Call To Greatness

New Zealand Listener, Volume 9, Issue 212, 16 July 1943, Page 3

Call To Greatness

NE of the few American editors whom New Zealanders know by name, Herbert Agar of the Louisville Courier-Journal, wrote a book some weeks ago which he called A Time for Greatness. It was an appeal to the English-speaking world to rouse itself from its "progressive inability to take anything seriously." And if that was a good appeal in February it is many times betterin July. To-morrow, any | day, fighting such as the world has never known before may flare up on half a dozen fronts. The United Nations are strong. Dispersed over the whole world they have more strength than the enemy has ever had or now can build up. But the enemy has strength where it is most needed this month of July, 1943; enormous strength; and we deceive ourselves if we think that the odds will be heavily on our side anywhere before Christmas. We are opening one of the decisive battles of history with no certain margin anywhere but in the moral support of mankind; and we must prove ourselves worthy of that support. We must be strong enough to take what comes; big enough to avoid recriminations when plans miscarry — as some plans will. We must not ask, or slip into the sullen moods in which we think of asking, whose army, whose navy, whose munition workers or railwayman or miners are slacking while we sweat. We are in short called to greatness, and to win we must listen. And listening means getting rid of slackness, of pettiness, of cowardice, and of sloth; getting rid of what Agar calls the "occupational disease of low politics" that makes democracies ashamed to be great; rising above the outmoded idea that war is a game; getting something into the vacuous space of the disendowed heart," and keeping it there. To regard the war as a blessing in disguise is blasphemy. But to think, because we deserve some of its pains, that we cannot fight our way out of them is cowardice on top of blasphemy-and that fight is now on. To win we must deserve to win.