Verhovayak Lapja, 1947 (30. évfolyam, 1-24. szám)
1947 / Verhovay Journal
Resurrection or Destruction? — Humanity Yearns For God’s Will To Be Done — — An Easter Editorial — There is glorious peace, undescribable calm, solemn silence in the center of the deadliest hurricane and the inexperienced sailor rejoices when his ship enters the anticyclone, thankfully hailing his deliverance after the fearful battle with the ferocious elements, while the seasoned captain scans the sky with increasing anxiety well aware of even more destructive forces approaching from beyond the horizon . , . We, too, rejoiced when the terrible clamor of war ceased and the sun of peace broke through the black clouds of the most destructive hurricane in the history of mankind . . . But we had barely given thanks for our deliverance when again our eyes saw the dark shadow of death arising in the distant sky . . . And now >ve fear that the great victory that had cost us the lives of so many hundreds of thousands of heroes, has afforded us only a respite rather than the peace for .which humanity had been praying from the very bottom of despair . . . We still hope that a second attack, more ferocious, more tragic even than the first one, may be avoided, but our hopes will be in vain if this peace is nothing but the center of a hurricane, for there is no escape for a ship that has been caught in the treacherous calm of the anticyclone, completely surrounded by the irrepressible violence of the elements ... Only the Prince of Peace had power to calm the raging sea. Tired of bloodshed and despaired of violence, all mankind appeals to Him on the day of His Resurrection for his intervention. The question, however, is; will He now respond to the ageless yearning of humanity or will He withhold his intervention on the ground that man already had been endowed with all powers needed fr dissolving his own conflicts? For wars are made not by God but by man. God has given man a free choice between War and peace, creation and destruction, and He has given him power to wage war as well as to make peace. God, therefore cannot be made responsible for man having made the wrong choice, nor should man expect God to do what God has made possible for man to do himself. “Peace on earth” is the will of God who has given us the Prince of Peace for the purpose that under His guidance we may attain the fulfilment of His will. But “Peace on earth” is also the will of mankind. The great masses of humanity are not opposed to God in this matter of erucial importance. Let there be no mistake about it: the people i»f no nation want war. Neither the Russian peasants, nor the American farmers; neither the German nor the Hungarian people want to leave their homes and families to wage war against enemies whose existence is way beyond their sphere of realities. And if the people of all nations want the same thing, their heavenly Father has willed for them, what is keeping them from establishing peace in accordance to their own. and God’s will? Undoubtedly, there are some who stand between God and the people. Some who superimpose their own desires and ambitions over the will of God and the great masses of mankind. Some who force the people under their jurisdiction to adopt attitudes contrary to their own convictions and wishes. Some who infect their people with their own hunger for power and riches and mislead them with promises of easy victories and great spoils. Some who deaden their people’s sense of justice and honor by pretending that their very existence is endangered by other nations. People don’t make wars only their leaders. People don’t make wars because they know that they and not their leaders will be called upon to pay war’s price in blood, sweat and tears. It took years of haranguing by Hitler to mentally condition the German people for war. It took years of lying, propagandizing and plotting until Mussolini succeeded in inflaming the murderous instincts of the Italian people to the extent that they were ready to leave their orchards and fields to bomb, shoot and murder the unfortunate people of Abyssinia, people who had never harmed them in the least. It would never have occurred to the people of Japan to attack Pearl Harbor had not the Mikado and his military staff incited them by their “divine” powers of malicious persuasion. People don’t make wars, only their leaders, the handful of lixvdthirsty pirates who send the millions under their power into death from the safety of their palaces. Nor do the attacked people make war. Reluctant as they and their leaders are, they have no choice but to kill or to be killed. No blame can be placed upon a nation defending itself, for selfdefense is the only means by which the spreading power of vicious aggressors can be stopped. The burden of guilt of evry war lies upon the agressor alone and all responsibility for aggression rests upon the leaders misleading their people. It follows, however, that a free and well informed nation cannot be mislead. Consequently, no true democracy can ever be guilty of unjustified warfare. Only people who cannot call their bodies and souls their own can be torn away from their homes, families and jobs and pushed into the violence of deadly battles by those in power. Free citizens of democratic countries