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The Externalization of the Hierarchy - Section II - The General World Picture
This is no impossible idealistic dream, but an immediate possibility, given the spirit of forgiveness and goodwill. Patience will be required, because the nervous strain of war and pain and anxiety, fear and underfeeding will have to be reckoned with. Human beings will be the same as before the war, except for exhaustion and a willingness on the part of the majority to accept almost any terms which will allow them to live quietly again, free from the immediate fear of bombs and starvation and ruin. The great need will be for slow action, leaving time for the needed healing processes and adjustment before the final peace terms are settled by the nations, sitting in conclave. Nations will have to shift from a war footing to settled peace activities, and from the organized tensions of war to the comparative relaxations of peace. Disarmament must go forward as an initial move, but in such a manner that the question of unemployment is not unduly aggravated. The "turning of the cannon into plowshares" must be carried out with judgment, and only wide international planning can take care [209] of this stupendous process. The settling of national boundaries and spheres of influence will be one of the utmost difficulty and can only be satisfactorily determined if goodwill is actively present and consciously used, and when the wishes of the people involved are consulted in a non-partisan spirit. The emphasis upon past historical boundaries as a determining factor is ever dangerous. Wise and slow action will here be needed and proper consideration of population desires. It is not the restoration of the ancient landmarks which is desirable, but the restoration of national and racial spheres of influence in accordance with the present situation. It is not the imposition of any particular ideology upon the world, or its removal, which is of importance, but the establishing of those world conditions which will give all the nations adequate food, the necessities of life, and opportunity then to express themselves, and to make their unique contribution to the welfare of the whole family of nations. The working details will have to be developed by all peoples in the closest collaboration. Men of vision, and not just politicians; world servers, and not just military leaders; and humanitarians, and not just the rulers of nations, must determine these tremendous issues. As they do so they must be able to count upon the support of the men and women of goodwill in every land. To sum up: The interim between the present time and the final adjustment falls into two major periods and the practical work in each can be clearly defined: The interim between today and the cessation of war. This must be used in the following ways: To educate and stabilize all men and women of goodwill. To discover the workers, humanitarians and those men and women of understanding and vision who will respond to the principles here given. To prepare these men and women to work in unison for justice and right human relations in all countries after the cessation of the war. [210] The interim between the end of the physical fighting and the final peace settlement. It is to be hoped - for the sake of justice - that this interlude will cover several years of rehabilitation and education. During these interludes between the past and the new world order, the men and women of goodwill can actively aid the statesmen of all nations by intelligent cooperation, in the planned focusing of enlightened public opinion, and in defining and teaching the real meaning of right human relations. It is with the first interlude that we are now concerned. It is desirable to get into immediate touch with those whose names are already known to you, and set them to work and let them - in their turn - find others, and guide them also into the way of reconstruction. Let all these names and addresses be gathered together in central and national mailing lists, but let them also be kept in both New York and London, for it is the task of the English speaking peoples to rebuild the world with the help of all other nations. There must, therefore, be some measure of centralization of the work and some way in which these people can be reached and swept into cooperative activity. With goodwill to all, with a staunch belief in the divine possibilities of human beings and in the future resurrection of humanity, with an exalted recognition of God, with an acknowledgement of the fundamental values of Christ's teaching, and with a joyful determination to go forward with the work of reconstruction, I call upon those who respond to this vision immediately to set to work. I call you to no organizational loyalties, but only to love your fellowmen, be they German, American, Jewish, British, French, Negro or Asiatic. I call you from your dreams of vague beauty, impossible Utopias and wishful thinking to face life as it is today; and then to begin, in the place where you are, to make it better. I call you to the experiment of right human relations, beginning with your own personal relations to your family and friends, and then [211] to the task of educating those you contact so that they also start a similar work. It is the work of attaining right individual relations, right group relations, right inter-group relations, right national relations and right international relations. I call you to the realization that in this work no one is futile or useless, but that all have a place of practical value. I call you to recognize that goodwill is a dynamic energy which can bring about world changes of a fundamental kind, and that its mode of expression is through the activity of the individual man and woman and through their massed intent. The massed power of goodwill, the dynamic effect of intelligent and active understanding, and the potency of a trained and alive public opinion which desires the greatest good of the greatest number, are beyond belief. This dynamic power has never been employed. It can, today, save the world.
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