Lecture in Stavanger, October 31, 1934: We want to unite Norway into one People

Extract from a lecture at a public meeting in Stavanger on October 31, 1934.

By Dr. Gulbrand Lunde.

Norway has previously stood together in times of seriousness, so it must be able to succeed now as well. 

Norwegian men were summoned to Eidsvold’s works. It was a matter of meeting, of weighing old Norway’s ability, and of gathering or perishing.

However, it is no longer useful to negatively combat the Labor Party and its communist revolutionary plans. Even the society-preserving elements must understand that we live in a new age, and this new age must also be expressed in the governance of our society. Quisling has presented his guidelines in his call to the Nasjonal Samling. We here in Norway have waited long enough for the man in our politics who can rally us around significant goals and point to effective remedies for our ailing society.

We have to go beyond the 24-hour policy and see the broad lines. We must pursue a policy that is in keeping with our times. NS is not a class party, yes, it is not really a political party in the same way as the other parties. It is an organization that expresses an idea, a people's uprising based on a new outlook on society, a new outlook on life. This new social outlook seeks to build on the best spiritual values of the Norwegian people, on patriotism, not the chauvinistic kind, but the patriotism that expresses itself in the love of the Norwegian people and whose first goal is to create good conditions for all people in Norway. This love of country is thus related to love of neighbor and is based on the good moral foundations of the Norwegian people. We must strengthen the sense of togetherness and cohesion and help everyone to have the best possible conditions in Norway.

The Norwegian worker must also get his fatherland back. Workers, farmers and citizens must come together to rebuild our country economically and socially. We must learn to understand that the only thing that leads forward is cooperation between the classes. The class struggle must disappear and be replaced by social unity. Thereby, the whole concept of class will disappear by itself and we will come to the solidarity society. Our society today is not one of solidarity. It is a collection of individuals who individually follow their own interests. These individuals are in turn partially opposed to each other in classes that pursue conflicting self-interests. It is the unlimited individualistic freedom in our democratic society that has brought us to where we are today. It has developed the individual, regardless of cohesion. But has it always been this way, have humans always been solitary individuals? Undoubtedly not. In earlier times in history, we see where society was based on a sense of kinship, where the members were linked to each other by the ties of blood. We also see that they belonged to special societies, such as fraternities, guilds and other organizations where the individuals were connected to each other through their daily occupation. Within these organizations the individuals were linked to each other by common interests.

Little by little these societies are loosened to make room for the individual's free development. The result is that the individuals have acted without leadership and a long-term plan. Our society today is almost a chaos. It can almost be compared to a pile of stones without order or purpose. If the individual stones were placed in place and arranged with a skilled hand, the whole could become a stately building. It is argued that in such a community there is no room for personal initiative. There will be no room for the individual's free development. Nothing is more wrong. Precisely on the basis of common interests and common goals, the individual's personal thoughts and ideas will be understood by others and thereby have a fruitful effect on society as a whole, whereas we now often experience that the individual individual is not understood at all. The individual's thoughts and ideas are of no use as long as they are not communicated to others and benefit others.

This community of thoughts and feelings is a condition of brotherhood. In our society today, society or the state has become a kind of artificial institution that unites a large group of individuals by an infinity of laws that delimit the duties and rights of the individuals towards each other. There are more and more laws and more and more sections. The individual members have no sense of the whole and therefore have no sense of responsibility either. Yes, most individuals are hostile towards the state, which is supposed to be an expression of the whole. We have to get out of this chaos, this mess. The entire prerequisite for the democratic system is gone as the individual individuals are completely detached from each other. First of all, we must bind the individuals together again.

We see that the workers have come together in their trade unions to stand together for their demands, but these trade unions have been exploited by the Labor Party in party politics. There is, however, a correct thought in these trade unions, but they must not only represent the worker in a trade, but the whole trade. There must be business organizations that work for the well-being of the entire industry. By building up these organisations, each of which is based on the cohesion within its industry, it will always become the basis for the formation of society.

The position of the individual organizations on the community board must be regulated. The rights and duties of workers and employers towards each other must be regulated in such a way that there is a reasonable outcome for everyone in society. Such social formation ensures the individual's free development and self-expression, free initiative and the inviolability of property rights. But these individual rights must not have such an impact that it affects society.

Society cannot allow freedom to destroy society, for that would be suicide. Nor can it allow individual individuals to promote their own interests at the expense of others. Self-interest must give way to the common good. A new spirit must come into society, the spirit of brotherhood. Brotherhood and a sense of solidarity must take the place of uncontrolled individualistic freedom. Everyone must do their best in society. The condition for this is that everyone gets to their right place according to their ability and aptitude. It follows from this that all young people must be given the same starting conditions as far as possible. There must be full freedom of development and opportunity for the worker to develop all his abilities as well. It must become easier for the skilled and capable to get ahead. Thus, the class difference will cease by itself.

I have attempted to succinctly convey the social outlook that NS aims to promote. Our primary goal is not merely to convert followers from other parties. Instead, we strive for widespread understanding and awareness of our ideas. Those who understand and align with our vision are encouraged to actively support our cause by joining NS's ranks. Our mission must ignite like wildfire among the people, spreading the message far and wide. Let it be a beacon that illuminates our entire country, announcing the gathering of Norway! This movement will serve as a cleansing bonfire, consuming discord, self-interest, and foreign ideologies that have infiltrated Norway. Like a phoenix, a liberated Norway shall rise.

We have a great mission: to gather the society-preserving elements within the Norwegian people and promote a positively constructive economic and social policy. We want to unite Norway into one people. It is the king's thought that we carry forward under King Olav's sign of the cross. Our goal is great and holy.