History and Moral Responsibility
THE COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
THE rising generation looks up to the reigning generation for wisdom and guidance. It has sat at its feet for twenty years both at home and in school, and when the moment comes to leave the halls of learning it is subjected to the last and most concentrated bolt of advice that the reigning generation can muster. The world and its problems are analyzed and eager youth are adjured to face and conquer them. Now analysis is excellent and advice is wonderful, but the rising generation has every right to address its elders in the following terms:
"We are grateful to you, our elders, for bequeathing to us a flourishing civilization. The economy is prosperous, there is peace in the world, there are wonderful opportunities ahead, and we are blessed with vigorous free institutions. But you are also bequeathing to us tremendous problems. Are you, our elders, who are reigning just before us, altogether innocent of the problems we receive? And if our difficulties are in part your own creation, must you not therefore refer us to a wisdom even above yourselves wherewith to illumine our mind and guide our footsteps?"
The note of humility and confession of guilt is somewhat lacking in the profusion of analysis and advice to which youth is treated at this season of the year. There is a false exuberance, a somewhat unjustified optimism. There is too much self-sufficiency, as though man can lift himself by his boot straps. There is too little awareness that we are in the palm of powers much greater than ourselves, powers we have consciously and unconsciously wronged and offended. The sense of just retribution is weak.
How to face the truth without flinching, how to own one's moral responsibility with respect to it, how to pass on both the truth and one's responsibility to the coming generation, fairly and with creative grace, and how to do all this without affectation and without despair - this is something for which much prayer and much purity is needed. And yet nothing short of this is the duty of those who are called upon to address the graduating classes this year.
Consider closely, then, a few matters.
Why did the forces hostile to the West win in China after the Second World War? Was that an inevitable result? Are we dealing here with a predetermined social, political, historical process that could not have been helped? Those who say we are - and there are some who do - are thereby saying that there is a mysterious, hidden, cosmological movement which irresistibly culminates in hostility to the West. Are they then prepared to accept the theory that the very universe, the very laws of history, the very nature of things, is against them and their values? This is always what happens to those who brush aside moral responsibility and blame impersonal cosmological factors for their state. It would seem therefore that it were better for them to say: it was partly our fault, it was the fault of this or that decision or this or that policy or this or that weakness in our human nature.
Why has the Middle Eastern situation deteriorated so much? Was that inevitable? In the early days of the United Nations you literally could not get a Middle Eastern representative to shake hands with a Communist delegate. Ten years ago the Soviet factor in Middle Eastern events was negligible. Today nothing in the Middle East or about the Middle East is considered or decided except as a function of the Communist factor. Can people therefore comfort themselves by the thought that the cosmos is such that this result had to come about? Is not the truth rather that we are here dealing with human situations replete with moral responsibility? It would seem therefore that it were better for people to say: it was partly our fault, it was the fault of this or that decision or this or that policy or this or that weakness in our human nature.
Old cultures and peoples are emerging into independent nationhood throughout Asia and Africa. There is an admixture of anti-Westernism in varying degrees in all this rising nationalism. Again the question arises, was this a fated phenomenon? Is Asian and African nationalism necessarily and by nature incompatible with friendship and cooperation with the West? Those who blame it on European colonialism are only saying that the association of European and non-European cultures has been such that when the non-Europeans asserted their independence of the Europeans they had to be anti-Western. But this involves a tremendous moral judgment. Nor can the Western cosmologists prove that the international Communist movement was not itself largely responsible for this anti-Western virus. Again the final truth appears to be a thoroughly human situation in which the West exhibits a certain inadequacy both in dealing with non-Western cultures and in competing with Communism for their soul. And so it would seem that it were better for people to say: it was partly our fault, it was the fault of this or that policy or attitude or weakness in our human nature.
