DOC. 20 OPINION ON THE WAR 97
well-tended
shrine,
the
pride
of the
man
of the
house,
and
every
visitor is
loudly
alerted
to
the
presence
of
this shrine
upon
which is written in
huge
letters
“patrio-
tism.” It
is
usually a
taboo
to
open
this shrine.
Moreover,
the
master
of
the house
barely
knows, or does
not know at
all,
that this shrine holds the moral
requisites
of
bestial hatred and
mass
murder,
which he
dutifully
takes out in
case
of
war
in order
to
use
them. This
type
of
shrine,
dear
reader, you
will
not
find in
my
little
room,
and
I would be
happy
if
you
would
adopt
the attitude that in that
same
corner
of
your
little
room
a
piano or
a
bookshelf would
be a more fitting piece
of
furniture than the
one you
find
only
tolerable because
you
have been used to it since
your early youth.
I
have
no
intention of
making a
secret
of
my
international
sentiments. How close
I
feel for
a
human
being or a
human
organization depends only upon
how
I
judge
their intentions and
capabilities.
The state
to
which I
belong as
a
citizen
does not
play
any
role in
my feelings [Gemütsleben],
because I
see
it
more
like
a
matter
of
business,
such
as
the relations with
a
life insurance
company. (From
what
I
have said
above,
there should be
no
doubt that
I
must
strive
to
be
a
citizen
of
a country
that
presumably
does
not
force
me
to
take
part
in
a
war.)
But how
can a
powerless
individual creature contribute to
reaching
this
goal?
Should
perhaps everybody
devote
a
considerable
portion
of
his time
and
resources
to
politics?
I
really
believe that the
intellectually more
mature
people
of
Europe
have
sinned when
they neglected
to
care
for
general political questions; yet,
I do
not
see
in
political
commitment the most
important
effectiveness of
an
individual in this
matter.
I rather believe that
everybody
should
act
individually
in
a
sense
that those
feelings,
which I have
elaborately
discussed
before,
are
steered
on
a
course
that
can
no longer
become
a curse
for the
general public.
Every
man
who knows that
he
acted to his best
knowledge
and
ability
should feel
honorable,
without
regard
to
the
words and deeds
of others.
Words and actions of
others
or
other
groups
cannot violate one's
personal
honor
or
the honor
of
one's
group. Power-hunger
and
greed shall,
as
in the
past,
be treated
as
despicable vices;
the
same applies
to
hatred and
quarrelsomeness.
I
do
not
suffer from
an
overestima-
tion
of
the
past,
but in
my opinion
we
have
not
made
progress
on
this
important
point; we
rather fell back.
Every well-meaning person
should work hard
on
himself
and in his
personal
circle
to
improve
in these
respects.
The
heavy
burdens which
presently plague us
in
such
a
horrible
way
will then vanish
too.
But
why so many
words when I
can say
it in
one sentence,
and in
a
sentence
very appropriate
for
a
Jew: Honor
your
Master Jesus Christ not
only
in words and
songs,
but rather foremost
by your
deeds.