The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1942-04-09
BREAKING DOWN
THE BARRIERS
BY REV. RICHARD EVANS

greater and mightier lands" but
walled off by high and difficult bar
rierS.
The words of that ancient prophet
strike home to us with powerful mean
ing today. We, too. have perilous times
to 90 through. We have Il war to win !.
That, of course, is our foremost task.
And win it, by the grace of God, we
must and we will, if the things we
cherish are TO survive!
Then we, too, must go forth to pos
SeSS those greater and mightier
lands" toward which mankind has
struggled throughout the centuries.
Lands of Good Will and Justice and
brotherhood and Freedom. Where Lib
erty and Democracy will prevail.
Where the Kingdom of God will come
TO the hearts of men.
But there are the barrierS,-steep
and forbidding. The same barriers
that have always kept humanity from
entering those lands. The dreadful bar
riers that brought the very war which
is now upon us. What are those bar
rierS? Well, there are four that ! want
to mention briefly here.
First, the barrier of Rigotry. The
dictators stressed that barrier con
tinualy in their ruthless march to
power. Evil influences have always
raised ii to separate mankind into war
ring camps of creed and class and
color. We who love Liberty must
smash that barrier completely if we
are TO win the war and keep the peace.
1t will be no easy task. Let us not de
lude ourselves that the enemies of De
mOcracy even i'm our own land are idle
today. They may not be as loud as be
fore. But steathily and cunningly
they are working harder than ever to
foment strife and distrust
If the forces of freedom are to gain
the victory and hold it,-it will only
be as we build into the minds and
hearts of future generations the true
concept of democracy that shall in
clude men of all groups and of every
faith. All of us,-CathoIic, Jew, Prot
cSiant white and cOlored, employer
and cmploye,-must destroy this bar
rier of bgotry that would keep us
apart, and make stronger all the time
those ties of unity that bind our lives
together in the Fatherhood of God, and
the Hrothrrlood of Man!
Second, the barrier of Indifference.
For too long have we allowed that bar
the minorities in Germany, when Mus
solini overran Ethiopia, when Japan in
vadcd China many of us said what
do we carc,-that'S thousands of miles
away, il concerns people in another
part of the world,-it means nothing
to uS!"
We realize today that the seeds
planted then, permitted to sprout
through our utter indilerence,-grew
into the poisonous plants that cover
half the earth. We know now that we
cannot be in the world and not of the
world! Pearl llarbor taught us that !.
II was II costly lesson. Please God we
shall not soon forget ii.
And just as we must not be indif-
tcrrnt to the sulfcringS of humanity in
other parts of the world, 50, neither
can we be oblivious to the impcrfcc-
tionS of democracy within our own
borders. Poverty, disease, intolerance,
cruelty, injustice, are all wrongs which
must be righted. The barrier of indf-
ference has enabled them 10 flourish
Again, we must Shalter that barrier if
we are 10 possess the lands Of freedom
for our own people and for all man
kind.
Third, the barrier Of SrliiShness. The
barrier that almost proved our undo
ing, ms it did that of other dcmoc-
racies. I'VE must do business with
these people" We heard that poison
Gus doctrine over and over again. The
whole policy of appeascment was
founded upon SeltShneSS. The dictalorS
boaSted that the love of profits would
prove to be the downfall of democ.
racy. In too many instances they were
proved right, Barely In time did Amer
ica wake up. The raining bombs that
fell upon Pearl lIarbor and the ma
chimes of death that carried them We're
made possible by the millions Of
pounds of scrap iron and the millions
of barrels of oil that we had sent over
in return for profits. This barrier of
selfishness we do not break it down
will turn into our prison wall of
slavery!
And fourth, the barrier Of Com
placency. 1T can never happen here"
That deadly philosophy drugged us for
years. Democracy is fighting for its
very life today because of the COM
placency that enveoped us through
this whole past generation. We can no
longer afford to be complacent about
the liberties won for us through the
sacrifice of brave men and noble wom-
en- who laid down their lives to secure
the things which we have accepted so
easily.
Capital and labor, agriculture and
Industry, religion and education, must