For centuries the human race has longed and prayed and hoped for a time when justice would be possible on earth, when the reign of brutality would be superceded by the triumph of justice and brotherly love. This desire, this deep yearning, has taken definite expression in the ceremonials and prayers of all religions, and in the grand prayer given us by Jesus Christ:
"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven."
The soul of the universe has found expression in the Divine Hand that guides the course of nations, and has answered the prayers of the churches and the heroes and the saints. And that justice, which for centuries has been an object of prayer, has become, for the first time in history, a tangible, definite thing, capable of realization. What we have asked for, God has made possible. Why now crawl longer in the dust like worms beneath the feet of tyrants, when God bids us rise and stand erect? Why continue to pray and plead for what God has already placed within our reach? Tell the preachers to stop praying for this gift, already ours, and accept it as God gave it. THIS SIMPLE ACT OF ACCEPTING GOD'S ANSWER TO THE PRAYERS OF THE GOOD AND THE TRUE OF ALL PAST CENTURIES, IS THE PROGRAM OF THE NEW DEMOCRACY.
I ask father for a horse and sleigh. Now that he brings it to me, I stop asking for it, and take a ride. We have prayed during centuries for an era of justice. The New Democracy is the fulfillment of God's prophecy. It is the greatest moral tidal wave that ever thrilled with new life this old world of ours. It embodies the practical program by means of which the Infinite Intelligence is leading humanity to its inheritance.
HUMANITY'S SCOUTS HAVE FOUND THE WAY.
A body of pioneers lose their way in the wilderness. After days of weary trudging and hunger, they kneel and pray to God for guidance to food and shelter. In the midst of their devotions, a scout returns and rudely interrupts them, crying, "Get up, boys, stop your prayers; I have found the main road, and we are only ten miles from town." What should our pious travelers do? If they have an ounce of common sense, they will jump to their feet, brush the dust from their trousers, and follow their deliverer. Should we not call them insane, on the other hand, if, accustomed to hunger and thirst, they had come to believe prayer and privation the ends of life, and, if instead of rising up and accepting God's answer to their prayers, they should continue to grovel and pray on?
After eighteen centuries of prayer and privation, of hunger and thirst, the couriers and scouts of the human race have returned, and to their kneeling, miserable brothers they cry aloud, "Arise, cease your prayers for already they have been answered. We have found the road and the promised land is near. Hunger and thirst are no longer necessary. Let thanksgiving and praise to God now take the place of begging petitions for that which He hath already granted us."
As true religionists, is it our duty to say to these scouts, "Stop, you infidels, you interfere with our devotion?" Such a policy is insanity. These teachers are not infidels. They are not enemies of religion. Otherwise God would not have revealed to them His plan for answering the prayers of the millions and fulfilling the prophecies of past ages.
We have been praying: "Lead us aright. Show us the way to realize Heaven in this world." Humanity will now stop asking and accept, as a child from its father, God's last and greatest gift. The weary travelers of earth will see that the privations of centuries are no longer necessary. They will stop pleading with Heaven for the manna to be had by simply putting forth their palms.