THE fashion now is to blame everything on the atom . You cannot do this here, you cannot be firm there, you cannot press for a decision elsewhere, because you then run the risk of nuclear war! Ergo, compromise, coexist, be flexible, withdraw with a face-saving formula. The atom is a godsend to the pacifists, the defeatists, the appeasers, the fellow-travellers, the decadent and the plain tired. In its shadow they are enjoying a most wonderful field day. But assuming that the atomic stalemate is already upon us - an assumption that requires much proof - still three questions arise: (1) If the same is true of the other fellow, why must one be more scared than he? (2) Why did the West not press for a peaceful settlement of the issues now confronting the world before the atomic stalemate came upon us? (3) Why was the atomic stalemate allowed to develop in the first place when only a decade ago the West had (and most certainly it still has) the greatest concentration of science and technology in history? These questions raise fundamental issues. It would seem in their light that it were better for people to assume moral responsibility for what happened.
One aspect of Western life is this tremendous material civilization. It is a great achievement and without a certain spiritual attitude, a certain view of man, mind, matter and the nature of things, it would have been impossible. But the spiritual significance is hidden and people in their human weakness are apt to dedicate their lives to the quest of security, comfort and abundance as ends in themselves. In fact this aspect of Western existence is unfortunately what impresses non-Western peoples most, with the result that the most serious tensions and misunderstandings—psychological, economic and political - build up between the West and the underdeveloped peoples. Is this fair to these people? Is it fair to the West itself with its infinite intellectual and spiritual resources? Is it right to blame this misunderstanding of the West on the inherent limitations of the East, namely, to say that because the East is sensuous and materialistic it sees only sensuality and materialism in the West? I think this is too easy a disclaimer of moral responsibility. Again it would seem that it were better for people to say: it is partly our fault, it is the fault of this or that policy or tendency in our culture or weakness in our human nature.
Consider finally the dynamic character of Communism. It appears to be winning on every front. However you explain them and whatever be the counterbalancing sources of comfort, the following are stark facts: Communism controls directly one-third of the world, and it has infiltrated and softened up in varying degrees the remaining two-thirds; it commands a most formidable international organization, superbly active every minute everywhere; it has a great appeal, especially to some intellectuals and to those who are seeking an absolute; it appears to command great atomic capabilities; the West appears to be on the whole on the defensive, waiting for a Communist initiative to react to it; and the visible struggle is all on this side of the Iron Curtain. In the face of all this the West cannot say: they are winning because they use methods to which we will not stoop. Can they not be beaten by other and better methods? It would seem therefore that there is room for a more anxious beating on the breast to find out what is really happening in the world today.
From what happened in the Far East, from what happened in the Middle East, from the phenomenon of anti-Westernism, from the atomic stalemate, from the materialism through which the West is understood or misunderstood, and from the defensivism of the West in face of Communist dynamism - from these things a lesson of humility can be properly drawn. The rising generation is receiving wonderful things at the hands of the reigning generation, but it is also inheriting these serious situations for which, not the universe - whatever that may mean - not the cosmos, not dark impersonal forces, not the laws of nature or of history, but the human culture of a whole epoch must assume the responsibility. The confession of one's limitations rooted in the knowledge of the limitless sources of one's being is the ground of all truth, all hope and all progress.
THIS is a world through and through subject to moral judgment. History is a field of real moral responsibility. Man, in the freedom of his conscious decision, makes or unmakes history. The reason why the rising generation can look forward to a future of positive achievement is precisely because the last word has not been uttered. It is grateful to the reigning generation on two counts: because it is bequeathing to it so much solid achievement and because it is leaving for it so much still to be done. The issue is not closed; he alone laughs who shall laugh last. In this way the commissions and omissions of the past shall keep the future busy until the end of time.
If, then, historical fatalism is nonsense, if man alone is the captain of his fate, it follows that history is governed by moral law. Moral law is the exact opposite of dark forces acting blindly. In the creation of history there is the most lucid revelation of norms and patterns which we know we should obey; and when we disobey them, the unrebellious among us will confess their guilt. And, in addition to the knowledge of the facts, the whole problem of education for historical leadership is to sharpen the conscience so as to see, recognize and obey these patterns and precepts, and to impart to the soul the moral courage to witness to the truth once it has known it, and the humility to confess its guilt when it falls short of the best it knows. Vision, obedience, witness and confession - these are the four pillars of all moral education for the responsibilities of history.