always will refuse to take up arms unless it is for defending their homes and country. If all nations were free, if all people would live under truly democratic governments, there would be no aggressive wars, hence, there would be no wars at all, for there is no need for self-defense if there is no aggressor. On the other hand, nations under the rule of dictators and totalitarian governments always were and always will be potential if not actual aggressors. For power can be perpetuated only by means of force and the only way to make people put up with la government by force is to satisfy their artifically incited hunger for spoils and glory. Hence “to make the world safe for democracy” is not an empty phrase but a clear-cut definition of the world’s salvation from the curse of bloodshed, destruction and war. There is no safety for any nation in the neighborhood of a totalitarian power. Dictators, bullies and extortionists by nature, wherever they may be, are a constant danger to the »peaceful existence of any and all nations surrqunding them. Short of war, the only means for keeping them from aggression is to intimidate them by a demonstration of that kind of power in the effectiveness of which they believe. No peaceful citizen can permit himself to walk unarmed in a world of gangsters who, being cowards at heart, will refrain from attacking as long as they know that they have no chance against him. No dictatorship, no totalitarian government can persist if permanently deprived of the possibility of conquests. Sooner or later their people will arise in protest against their oppressors and make way for a government by majority. Once the true majority assumes the government in all countries, the need for preparedness will cease. For the majority of the people of all nations want Peace and Peace only. Their will is God’s will. They yearn for what God wants them to have. And if no one will stand between God and humanity, the will of God will be done on earth. It is our God-given moral duty to take a permanent and definite stand against any and all forces that oppose the fulfilment of mankind’s yearning in accordance with the Will of God. Hungarian Freedom Day In Pittsburgh (Courtesy Sun Telegraph, Pittsburgh^ First Tag Sold by Mrs. Julius Lenart To Supreme President John Bencze. The above picture appeared in the Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph on March 14th, 1947, with the following story: “HELPING — Mrs. Julius Lenart sells John Bencze, director of the American Hungarian Relief, Inc., a tag such as will be sold at a tag day here tomorrow in observance of the 99th anniversary of the beginning of Hungary’s war for independence.” The picture was taken at the Supreme President’s office in the Verhovay Building right after the Hon. David L. Lawrence, Mayor of Pittsburgh, signed the Hungarian Freedom Day Proclamation. Mr. Bencze volunteered to start the ball rolling with his personal donation (note the bill disappearing in the tin-can with the “Please Help!” appeal) and charming Mrs. Julius Lenart, popularly known as ‘Vi’ (for vivacious), wife of Verhovay’s Home Office cashier, was chosen — for obvious reasons — to pose in the role of a highly appealing solicitress. All three events, Hungarian Freedom Day, Hungarian Tag Day conducted by chapters 2 and 117 and the Bake Sale held by Chapter 117 of the American Hungarian Relief, Inc., were publicized in Pittsburgh’s three daily newspapers, the Sun Telegraph, the Pittsburgh Press and the Post Gazette. In behalf of the membership of the Verhovay as well as all American citizens of Hungarian descent we take this opportunity to publicly express our sincere appreciation to the Pittsburgh newspapers foe the favorable publicity given these events. At the same time we salute the Hon. Mayor David L. Lawrence for graciously signing the following “Hungarian Freedom Day’* Proclamation: WHEREAS, on March 15, 1848, the Hungarian nation, under the leadership of Louis Kossuth, the great statesman and champion of the people’s rights, took up arms in the defense of national independence and human liberties, and WHEREAS, for the last 99 years, the Hungarian people have observed March 15 as a National holiday having the same significance as the 4th of July has to the American people, and WHEREAS, the many thousands of loyal citizéns of Hungarian descent in Pittsburgh and other cities in Pennsylvania as well as other states of the Union will observe March 15 as Hungarian Freedom Day, and WHEREAS, such observance will provide opportunity for the freedom loving Americans of Hungarian descent to demonstrate to their fellow Americans and to their kinsfolk in Hungary theii; utmost devotion to the principles of democratic liberty, and WHEREAS, such activity will help fortify the people of Hungary in their present struggle for survival and national and economic independence, and WHEREAS, in order that material support may be rendered to the people of Hungary in their heroic efforts to preserve theie liberties and establish a democratic from of Government, permission has been granted by the Government of the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to chapters 2 and 117 of the American Hungarian Relief, Inc., to hold Hungarian Tag Day on March 15th, Continued on page 2
