Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-07-20
SPIRES OF THE SPIRIT
The Hopeless Hope
BY DIR. FREDERICK BROWN HARRIS
Chaplain Of the united states senate

VI TIC NcpuoilC Ol Cnlna,
Madame Chang Kai-shek. II
connotes the hopelessness of
allowing any psychology Of
fear 10 determine the attitude
and action Of the free world
as Il faces the Communist
conspiracy. This talented
Christian leader who. on her
visits 10 these shores. always
captures America by her
courage. her conviction and
her charm, recently delivered
a notable message at the Uni
versity Of Michigan. Facing
boldly the contemporary
hand-wringing over the hor-
rors Of modern war, she de-
clared. In q timely warning.
that for some people. freedom
and the value Of human dig
nifty which we were taught to
cherish above all else had be-
gun to be secondary to bio
logical survival. 1T Is a trag-
edy." she said. shat some
powerful minds have allowed
themselves to be enmeshed in
arguments over means such
as relaxation Of tension. APP
peasement. and finally slav-
cry better than annihil-
alton, groveling In the hope
less hope that life would be
spared them" Then she add
ed that those who take that
attitude ARE ignoring the
fact that II total darkness
should fall upon the world,
1t would be they who have
made the Communist con-
quest possible by destroying
the will to fight"
Here is a practicing
Christian. always bearing
witness to her faith. declar-
ing that the will to fight,
the will TO stand firm. must
be kept at any cost. There
were voices in the recent
conference of Anglican
Bishops at Lambeth who
represented those who, with
quaking knees. are ventur-
ing TO say that rather than
bring the holocaust of nu-
clear war upon the earth, it
would be better to allow the
ruthless Soviets to accom-
plish their avowed goal of
world domination. Such an
attempt for peace in our
time, Madam Chang warns,
is q hopeless hope. The hope
Of the world is in that
knightly battalion of re-
sisters, of which that great
woman Of Free China is so
inspiring an example as she
sounds the solemn warning
about the hopeless hope of
co-existence. She and the
Generalissimo, living and
serving as they do on the
very edge of the Marxist in
ferno running its terrible
course on China'S mainland,
belong to the noble army
who have dared for a high
cause to suffer, resist. fight,
If need be, to die.
The clarion warning
brought to America regard
ing the hopeless hope finds
the sound of a great amen"
in many editorials and coll
umns in the public press. 1t
is here, again and again.
that genuinely Christian
pulpits are set up. Here are
ringing sentences lifted from
one such recent statement,
infinitely more Christian
than the shameful sugges-
tons of surrender from the
lips Of some ecclesiastics.
I'VE have too great a faith
to heed the craven voices
to say farewell to all our
greatness, to surrender and
submit. All the clanking APP
paratus Of an iron empire
with its many millions of
slaves in uniform, with all
its menace and threats, will
not overwhelm this land nor
terrify our people. Ameri-
cans have fought before.
They will fight again that
freedom and mercifulness
and goodness of heart shall
not perish from the face of
the earth" And to that,
from millions and millions
Of true American hearts,
comes thunderous approval.
Because Of the faith which
is the very breath of our de-
mocracy, where the rulers are
not the elect, but the elected.
America will continue to
challenge the sinister system
which we faced in spite of
consequences in the horror
and glory of the Korean
struggle. Had we thrown