[Editorial in the New York Times, New York]

When we defend democracy we do not defend a political system. We defend humanity....

It is the defense of humanity to which we must rally—humanity of all races, of all religions. We must defend it against the arrogance of power, whether that power resides in government or conspires against government. We must defend it in the tolerance and charity of our daily dealings with our neighbors. The first assault upon democracy in these times is the spread of irrational prejudice. It is for all of us who believe in free men and free institutions to combat such prejudice whenever and wherever it appears. We are free only as all members of our Commonwealth are free. We have equal opportunities only as all have them. There is only one possible standard in a democracy, and that is the standard of the individual's human dignity and human worth.

Our stand for the ideals of democracy in international relations will be effective only as we put our own house in order. No doubt we are prepared to offer "the last full measure of devotion" if that becomes the only choice. But it is here, not elsewhere, that we must first give proof of our high resolution "that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth." If liberty survives and is perfected here, it will not die out of men's hearts anywhere.

[David Kingman, in the Christian Advocate, Cincinnati, Ohio]

Courage is a virtue easily recognized and hard to define. Courage can only be discerned in relationship to the individual and to the event concerned. What is courageous for one is commonplace to another or foolhardy to a third.

Essential to all, courage is the element of trust. Without trust in someone or something there can be no basis for the confidence of courage. The broader the basis of our trusting, the more inclusive will our courage be. To have faith in the fatherly relation of God to all His creations will give one the foundation for a courage sufficient for every crisis.

"In God We Trust" is the motto of all courageous hearts.

[From the Colonist, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada]

What the individuals of a race stand for is what they can stand for, as well, in a national sense. It is a matter of standing firm for convictions. In democracies the first ... is freedom, both of the individual and of the human mind; another is moderation; the third is toleration; there are also compromise and forbearance. All these can be translated into national virtues, but they first must maintain in the individual units of a race. The extent to which these virtues have weakened is due to the conflicting ideologies that have been the subject matter of so much propaganda. They have degenerated, even in democratic lands, because they have ceased in some quarters to be regarded as definite objectives. Those who agree that there is a great deal wrong with the world would be the last to admit that most of all this is due to what is wrong with themselves. It is their province to set things right by the example of their own lives.

Disraeli put forward the theory that the church ought to be the most efficient medium for the renovation of the spirit of a nation. It is undoubtedly an agency that can do endless good. It is the spiritual conflict that is the greatest in the heart of mankind, that conflict that good and evil to which all political and social disputes are subsidiary. The keynote of the solution of all the world's ills is for each individual to become a moral athlete. Disraeli, in "Coningsby," asks what his hero and heroine are going to stand for in public life: "What will be their fate? Will they maintain ... in high places the great truths which ... they have embraced? Or will their courage exhaust itself in the struggle, their enthusiasm evaporate before hollow-hearted ridicule, their generous impulses yield with a vulgar catastrophe to the tawdry temptations of a low ambition? ...

"Or will they remain brave, single and true; refuse to bow before shadows and worship phrases; sensible of the greatness of their position, recognize the greatness of their duties; denounce to a perplexed and disheartened world the frigid theories of a generalizing age that have destroyed the individuality of man, and restore the happiness of their country by believing in their own energies, and daring to be great?"

[From the Evening Democrat, Fort Madison, Iowa]

Many folk speak of peace, but they regard it as something indefinite and afar off; whereas it is something definite and capable of being realized here and now. Jesus said the peace which he bestowed was being handed down to his disciples, those who believed in the word he taught. The inference is inescapable that real peace is an ever-present experience. It is ours to have and enjoy whenever we wish to accept it.

How may this peace be attained? With wars and rumors of wars on all sides; with nations seeking territory that is not theirs; with human hatred manifesting itself; with discord and upheavals on every side, how may peace be experienced by an individual?

Realization of peace is an individual matter, and is realized and experienced by one adjusting his affairs and activities to the law of God, the law of right doing and right living. When the time comes that everyone experiences peace in his consciousness, universal peace will be realized. But it must come by individual achievement; there is no other way. Peace is not something to be put on like a garment. It is something to be acquired, like understanding. And it must be retained by practice, as a musician retains his ability to play the piano. When a musician neglects his practice, he finds he loses his ability. When an individual ceases to express and manifest qualities which constitute peace, he loses his realization of peace.

When we reach the point where we daily strive to manifest and express thoughts of peace and love for our fellow man, we experience the blessing of Jesus' admonition: "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

[From the Herald, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada]

In the midst of turmoil and strife, and the rapid arming of the nations, let us turn aside to find the true peace of God. The peace of God is no false peace: it is not a foolish hiding of one's head, ostrichlike, in the sand, or a still more foolish assertion that there is peace when there is no peace, but is an interior order and harmony which is an eternal reality....

The Lord is able to keep us in a state of perfect peace, only if we stay our mind ... upon God. If we keep our mind fixed upon God, then it is given us to realize that we are at one with the interior eternal harmony which can never be disturbed.

In the outward sense of life we find ourselves in the midst of conflict, resistance, and unrest. We look upon the world of men as a troubled sea which cannot rest.... But, inwardly, if we stay our mind upon God, we find ourselves in the harmony of heaven, abiding in the peace of God, which is above and beyond all human understanding.

We can find the interior harmony of the universe, and the very peace of God, by making a practice of setting aside a time each day for withdrawing from the outward turmoil, to meditate upon eternal Truth....

But we have not only to stay our mind upon God and abide in peace ourselves, we have also to help to promote the peace of all men; and this, of course, is not possible if we have not found inward peace. It is necessary that we live in a state of peace, through love and good will to all whom we meet. If we desire that there should be peace in the world, and between nations, and between individuals, we must ourselves live in peace with all men through the exercise, on our part, of love, co-operation, good will, forgiveness, mercy, compassion, and nonresistance or nonretaliation to wrongs done to us.

We can become peacemakers also by praying for our enemies—not only loving them and blessing them, but praying for them.... Praying against our enemies makes matters far worse, but praying for them blesses both them and us, and also helps to bring about universal peace.

[Lord Macmillan, as quoted in the Evening Dispatch, Edinburgh, Scotland]

The first essential of a university ought to be its intellectual freedom. It must be the servant of truth and must have no other bondage, whether of state, race, or creed.

I put freedom in the very forefront of the life of our university.... But freedom by itself is not enough.

Certain countries of Europe seek to impede free interchange of thought and ideals. This to my mind is the supreme crime, for it is treason against the soul of humanity. But I do not believe that the truth can ever ultimately be defeated.

The noblest part which our universities can perform is not only to maintain among ourselves the constant and free pursuit of truth, but also to use every endeavor to spread its light throughout the world so that it may penetrate even to those who are now in the darkness of bondage.

[Rev. E. W. Griffith, in the Milwaukee Sentinel, Wisconsin]

The Ten Commandments still hold. There is nothing but the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule that man has not amended or modified. He has been content to break them. The laws of God should be obeyed and His reign made universal.

It is necessary that righteousness should dwell in the land, that truth and justice, faith and honor, should bind men and peoples together, that freedom and self-government should open the way for a full, rich life to every individual.

[Rev. J. Price Williams, in the Swansea and West Wales Guardian, Glamorganshire, Wales]

We have "a kingdom which cannot be moved." The chief business of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ in the world is to represent the kingdom of God. The church is a divine society, a society called out from the world.... A people of the world called out should be different from the rest of men, a divine society making room for the greatest society; and the greatest society is the kingdom of God; and the kingdom of God "remains."