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The Externalization of the Hierarchy - Section II - The General World Picture
The Pacifist Position The second point upon which I would touch is the arguments brought out by the pacifists of the world. All true and good people are pacifically minded and all hate war. This is a fact which the academic idealist and pacifist often forgets. Such people tell us that two wrongs do not make a right; and to meet murder with murder (which is their definition of war) is sinful; that war is evil (which no one denies) and that one must not take part in it. They contend that thinking thoughts of peace and of love can put the world straight and end the war. Such people, fighting the existent fact of war, usually do little or nothing concrete to right the wrongs which are responsible for the war, and permit their defence - personal, municipal, national and international - to be undertaken by others. The sincerity of these people cannot be questioned. It should be remembered, in countering these ideas and in justifying the fighting spirit of the Christian democracies, [180] that it is motive that counts. War can be and is mass murder, where the motive is wrong. It can be sacrifice and right action, where the motive is right. The slaying of a man in the act of killing, the defenceless is not regarded as murder. The principle remains the same, whether it is killing an individual who is murdering, or fighting a nation which is warring on the defenceless. The material means, which evil uses for selfish ends, can also be employed for good purposes. The death of the physical body is a lesser evil than the setting back of civilization, the thwarting of the divine purposes of the human spirit, the negating of all spiritual teaching, and the control of men's minds and liberties. War is always evil, but it can be the lesser of two evils, as is the case today. The present war, if carried forward to a successful completion by the defeat of the totalitarian powers, constitutes a far lesser evil than the subjugation of many nations to the unparalleled cupidity, the appalling educational process and the defiance of all recognized spiritual values by the Axis powers. If the totalitarian powers should conquer, it would mean years of turmoil and revolt; their victory would result in untold misery. It is no doubt an undeniable spiritual truth that right thought can change and save the world, but it is also true that there are not enough people able to think to do this work. Also, there is not enough time in which to do it. The thoughts of peace are mainly founded upon a stubborn idealism that loves the ideal more than humanity. They are based also upon an unrecognized fear of war and upon an individual inertia which prefers the dream world of wishful thinking to the shouldering of responsibility for the security of humanity. Thus briefly have I sought to make the position of the New Group of World Servers clear as it fights for the rights of man, for the spiritual future of humanity, and for the new world order. What I have now to say will fall into four parts: [181] The world as it exists today. The present situation is the result of past tendencies, of underlying pressures and of human decisions. The new world order. This we will contrast with the old order and with the so-called "new order" of the totalitarian powers. Some problems involved. Four major world problems will call for discussion and these we must consider. The task ahead. We will then deal with the interlude until peace is achieved plus some suggestions for the coming period of reconstruction.
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