european nations

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John Dewey Speech 1917 The following Quote is from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Division of Intercourse and Education, Foreword by Elihu Root, Publication No. 15, The Imperial Japanese Mission Page 105 The Imperial Japanese Mission 1917 A Record of the Reception Throughout the United Statesof the Special Mission Headed by Viscount Ishii NEW YORK(paragraph 2) John Dewey, Professor of Philosophy in Columbia University, who was the next speaker, was listened to with great intentness. He said: Some one remarked that the best way to unite all the nations on this globe would be an attack from some other planet. In the face of such an alien enemy, people would respond with a sense of their unity of interest and purpose. We have the next thing to that at the present time. Before a common menace, North and South America, the Occident, and Orient have done an unheard of thing, a wonderful thing, a thing which, it may well be, future history will point to as the most significant thing in these days of wonderful happenings. They have joined forces amply and intimately in a common cause with one another and with the European nations which were most directly threatened. What a few dreamers hoped might happen in the course of some slow coming century has become an accomplished fact in a few swift years. In spite of geographical distance, unlike speech, diverse religion, and hitherto independent aims, nations from every continent have formed what for the time being is nothing less than a world state, an immense cooperative action in behalf of civilization. (Remainder of speech omitted)