Fraternity-Testvériség, 1958 (36. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)

1958-08-01 / 8. szám

2

FRATERNITY

“THE VOICE OF KOSSUTH ECHOES THROUGH

THE AGES”

By DR. STEPHEN SZABÓ

Pastor, First Hungarian Reformed Church, Cleveland, Ohio

On the 19th of September, 1958, the prophetic face and the legendary name of our immortal Lajos Kossuth will have appeared on 160,000,000 postage stamps of the United States of America. “The Champion of Liberty”, “The Apostle of Freedom”, 64 years after his death, 110 years after his historic battle for freedom, 106 years after his glorious appearance on the soil of the United States, speaks to us again. Oh! if his prophetic words ivould not only he heard at this time as over a century ago, but also heeded and obeyed.

On the 'dOth day of December, 1851, when Lajos Kossuth set foot at the harbor of the new world, this is what he said: ‘‘On this soil of freedom I kneel down and raise my prayer to God; Almighty Father of humanity, will Thy merciful arm not raise up a power on earth, to protect the law of nations when there are so many to violate it?

From Russia no sun will ever rise. It is sky and earth and water there, but to find the sunlight, where it most speeds and lightens the power of freedom, we must come to America.

Your principles will conquer the world. The lesson you give to humanity will not be lost.”

Hungary in the tragic autumn of 1956 showed the world again the Kossuth-inspired Hungarian love of freedom and the willingness to die for it. Over 30,000 refugees of the lost fight for freedom in Hungary followed the footsteps of the greatest refugee for freedom more than a century before, whose words remained unheeded.

Kossuth, the foremost soldier of freedom, was thus characterized by Horace Greeley upon his arrival: “Kossuth is here to arouse us to the consciousness of the majesty of our national position and the responsibilities it involves; to show us that we cannot safely sleep while despots are forging chains for the yet unfettered nations, as well as to bind more securely their present victims. These are solemn truths which Governor Kossuth is