The New World Looks At Europe

Southland Times, Issue 23828, 27 May 1939, Page 6

The New World Looks At Europe

ONE part of the King’s Empire Day broadcast could scarcely fail to receive thoughtful attention in New Zealand. “For a long period of history,” said his Majesty, “it was the mind of Europe which led the march and fixed the aims of progress in the world; but that tide of inspiration is no longer running as it did in times gone by. The Christian civilization of Europe is now profoundly troubled and is challenged from within. We are striving to restore its standards, but the task is long and hard. ... Is not this a moment when the Old World, in its turn, might look for hope and guidance to the achievements of the New?” It would indeed be a hopeful time for mankind if the liberal and progressive outlook of the young nations could be injected into the European system. Unfortunately the cleavage of racial outlook seems too wide for bridging by the peaceful penetration of ideas. In Germany, for instance, there is an almost universal faith in Germanic destiny as a call to world leadership. Alone among the nations, it is believed, Germany has accepted a spartan discipline and a social system which reflects the spirit of ,the 20th century. When the Nazis talk of progress they mean something very different from the evolution of a democracy. According to the teachings of their leaders it is in the democratic countries that decadence is to be found. The liberal outlook of the New World is abhorrent to them because they detest any kind of liberalism; it is only necessary to read books by German authors to discover that in this they are completely sincere. But when they speak of liberalism they mean the weaknesses of the doctrine, and will credit it with no virtues. The Infection Spreads

In much the same way British people are accustomed to think of Nazism only as the dogma of a brutal imperialism and find it difficult to remember the real benefits that have been conferred on a rejuvenated country. The New World is an ideal framework for the development of an individualist outlook, for it has provided spacious backgrounds. In New Zealand there is a homogeneous population occupying territories that are still thinly settled. When it is remembered that Prague lies about as far from Berlin as Invercargill is from Dunedin it is easier to understand the claustrophobia which must powerfully affect the mind of Europe. And the final tragedy is that distance in the modern world is no longer a guarantee of escape. A convulsion in Europe must spread in waves of violence to the remotest seas and lands of the earth. The mind of Europe is indeed “profoundly troubled”, and while the malady remains unchecked it will spread an infection throughout the world. A decaying civilization can no longer be left to wither among the sands of some forgotten desert. In the days of,change the entire world must share the effort and the suffering.