February 4, 2005
MORAL UNITY:
DEMOCRACY: How free societies perish (Andre Maurois, 08 January 2005, News Weekly)
What causes free societies to lose their capacity to defend themselves? The distinguished French writer André Maurois was a close observer of the events which led to France's surprise defeat by Germany in May-June 1940. He concluded that the reasons behind France's sudden collapse were not primarily military, but moral, and enunciated nine principles essential for the defence of freedom.These principles are not without relevance for today's Western democracies as they confront the threat of global terrorism. [...]
On July 2, Maurois left Britain to give a series of lectures in the United States. During his voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, which was infested with German submarines, he learned from a telegraph news bulletin of yet another blow to French national pride.
The British feared that Marshall Pétain's new government, which had recently surrendered to Hitler, might put the French navy at the disposal of the Nazis. To prevent this possibility, Churchill reluctantly ordered a British squadron to attack and sink the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir, the military port at Oran in French Algeria.
Early one morning in mid-voyage, Maurois encountered another distinguished passenger, Sir Norman Angell (1872-1967), the British writer, sometime Labour politician, early pioneer of the League of Nations and winner in 1933 of the Nobel Peace Prize for his advocacy of peaceful co-operation in international relations.
The two men sat down together and, in the course of a remarkable conversation, explored the causes of France's lack of defence preparedness. [...]
Angell got up and left Maurois who, alone once more, spent a long time thinking about this conversation. He got out a pencil and, on the cover of the book he was reading, he wrote the following:Remedies
(1) Be strong. A people that is not ready to die for its liberties will lose them.
(2) Act Fast. Ten thousand airplanes built in time are worth more than 50,000 after the battle.
(3) Direct opinion. A leader leads; he does not follow.
(4) Maintain the moral unity of the nation. Political parties are passengers aboard the same ship; if they wreck it, all will perish.
(5) Protect public opinion against the influence of foreign governments. To defend ideas is legitimate; to accept money from abroad for defending them is a crime.
(6) Act instantly against all illegal violence. Provocation to violence is a crime in itself
(7) Protect the young against any teaching designed to weaken the unity of the country. A country that does not seek to preserve its existence commits suicide.
(8) Demand upright lives in those who govern. Vice of any sort gives advantage to the enemy.
(9) Believe passionately in the ideas and in the way of life for which one is fighting. It is faith that creates armies, and even arms. Liberty deserves to be served with more passion than tyranny.
How many continental European nations meet even half of these standards today? Posted by Orrin Judd at February 4, 2005 6:41 AM
The U.S. shows vulnerability on at least four of Maurois' points: 4) Democrats seem to be willing to sink the ship, 5) Both the U.N. and George Soros, a government unto himself (although a U.S. citizen, I guess), seek to influence public opinion; won't even mention Kerry, the French connection, 7) The NEA pushes its own touchy-feely one-world philosophy, and 8) who could be less upright than our 42nd, Billy Bob?
Posted by: ed at February 4, 2005 9:40 AMBush has failed on points 4 (definitely), 5 (we allow too much Saudi funding and have not moved decisively to expel certain Islamic supremacists), and 7 (somewhat, although this is a case of him not doing enough as opposed to outright failure).
I blame 4 more on Bush than the Democrats because the country was united after September 11, but he preferred a risky strategy of pushing a partisan agenda at the same time as the war that alienated the Dems. He also botched presenting the war. Much of the opposition the war has, he has generated himself.
None of Ed's foils apply to #5. The UN does not subsidize propaganda in the US. Soros is an American citizen, not a foreign agent. Kerry too is a US citizen even if he has questionable judgment. And France has no influence in the US at all. Frog-bashing was popular before September 11.
Posted by: Chris Durnell at February 4, 2005 11:08 AM" the country was united after September 11"
As if the Left had any choice in the matter.Before it disappears down the Memory Hole, let's not forget that there were more than a few (people like Micheal Moore and Ward Churchill) who said intemperate, stupid things in the first few hours. The reaction they got just showed the smarter Leftists that it was time to lay low for a while. By the end of October, they were back.
Posted by: Raoul Ortega at February 4, 2005 12:23 PMWhat Raoul said, Chris. The country was united only insofar as most on the hard Left bit their tongues, ot muttered under their breath, or were careful to talk among themselves. Don't flatter them too much.
Posted by: joe shropshire at February 4, 2005 12:35 PMI don't think the Clinton administration passes that test.
ed:
What do any of those individuals or groups matter anymore though?
Posted by: oj at February 4, 2005 5:33 PM