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3d. SIXTY-NINTH YEAR.
PERTH, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 1943.
NO. 3,009.
PATRIOTISM & CATHOLICS Exaggerated Nationalism Prevents International Polity Christian Concept Based on Supernatural The following lucid statement on the moral aspects of Patriotism was made recently in Eire by Rev. J. Canavan,
S.J.:-
Patriotism, he said, is a difficult subject to discuss in a calm, analytical manner because it treats of ideas which
give rise to strong emotions. Sincere patriotism by its very nature must be an active force influencing each one's conduct towards foreign States in peace and war. It is a vital study in contrast to such abstract, unemotional mat ters as metaphysics or the higher mathematics. Many definitions have been given 0` the words patriotism and patriot, which seem to have suffered from a certain distortion of meaning very often. Samuel Johnson's definition of patriotism as "the last refuge of a scoundrel" recalls that even before his time the words "true patriot" or "good patriot"
were always used as if to avoid ambiguity. The pagan use of the words is much in evidence to -day, and even Ca-
tholics have become infected with the corrupt connotations which are backed by force of arms and propaganda. Any valid definition of patriotism must include the supernatural, because, while patriotism teaches us to love our fatherland, it must also allow us to love our enemies. Love of one's fatherland means more than a mere attachment to a geographical habitat. It presupposes the existence of a nation, and a nation is a human reality because it is a complex Nationhood inof human families, volves some identity of affinity of race, but it is not constituted by race alone; it is not a supernatural reality and therefore is not absolute in its values. Neither fatherland nor nation can be
referred entirely to race or geographical frontiers, yet both must have these as a material basis. In addition they have a spiritual element involving a distinctive outlook on life. An aggregate of families does not form a nation unless there is a certain unity causing the constituents to coalesce among themselves and to be different from other nations. Nomads might form a nation, but they could hardly be said to have a fatherland. Again, the ideas of nationhood and political independence are not synonymous. The Polish nation has continued to exist even when partitioned under three different political rulers. Similarly the ancient Greeks, while they never formed one political State, always acknowledged a single fatherland. It might be pointed out, incidentally, that the ancient Greeks considered democratic government to be quite unworkable in any State which had more
than about 50,000 citizens because in such a case it was impossible for each elector to have an intimate and personal knowledge of the officers to be chosen by him.
Nowadays the word nation has come to have a rather narrow meaning. In Europe during the Middle Ages a man's nation signified his place of origin. Men differed in their origins, but acknowledged a common culture, a common law, and common rulers, spiritual and temporal. They were citizens of the unity termed Christendom and did not understand the concept of national autonomy. To-day the reverse is true, and exaggerated emphasis on nationhood tends to make an international society impossible. The idea of patriotism must not exclude the desirability of attaining an international polity, and must allow for the interdependence of nations which is natural to human society,
Evacuation ,For Keeps Decentralisation and the Rural Problem Under the above heading, "Rural Life," official organ of the National Catholic Rural Movement, has the following pertinent comment: "In that particularly crazy section of the world which is called the Commonwealth of Australia we are witnessing one of the craziest things that
has ever happened. Thousands of country people have come down to the city to engage in munitions production. Now thousands of city people are planning to go to the country to void the horrors of aerial bombaldmenc. "Good enough to be included in a twentieth century 'Alice in Wonderland.' "In the Middle Ages, when from the military point of view there was no danger in having large numbers of people concentrated together in large cities-because the bombing 'plane was not invented-people had enough sense to appreciate all the other reasons for living on the land or in very small rural towns. "To -day, when artillery and air power literally feed on the huge swathes of
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death which they can cut out of thickly populated areas, Australians with the wisdom of rabbits concentrate together as thickly as possible so as to present the best possible target for Japanese fire. "Then when things have got into such a pass that whatever happens tremendous damage must be caused if attack actually comes, we evacuate the women and children-or we talk of evacuating them-to save them from the worst results of our crass stupidity. "We can't save them from all the results of that imbecility, since, at the best, evil must come from the separation of families which evacuation involves.
"In the midst of this crazy picture, there is one lesson which must be hammered into the very heart of the Australian poeple: "Australia must decentralise! The evacuation must be permanent! "This policy is demanded by the long-range interests of Australia, 'but it is not these alone which must be
kert in mind.
If the war effort is
In a country so vast as Australia-which could, geographically, contain the whole of Europe, almost half the population is herded in six capital cities.
The folly of this disproportion in the distribution of urban and rural populations, now ...specially from a defence standpoint, is vividly described in the accompanying article. the without continued to be interruption, our industries must be made safe from the bombs and the shells of the enemy. "It may 'be that the plan for the duplication of factories in safe localities may be too expensive for the Government to meet at the present moment. Even that is a debatable proposition. But any new factories which are constructed must, in the name of the nation, be placed in country areas, where
they will be safe from hostile ships and 'planes. "The safety of industries vital to the nation will not only be secured, but also the safety of numberless men and their families who through working in rural areas will be safe as well. "And when the war is over, this policy must be continued. No more industries on the eastern seaboard, the most vulnerable part of Australia."
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