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[[start page]] Flanders Field. That already, the youth of three continents, Europe, Africa and Asia, were in trenches again. That the threat to American liberty and freedom was becoming more real every day, by the studied build-up in the press of America of prejudices, hatred among countries, all under the similar guise "to preserve democracy." He would hear the laughter of the Wall Street clique, while they maneuvered in Congress making loans and selling arms to belligerents, already cashing in on the blood money of the war. He would see the formation of a "national unity" among men, who only a few months ago were bitter enemies on both domestic and foreign policies. A "unity" designed to take us into war. Whose War Is It? The newspapers are saying in our time, some of the things they said in Jesse Clipper's time. They are saying that this war, between two of the major imperialist powers in the world, Great Britain and Germany is a war "to preserve democracy." They say that it is a "holy crusade" which will decide whether freedom and democracy will forever prevail, or whether force and violence will rule the world. The newspapers ask you and me to believe this. But how can we believe this, when we are aware of the fact the democracy has been a farce to some 500,000,000 enslaved colonials under the domination of English rule? Can this war give the kind of real democracy which previous centuries did not give? We're sorry if we cannot believe this, just because the newspapers say so. No, the colonial peoples, black, and white, cannot support this war. For it is a war that is imperialist in nature, which means that both England and Germany are out to get more territory, out to gain more influence in international affairs, are out to have a showdown as to who can exploit and enslave more peoples, small nations as well. Colonial Folk Against the War British imperialist "democracy" in action, besides, has in each previous war made things [[italics]] worse [[/italics]], not better for the colonial peoples. 6 [[end page]] [[start page]] While pretending to be fighting for the rights of small nations and for democracy, the British ruling class denies to its colonies the most elementary democratic rights. That is why the progressive forces in the West Indies take the stand as indicated in the editorial columns of the [[italics]]Barbados Observer[[/italics]]: "We colonial workers have not forgotten the last World War, when all kinds of promises were made to us... Therefore we are determined never again to allow ourselves to be used as cannon fodder by [[italics]]either camp[[/italics]] in the war." (My emphasis-C.J.) [[underlined]]Some apologists for British imperialism argue that under British rule, Negro colonials have fared better as compared with their status under German rule, and for this reason, beginning with the premise that either side must win in the end, it is better for Negroes to support British imperialism in this conflict. Mr. W.A. Domingo, British export-import Negro merchant, openly supports this proposition.[[/underlined]] This argument is fraught with danger for two reasons. First, [[underlined]]it is a vicious acceptance of the status of Negroes as inferiors, who [[ITALICS]]must be ruled,[[/ITALICS]] regardless. Secondly, and perhaps more important, it is a statement designed to lull the actions of Negroes, who want peace, not war, and to offset their attempts to raise their voices and act to halt the war, now.[[/underlined]] Besides, it is also a [[underlined]] false premise, when it is assumed that either side must win. For the ever-present desire for liberty on the part of Negro colonials will never be achieved through a change of masters, both of whom are interested not in the freedom, but in the further enslavement of them. Only through organization, education, and struggle against reaction, against war-profits, against reaction's drive on civil liberties, under the guise of war emergencies, can this new threat to the ultimate freedom of the colonial peoples be met. Only the abolition of imperialism, of the whole system of the war makers, will guarantee peace and security for the peoples.[[/underlined]] Who knows that yet Ethiopia may not rise again soon in revolt against both Anglo-French imperialism and Italo-German imperialism, showing the path to all colonial peoples 7 [[end page]]
