THE INTERNATIONAL MAN

There is at the present time a great deal of loose thinking passing under the name of "International" which discredits the genuine ideal which it preaches. This is particularly true among American colleges where intellectual immaturity in not challenged by reality.

The loose thinking on this subject which is current today arises from the confused definition of the international ideal. There are many people who assume a vague, emotional attitude toward world problems; they oppose war as a matter of general principle, they are interested in Communist Russia and in American socialism, they have an ignorant faith in the League of Nations as a political cure-all and they insist eloquently that Frenchmen and Germans are every bit as good as they are. The danger is that these people set up an ideal of an International Man, whom they confuse with a cosmopolite, whose mecca is Geneva, but who has not reality or force because he has no roots in a national tradition.

The citizen of a great nation, that is, a nation great not in size or strength primarily but in culture and ideals, should have those traditional ideals which characterize his country bred into the flbre of his own nature. The traditions of every nation differ and internationalism should be the mutual recognition of these different traditions and the cooperation between them.

Internationalism without the basis of a national tradition is like a friendship between men who have no individuality. There are, of course, many working for real internationalism but they are hampered by those who preach an ideal built in the air. Before the international ideal can be made real it will be necessary for nations to understand their own tradition. Nations like the United States must come of age before they can be partners in a cooperative world.