OCR Text |
Show 1‘20 121 zens off from the advantages of civilization to which all human beings are entitled. By rea .ing its interdependence with the other civilized nations of the world it will only strengthen itself as does the individual who plunges with full energy into the life of his society. being stimulated thereby and having all his faculties developed. The great fact that the world is 1 unit rests upon the underlying conditions of modern invention and science which the dictum of no national government can destroy, internati onal co-operation points the only way in which humanitv may eontinue to develop without wasting its energy and ultimatel v falling prey to triumphant militarism. lletween such alternati ves it is not difficult to choose, but it is difficult to believe that humanitv should be so perverse and misguided as to prefer the waste and suiiering of military competition to the joy of normal activitv~ the development of all that is great and strong through international cooperation. On the one hand lies barbaris nr on the other the hope of continued progress. ‘my‘snuw mum DR. llntscn : \\‘e have learned just now that our internationalism is not meant to obliterate nationalism. The nation is regarded as a means to an end. The old question was whether meii as individ- uals shall develop themselves or shall obliterate themselves. There was a'time when a system of ethics was proclaimed insistinrr upon his efia-cement. The modern world has learned to know that he who ettaces himself renders very little service to humanity and thatthe very first step to the utility of many is to develop bne's sell in order that one may be a servant, strong and capable in the work of the community when Occasions shall develop themselves but in their development shall remember that they should be fac: tors in the large world of the universe. Now the modern nation» ahsm of this positive kind has to learn one other lesson: nationalism generally operates with the idea that nations must be of one metal texture. They have invented a theorv of race for which science has offered no proof, and they have told us that the des- tiny of the world depends upon the puritv of certain races. The Germans speak of the Teutonic racial quality and thev believe the german nationality is involved in Teutonic racial distinction nd the others speak of Slavonic racial affinities, and philosophize about the civilization that is inherent in the Slavonic racial fiber. Of course, in America we cannot well Sp *ak of an American racial fiber, for the present American nation is really a nation of foreigners. If we were Americans simply, all of us here of white color would have to acknowledge that we are intruders here in this land. Still others even in America now have set up the cry that the foreigner must be kept out, though we are all foreigners, and it all depends only upon the degree in which we are removed from the original foreigner from whose loins we have sprung. But still we speak of an American race and look askance at others whose type of Americanism is perhaps just as good as our own, simply because in some cases the nose has a certain curvature and in the other cases the skin has a certain tinge. (Laughter and applause.) And then we have developed the theory of the white man's burden, and generally the white man‘s burden is not to lift up: it is but to put a very heavy load on the others (laughter and applause), and the others have to carry the white man's burden. We must get out of narrow nationalism which does not obliterate the destinies of the nation, which does not interfere with the independence of the nation, but leaves the independence to the high potency of interdependence; and then we must get up out of our racialisni, and while we must acknowledge that there are certain distinctions, distinctions which are perhaps essential and not accidental, still we must get out of this one-sided racial pres sumption of the endowing one race with all the virtues and charg- ing one race with all the vices; and we must leave out our r: eial ttnities to the potencies of inter-racial co-operation. (Applause) And it affords me great pleasure to present to you, ladies and gentlemen. Mr. H. T. Kealing, Nashville. Tennessee. He is not colored, but he was born that way. (Laughter and applause.) Racial Progress Towards Universal Peace H. T. KEAIJNG. NO government today is homogeneous as to race varieties that owe it allegiance. ethnic meaning. Name and nation no longer have a single |