Auburn Maine School of Commerce - Ray Yearbook (Auburn, ME)

Page 9 text:

THIS THING CALLED PEACE If there be such a thing as peace, where is it? Cer- tainly wedonothave it today, nor have we actually had it at any time in history--notin its true meaning at least. There is probably a lot of truth in the saying that everything God ever' made was good until man came along to make use of it. It would seem that if ever the world is to be right then, it is to be ac- complished through man. We are destined to imagine, how- ever,that trouble springs from unruly nations and races. But do you. not think it fair to suggest that there are good and sincere peoplewithin these Wtroublesomen factors? Since the need for think- ing in terms of international- ism is pushing its way past might be mere nationalism, it safe to consider the world in analogous terms. Let us say that the world is a bin of apples, divided into six or seven sections, each section representing continents. In each section of the bin, after a period of time, an apple be- comes decayed. The owner of the bin may remove the decayed apples from one or two of the bins but overlooks the others. So what happens? In those neglected bins more apples be- come decayed, until after a time, if not removed, all be- come destroyed. In the same way in a nation we have the Wdecayedn individuals, which if not removed from the rest of the group, will in time change in whole or in part the whole manner of the function- ing of society. I hope the day is past when vecondemn the Germans asa race yet it is possible that Russia is considered in the same way by many. So many people fail to realize that people all over the world are not unlike. So many judge by the headhnes of their newspaper, the com- mentators of the radio, with- out giving some particle of intelligent thought to the real truth of the matter, or trying to understand its real meaning. If we must condemn, let it be individuals, not nations or races. For it is the Nde- cayed applesu of the Wbinn that cause the trouble. We hear that our statesman are dealing with nations, yet act- ually they are merely dealing with individuals. True they are the spokesman for their .respective nations, yet how muchof them is truly illustra- tive of their entire people? First of all, the common desire for world peace must be instilled foreverin.the hearts of all mankind. And then ..... But that will follow alone. For once the desireis felt the road will lie open before us. The part of education in all this will be large--to stamp upon the very souls of young and old alike the horror of war, the beauty of peace. It may be that such a thing can not be attained, yet certainly the movement can produce no harm. Each of us, more and more, find ourself facing a larger part in this drama of life. Itsmay appear difficult, yet who can afford not to at least read the lines? --B. Drown .2