'Patriotism' Part Two of Two:
The beginning has already been made in the schools. evidently the government holds to the Jesuitical conception,
"Give me the child mind, and I will
mold the man." Children are trained in military tactics, the glory of military achievements extolled in the curriculum,
and the youthful minds
perverted to suit the government. Further, the youth of the country is appealed to in glaring posters to join the army
and navy. "A fine chance to see
the world 1" cries the governmental huckster.- Thus innocent boys are morally shanghaied into patriotism, and the
military Moloch strides
conquering through the Nation.
The American workingman has suffered so much at the hands of the soldier, State and Federal, that he is quite
justified in his disgust with, and his
opposition to, the uniformed parasite. However, mere denunciation will not solve this great problem. What we need
is a propaganda of education for
the soldier: antipatriotic literature that will enlighten him as to the real horrors of his trade, and that will awaken his
consciousness to his true relation
to the man to whose labor he owes his very existence.
It is precisely this that the authorities fear most. It is already high treason for a soldier to attend a radical meeting.
No doubt they will also stamp it
high treason for a soldier to read a radical pamphlet.
But, then, has not authority from time immemorial stamped every step of progress as treasonable? Those, however,
who earnestly strive for social
reconstruction can well afford to face all that; for it is probably even more important to carry the truth into the
barracks than into the factory. When
we have undermined the patriotic lie, we shall have cleared the path for that great structure wherein all nationalities
shall be united into a universal
brotherhood -- a truly free society. |
