Jerome K. Jerome on idealism circulating among political idealists after the Russian Revolution and especially the Great War.
This time, we were out to play the knight; to save the smaller peoples; to rescue our once "sweet enemy," fair France. Russia was the disturbing thought. It somewhat discounted the knight-errant idea, riding stirrup to stirrup beside that barbarian horseman. But there were possibilities about Russia. Idealism lay hid within that sleeping brain. It would be a holy war for the Kingdom of the Peoples. With Germany freed from the monster of blood and iron that was crushing out her soul, with Russia awakened to life, we would build the United States of Europe. Even his voice was changed. Joan could almost fancy it was some excited schoolboy that was talking.
Jerome K. Jerome - All Roads Lead to Calvary (1919)
This time, we were out to play the knight; to save the smaller peoples; to rescue our once "sweet enemy," fair France. Russia was the disturbing thought. It somewhat discounted the knight-errant idea, riding stirrup to stirrup beside that barbarian horseman. But there were possibilities about Russia. Idealism lay hid within that sleeping brain. It would be a holy war for the Kingdom of the Peoples. With Germany freed from the monster of blood and iron that was crushing out her soul, with Russia awakened to life, we would build the United States of Europe. Even his voice was changed. Joan could almost fancy it was some excited schoolboy that was talking.
Jerome K. Jerome - All Roads Lead to Calvary (1919)
106 years later...
5 comments:
Russia: here's Bertie Russell on his meeting with Lenin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TK9c-caEcw
In one, AKH, in one.
dearieme - yes, Lenin was vile, maybe he would have been worse than Stalin.
Anon - thanks - apologies if you are not James Higham, but you do sound like him.
And there are still people with school boy intellects jabbering on about a united Europe.
Tammly - as if the lure of collectivism begins early and too often it never lets go.
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