Democracy at the Crossroads
Below is an essay written by my father F. John Shannon in 1941. Dad was a eighteen year old high school student at the time. He was also a member of his high school debating team and was taking the steps to be certified with a Degree of Merit in the National Forensic League (Kenosha , Wisconsin Chapter).
At this time, in early 1941, the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese had not yet happened, but Hitler had already astounded the world by conquering much of Western Europe and was aiming for a fight with Russia.
This essay could have been his opening statement for the raging debate at that time - should the United States stay neutral in this European war or become involved in what was to become the Second World War?
It is a well-established
fact the our democracy is in danger. Today, a few men rule more despotically
than any king or czar ever did. Today, our democracy stands at the crossroads.
There are two roads from which our democracy may choose. The
first is strict isolation the other - intelligent cooperation with Britain.
The path of isolation or strict neutrality has been followed
by many of the smaller European democracies. These nations include Finland,
Norway, Denmark, Holland & Belgium. All of these nations refused to join
the Allies when the war with Germany came.
They tried desperately to remain neutral. As in the words of Winston
Churchill they preferred to wait their turn to be swallowed up by the
crocodile. What happened? You know that swiftly and surely these small nations
were overrun by the armies of the Third German Reich or the armies of the
Kremlin. You know that these totalitarian nations have stripped men of all the
privileges and rights which make life bearable here on earth. You know worst of
all, that as these totalitarian nations have extended their influence, the
individual is made a slave of the state. This is just the exact opposite for
which men are created.
Thus we have seen, through the failure of these European
democracies to unite in the time against this menace that the whole world may
become embroiled in this war. We have seen the armies of the Reich as they
swept over the plains of Poland, across the snow-capped mountains of Norway,
through the burning sands of Africa. We are astounded as the Blitz levelled the
Low Countries, as the Panzer units went on to crush and pulverize the great
Maginot line, and in twenty-two days reduce the supposed finest army in the
world (i.e. France) into a disorganized and panic stricken mob. Today these
legions of the "New Order" are smashing their way through the
Balkans. At the same time students marching through the streets of Rome, cry
"Down with Democracy!".
This all leads us to one question. What is the U.S., the leading democracy in the
world going to do? Will it take the road taken by some of the European
democracies? or will the United States take the other road which is intelligent
cooperation with the British? President Roosevelt stated, "we cannot
afford to have our neighboring countries overrun by totalitarian ideals".
In this war England must meet Germany gun for gun, plane for
plane, tank for tank, and go there one better if England expects to win.
No other country is in better position with its vast
resources to fulfill the needs of England. No other nation could have such
weight on the final outcome of this war. And no other country would benefit
more from an English victory or lose so much from a German victory as the
United States.
Yet, we must always remember that this cooperation with England must not be purchased at the price of democracy at home. As long as the United States remains at peace our torch of liberty will stand out as a beacon light to the suffering millions beyond the seas. The United States must not extinguish this last hope of the world, by plunging into total war unless, our own rights as a nation are imperilled. This should be the cornerstone of intelligent cooperation with Great Britain.
In granting England war supplies the United States must
insist that certain facts be made positively clear. Among these that the United States had
nothing to do with the start of the war. That primarily this is not our battle
now and that we, a great nation, are not dependent upon a victorious English
navy for our protection.
Our reasons
for cooperating with England are simple. We see in Britain fundamentally a
democratic nation. We are in full sympathy with that nation which has shown
superb gallantry in opposing the foes of democracy on land, in air and on the seven
seas. It is partly, on the basis of this sympathy that we extend aid to Great Britain.
Yet it is high time that we view this problem of cooperation solely from the
standpoint of what is best for the United States, what is best for democracy at
home. In these days of war of hysteria, it is well to remember the parting
advice of that great American – George Washington. It was he who warned against
becoming too attached to any foreign power for that he claimed is one of the
worst dangers which could befall our republic. We must take these
considerations into mind before we can plan intelligent cooperation with
England.
A second method
of preserving the ideals of democracy is to arm ourselves to the teeth. Some
time ago President Roosevelt pointed out that our defense could scarcely cope
with the European menace. He has asked for and Congress has appropriated vast
sums for the army and the navy.
There is
always that danger however of placing too much and importance into the hands of
the military men. It could be seen that down through ages whenever the military
gain too much power, too much control, the rights of the civilians, go out the
window. Napoleon and his generals are shining examples of what a military clique
can accomplish. Today Italy, Germany, Russia and Japan are run by these same military
cliques. These cliques have set the world on fire. But as the old saying goes –
if you want to stop a fire – fight it with fire.
We have
seen the horrible results of unpreparedness in Europe. No democracy yet has
been able to smash the Nazi onslaught. If the US wishes to escape the sad fate
of its sister democracies it must have a defense which would even make the
Nazis stop, look, and listen in case they were victorious in Europe.
In
conclusion, the United States should plan intelligent cooperation with England,
and secondly, we must build up our defense so that our own democratic
institutions will not be imperiled no matter what course this present war may
take.
I am
confident that if the United States takes this course of action our democracy will
no longer stand at the crossroads. It will weather with flying colors.
But while
we still stand in danger our motto should be “Never again”. Never again shall
one country be allowed to set the world on fire. Never again shall one man be
allowed to make all Europe tremble. Never again shall any man, nation or group
of nations be allowed to trample upon and to destroy the liberties of free men.
Below are quotes from an online article entitled; "How fascism works"
By Sean Illing@seanillingsean.illing@vox.com Updated Dec 15, 2018, 11:06am EST
Interview with Jason Stanley
"...if you get people to do that (i.e. believe in the Third Reich and the German Aryan Superman), you can convince them to do anything.
...Part of what fascist politics does is get people to disassociate from reality. You get them to sign on to this fantasy version of reality, usually a nationalist narrative about the decline of the country and the need for a strong leader to return it to greatness, and from then on their anchor isn’t the world around them — it’s the leader
...freedom requires truth, and so to smash freedom you must smash truth.
...truth is the heart of liberal democracy. The two ideals of liberal democracy are liberty and equality. If your belief system is shot through with lies, you’re not free.
...There’s a great line from the philosopher Hannah Arendt, I think in her book about totalitarianism, where she says that fascists are never content to merely lie; they must transform their lie into a new reality, and they must persuade people to believe in the unreality they’ve created. And if you get people to do that, you can convince them to do anything. "
The above is from the article entitled "How fascism works"
By Sean Illing@seanillingsean.illing@vox.com Updated Dec 15, 2018, 11:06am EST
Interview with Jason Stanley
The book mentioned is :
Many American opposed the idea of fighting in another European war on the side of the British and French. Why should Americans help the decrepit British Empire when it was the cause of so many of the countrymen to flee to the United States? It was the British who looked the other way when the famine struck Ireland and allowed millions to die. Wasn't it the British and French who had to be bailed out in the First World War with massive bank loans and the death of so many American soldiers? The Irish Catholics in particular had no great love of the British monarchy. One million Irish died during the Famine (1845-1849) and another million left Ireland to start a new life in North America.
Pearl Harbor had yet to take place. That would happen later that same year on December 7th 1941, i.e. the "Day of Infamy" that would propel the USA into the Second World War and end all debate about the US participation.
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