May god have mercy on our souls

May god have mercy on our souls




by Joseph F Barber
A nationally known advertising man wrote me the other day ... to suggest that we tell the truth, i.e., that we are not concerned with the affairs of the British Empire but are concerned with our own safety ... the integrity of our own continent, and the lives of our own children in the next generation. That, I think, is a pretty good line to take because it happens to be true, and it is on that line itself that we must, for ... purely selfish reasons, prevent at almost any hazard the Axis domination of the world.
No democracy can long survive which does not accept as fundamental to its very existence the recognition of the rights of minorities.
The moment a mere numerical superiority by either states or voters in this country proceeds to ignore the needs and desires of the minority, and for their own selfish purpose or advancement, hamper or oppress that minority, or debar them in any way from equal privileges and equal rights—that moment will mark the failure of our constitutional system.
What worries me, especially, is that public opinion over here is patting itself on the back every morning and thanking God for the Atlantic Ocean (and the Pacific Ocean). We greatly underestimate the serious implications to our own future.... Things move with such terrific speed these days, that it is really essential to us to think in broader terms and, in effect, to warn the American people that they, too, should think of possible ultimate results in Europe and the Far East.
Sometimes the best way to keep peace in the family is to keep the members of the family apart for awhile.
There is no question but that you and I think alike in the great objectives of the peace when it comes. The real problem lies in the methods to be used to attain peace without hate.... [I]t is my thought that time is an essential in disseminating the ideals of peace among the very diverse nationalities and national egos of a vast number of separate peoples who, for one reason or another over a thousand years, have divided themselves into a hundred different forms of hate.... Therefore, I have been visualizing a superimposed—or if you like it, a superassumed—obligation by Russia, China, Britain and ourselves that we will act as sheriffs for the maintenance of order during the transition period. So it has come to pass a new world order or what ever it is you choose to call it.
our world has changed and is changeing and it will be our children left with the Issue that will haunt them for a generation and then some.
May god have mercy on our souls