Man was free to begin with--as free as the beasts of the earth and the
birds of the air. Who, then enslaved humanity? Man himself. So when
Man seeks liberty, he seeks to free himself from conditions that he
has imposed on his own kind--to free himself from “Man’s inhumanity
to Man.” It is Desire--selfish Desire for conquest, possession and
control--that has enslaved mankind. The man that seeks liberty, then,
should have no place in his breast for greed and selfish desire. If,
underneath his feelings of revolt against the Tyrant and the Master,
there burns in his own soul the flame of selfish desire, how can he
condemn those that aspire to be masters of the world? How would he
himself use supreme power if it were his? Would he dominate others with
an iron hand, or would he lend his strength to the weak? When a man has
answered that question to his own satisfaction, knowing in his soul
that he has been truthful with himself, he may justly claim to be a
lover of liberty.
* * * * *
Carlyle pictured humanity in the mass as an “Egyptian urn filled
with tamed vipers, each one struggling to raise its head above the
others.” That is a bitter expression of life’s struggle--but in the
light of history not an exaggerated one. That kind of struggle does
not make for liberty. That is a struggle for _supremacy_. Until
the desire for supremacy--for conquest and control, be checked in
the human soul, that bitter struggle will go on. Don’t mistake the
meaning of the cry for liberty. Liberty does not mean freedom from
subjection for _us_ that _we_ may master others. It means freedom for
all men--everywhere--always. The love of liberty implies the love of
humanity--the spirit of true democracy.
* * * * *
Some years ago I heard a great leader of our people define democracy.
“We observe,” he said, “a young man of high social standing making a
companion of his washerwoman’s son, and we call him democratic. Is
he really so? Perhaps the washerwoman’s son possesses qualities that
would command the attention and respect of every one; perhaps he has
tastes in common with the young man. That is not democracy. That is
natural selection--like seeking like. It is very easy for a man to be
democratic with people he likes. But that is not democracy. _True_
democracy is that spirit in a man which makes the welfare of his fellow
men a thing vital to him, _whether he likes them or not_.”
* * * * *
So it is with the spirit of liberty. It is all inclusive, without
taint of selfishness. It does not mean that _I_ shall be free to do
what _I_ choose. It means that _I_ consider it vital that _all_ men
shall be free and that _all_ shall enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness, with due consideration for the rights and privileges
of every one. The spirit found expression in the words of George
Washington, when, after leading the six-year struggle of America for
liberty he was urged by his officers to assume imperial authority.
Indignantly rebuking his officers for an idea that he “viewed with
abhorrence,” he said, in effect, “Let no man ever offer that to me.”
* * * * *
Today the United States is engaged in the greatest conflict in all
history--not for conquest and mastery, not for territory nor advantages
in commerce, not for any material gain whatever, but for the simple
cause of liberty. As a national cause, liberty was first established by
the United States. When America determined on its freedom in 1776, the
recording hand of Fate wrote on the pages of History, where the eyes
of all kings might read, “_Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin._” “You have
been tried in the balance and found wanting.” The passing years have
confirmed the judgment. The Divine Right of Kings is under sentence.
The day of reckoning is at hand.
[Illustration: W. D. Moffat