The industrial and technological capabilities of the free world are still vastly preponderant. Scientific research is passing through an astoundingly creative phase, and there appears to be nothing foreclosed so far as any conceivable material instrumentality is concerned. Economic productivity is so abundant that many, if not all, of the economic problems of the underdeveloped countries can be solved, given of course adequate fore-sight and wisdom on the part of political leaders. There is a vigorous political awareness in the free world, and one should never underestimate the power of free men once they are aroused and once they appreciate what is really at stake. The possibilities of educating and guiding public opinion through television, the radio and the press are simply fantastic. In the free universities with their wonderful cumulative traditions the mind can seek and discuss the truth in all fields in perfect freedom. And God, the living God, the creator and redeemer of mankind, of you and me in person, is worshiped, loved and obeyed in countless homes and churches.
These are the immense resources of the free world. In their totality there is nothing even comparable to them anywhere else. If history rests on the shoulders of those who make it, and on nothing else, the leadership of the free world has an unparalleled opportunity to make history today. There is nothing that happened in any of the areas to which I referred that cannot be retrieved, and while things never go back to what they were, they can always be lifted onto a new and higher plane. Everything depends on the depth of personal existence.
Let there be therefore full understanding of what is historically at stake today; let the international Communist movement be understood exactly for what it is - a radical rebellion against the tested values of the positive tradition, including objective truth and God; let the peoples of Asia and Africa and Latin America be respected and helped, in their exertions to develop themselves and to stand on their feet, on the basis of juridical and moral equality; let there be a solid grounding in the wonderful virtues of the liberal arts, such as Dartmouth teaches and promotes, with all their freedom and joy and depth and universality; let there be real faith in a hidden, living, just, merciful and loving Judge; and let there be a firm determination never to compromise with falsehood, never to yield to tyranny, never to bow the knee to darkness, and always to respond to genuineness and truth - let these things determine the personal existence of those who carry the responsibilities of history today, and I am certain all will be well in the end.
AND so to the young men who are graduating today from this great institution of learning I say this:
You can never be grateful enough to your elders for the great material and spiritual world which they are bequeathing to you. You are privileged to receive established working institutions with boundless possibilities which hardly any generation before you received.
If part of your inheritance consists of great problems which rock the world today, remember that it is the world stature recently attained by America that is thrusting these issues upon your mind. Many of these problems existed fifty years ago, but you feel them keenly today because world historical responsibility has suddenly fallen upon you.
You will be tempted by the cosmological fallacy to blame things, conditions, blind forces, impersonal factors, for what should be your own responsibility. The distinctive glory of man is that he alone is responsible for his fate, and I beg you never to abdicate your glory.
Be merciful and understanding in your judgment of the reigning generation, because who knows that one day you will not require mercy "and understanding yourselves.
Through the liberal education you received in these halls you will be able, better than through anything else, to confront, comprehend and cope with the complex issues of the modern world. Indeed you will find that this education is one of America's greatest spiritual achievements, and that it holds untold possibilities precisely for the emergent Asia and the emergent Africa, if only people thought enough and cared enough.
Be worthy of the infinite material and spiritual riches that the toils and tears and sufferings and cumulative vision of four thousand years have built up for you. You have means and ends at your behest that no generation ever had. Live up therefore to the expectations of this wonderful trust, and be thankful.
When the cup of historical responsibility is offered you, drink it to the full. And when you have honorably acquitted yourselves before your conscience and before your God, fear nothing.
If you have known a real man, he will haunt you the rest of your life. And because personal existence is the key to everything, seek the knowledge of the most real man, so that you will ever change in the image of the pattern of his person while you live.
There is nothing new under the sun except the renewal of your inner person everyday. All ideas, all ambitions, all peace plans, are as old as the heavens, but when you open your being, in humility and in humour, to be transformed in the image of the highest - that is new under the sun. Only the new creature is new.
Your day is going to be momentous. Come unto it therefore slowly, patiently, gracefully, in the full maturity of your powers. Seek greatness in your day, seek excellence, seek depth.
You belong to the choicest cream of Western society. Much more depends on you than you now think. May it therefore never be said of you, never, "... but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?" (Matthew 5:13)
I assure this will never be said of you if in every gladness and in every adversity you "wait upon the Lord." For it is written: "Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord-shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (Isaiah 40:30-31).
Dr. Charles H. Malik
