on the opera
tiOns of Communism and Nazism
as these two forces fought for the
control of Germany. One realizes
how nearly Germany came to be
ing under control Of Russia. At
the same time it leaves one feel
ing that there was practically no
choice of "the lesser of two evils"
Both, from our point of view, are
bad.
Valtin is a strong writer and
succeeds in winning sympathy
even tho you do not agree with
Linn. Altogether wrong from our
angle his sincerity and conviction
that he was doing the right thing
nevertheless have a way of caus
ing the reader to take his side.
From his story we get a back
ground to those persons who have
worked so faithfully for the fore
i'm isms and at least some under
standing of why they came to feel
50 bitter toward capitalism.
When you cannot agree with
mans stand on a thing, if you
can even halfway understand why
he feels as he does, it helps in
arriving at a method of combating.
The conditions that produced
the Communism and Nazism of
Europe have never existed in this
country. That is the only reason
these forces have failed to make
much headway here. Such forces
have to have a basis for their
existence. European conditions
produced that basis and today the
results.
Unless we change a great deal
from the way we are today there
is not much danger that we will
ever come under their control but
they are powerful enough and per-
sistent enough to cause a lot of
national irritation.
Their effect upon our nation is
much the same as couple of
unwanted but persistent and pesky
fleas roaming over the bodily pre-
misses of an individual. The an
noyed individual has to take time
out from his work to do a little
scratching, and hunting, and won
dering where the next bite" is 60
ing to be.
SELFISH NATIONALISM
Persons who try to live at the
expense of other persons, taking
everything and giving nothing, do
not get along very well for any
considerable length of time. You
cannot "DO" people and stop
there. You can do WITH people
and both will get along. Certainly
you cannot do WITHOUT people.
And nations are like that. The
greatest guarantee for trouble is
for a nation to set about on a pro-
gram of selfish nationalism; for
II to take the attitude that all
other nations exist for it's own
benefit. The whole structure of
Europe today is falling down be-
cause of this very thing. Germany
wants to control. Russia wants to
control. In a different sense Eng
land wants to control
Over here in the United States
We do not want control but we
have enough of selfish nationalism
OF another brand to prevent our
praying 20 God, thank thee that
| am not as other men,"
Ii is natural for us to want to
get along ourselves but if it stops
there We will never get along. The
present world situation proves the !
case. We are not at war (yet) but |
war among nations in Europe have |
us all upset, bothered, and uneasy.
A so-called peaceful nation can
never be at peace with the bal
ance of the world at war The |
very forces that destroy the peace
in other portions of the world
hang over us as constant threat
to cur own peace.
Selfish nationalism, of which all
nations are guilty to some degree,
is a method that has been tried
thru the centuries and failed. We,
are going to have to broaden our
interests and concern. There can
be no safe nations so long as there
are unsafe ones. There can be |
no secure group so long as there
are insecure groups about it.
When this war is over peace
terms are going to have to be
made. Unless we want to lay the
foundation for another future war
the spirit directing the making Of
peace terms must be empty of |
revenge and punishment They
must be made with the thought of
not a safe nation but safe world. !