DICTATORSHIPS A PLAGUE

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21156, 4 July 1940, Page 6

DICTATORSHIPS A PLAGUE

All wars would teach their lessons if only people and nations had reasonable powers of perception. In the present struggle, for instance, an outstanding demonstration of the folly of dictatorships has been given. Wherever the fate of a nation or nations depends upon the whim of one man there is ever-present the danger of sudden disaster. The mental aberration of one man may plunge the world into terrible bloodshed and suffering. Hitler is perhaps the supreme example of a maniac leading a great nation into the disaster of war and dragging most of the world with him. Germany, and other countries, have lacked the necessary counter-balance of contemporary minds in the ordering of their destiny. Another tragic example is that of King Leopold of Belgium. Foolishly, the Belgian people allowed him to be supreme commander of the armed forces as well as king of his people. Leopold’s mind became a prey to doubts and fears, and because the counter-balance of an effective Government was absent. Belgium collapsed before the enemy—surrendered into the hands of Germany because the mind of one man in supreme command gave way under the strain at a critical moment when there was no time to repair the damage so quickly done. Evidence has been given that. Leopold imagined himself caught between two jaws, the Germans on one side and the Allies on the other. Mental weakness had simply panicked him and made him unfit for the leadership to which he clung, and was allowed to cling. By comparison the democratic system is not so weak after all. It brings many minds to work on a nation’s vital problems. If one leader is weak, his weakness does not mean disaster to his country. A dictatorship may be effective as a military machine to act promptly and effectively so long as the dictator retains his mental balance. But as soon as that balance breaks down trouble follows quickly. Germany has succeeded in building its dictator into a legendary figure inspired by supernatural powers. But Hitler is making ghastly mistakes, the greatest of which was to plunge the world into war. He will make other mistakes until the German people realise that they have placed their destiny in the handr. of a madman. The great lesson of this war is that all nations should avoid dictatorships as if they were a deadly plague.