Brockton High School - Brocktonia Yearbook (Brockton, MA)

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CONTINUATION OF CLASS ORATION equipment with which to rule, and will not avail itself of the opportunity to obtain such, it has no right to govern, and deserves any aristocratic form of government it may bring upon itself. First, it must consistently and continu- ously enforce a higher standard of education in schools and in universitiesp second, it must provide worth-while literature: third, it must keep out of circula- tion the admittedly poor books, papers, and magazines. Time and again the slothful, the ignorant, and the indifferent masses have been enslaved by aggressive leaders. We have seen already dangerous signs of aristocracy in our economic and industrial world: first in capitalism under the monopoly system, then in labor dominated by unprincipled union heads. These coalitions, acceptable in themselves, become more and more dangerous as the power which they possess becomes concentrated in small groups or in individuals. In the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth, capital exploited labor: within the past few years, labor has been gaining strength. The power which capital and labor have held has not been deeply considered by the general public, but the risk is there. The risk will be even greater if the democracies are successful in this war and fail to realize their weaknesses: for then the people will be satisfied with their country and its imperfect government, and industrial and economic aristocracy will grow fat. Satisfaction will breed lethargy, and lethargy invites conquest. Mass education is the only answer to these problems. Mass suppression and mass exploitation have failed. The serfs of France rose up to crush the glitter- ing court of Louis XVI: the English, under Gladstone, broke the last threads of the imperialistic plans of Albert and Disraeli. lf the education of our people is begun before it is too late, we may remove the danger of the extreme concen- tration of federal power toward which we have been advancing since the administration of Lincoln. A highly developed ability to think and to co-operate, together with high intellectual and moral standards, will make possible a much more nearly perfect democracy. To foster this utopia, let us then be willing to learn, and demand to be taught thoroughly: to be provided with better education and wholesome, creative literature: to be given higher moral standards. Let us prepare ourselves for a world tor at least a countryl in which dissensions are settled, not by physical war, but by mental solution: by subjective debate and liberal thought, without the ignorant intolerance and the offensive bigotry to which democracy at present submits. With the coming of knowledge and understanding, a host of social problems-unemployment, crime, living standards, religious and racial differences-may readily be solved. Let us also be tolerant of inquiry, so that genius may be set free to inquire where it will, with no fear of opposi- tion, and certain of the approval of a people capable of weighing and com- mending its disclosures. No longer then need the progress of man be held back, as it has been for centuries, because of the inability of society to appreciate and to utilize its discoveries. At the end of the present war, we shall have a final opportunity to prove the United States worthy of being called a democracy. Restriction and coercion must be made the means to the end, not the end in itself. lf we win, we may have the opportunity to attempt on a world-wide scale such an educational system as has been proposed. Let us not lose this opportunity, nor in fact any opportunity to develop an enduring, intelligent, unrestraining democracy, for we cannot remain uneducated as a people and continue to be free. An indif- ferent people cannot be a free people. 20

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democracy will collapse. How, then, can we make the people learn the value of a controlled intelligence: how can we kindle in them a desire to attain and perpetuate it? The most potent weapon for the control and development of the minds of the people is the Written word. F rom the beginning of civilization it has shaped the life of man. ln referring to the destruction of the Christian writings by the author- ities of the later Roman Empire, H. G. Wells' History of the World states: The destruction of the books is particularly notable. lt shows how the power of the written word in holding together the new faith was appreciated by the authorities. These 'book religions,' Christianity and Iudaism, were religions that educated. Such has been the power of books to the present day. The invention of printing brought light to a world which had been sunk for centuries in ignorance, superstition, and servitude. Milton's Paradise Lost and Dante's Divine Comedy have established the prevailing conceptions of the here- after: Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress had a religious influence second only to that of the Bible: Dickens aroused a passion which reformed the entire work- house system of England. Now, with newspapers, magazines, and books, aided by compulsory education, the written word has more power than ever before to present to the people the material which, second only to personal experience and environment, shapes opinions, and, as the case may be, improves or degrades minds. What a vast influence for good or for evil is wielded by such a controller of the nation's thought! How insidious and dis- torting it can be! The German government well understands its power, as the Nazi book purges and control of literature demonstrate. Since the Written word is of so much importance in the development of a people, let us consider our literature. Much of it has sunk to the very sewers of inferiority: many newspapers must print material acceptable to the average reading public: pulp magazines are pitiful: many of the best sellers are fashion- able poison. The few intelligent, conscientious writers are not appreciated by the average citizen because they are not readily accessible or comprehensible to him. Many writers cater to the naturally low taste of the mass: great writers appeal to it only when their thoughts are so simple as to be easily understood, or when they delve into the gutter. The majority of our people are unable to distinguish between good and bad in printed matter. To remedy this situation, let us suppress the sensationalists and the exploiters of ignorance: let us provide meritorious literature for the public, and educate men to understand and to enjoy it. A group of citizens has the right neither to hinder the development of an ideal democracy, nor to create for the intelligent, social problems and other worries which would be entirely unnecessary if people were compelled to educate themselves. Oh, it will surely be said, but this is not democratic! Of course it is not democratic. An ignorant people do not deserve democracy. Throughout the entire history of the United States runs a long line of abuses of democratic privileges by the benighted classes. That a blundering and uninformed majority should have control over an intelligent and enlightened minority is atrocious. lf a citizenry has no mental 19

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GRADUATICN ADDRESS America First By CHARLES M. CHAIN The words America First are being uttered by many American people today. Since the thoughts and emotions aroused by most slogans vary with the individuals, what impressions does America First make in your mind? Owen Wister tells of three speakers at a patriotic gather- ing who, when called upon to address the group, tried to excel each other in depicting the glory of America. The first speaker described America as bounded on the north by the Dominion of Canada, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Gulf and country of Mexico, and on the west by the vast Pacific. Attempting to surpass his fellow orator, the second speaker defined America as bounded on the north by the Arctic Circle, on the east by the countries of Europe, on the south by the South Pole, and on the west by the Empire of lapan and the ancient country of China. The third speaker arose. He bombastically declared America as bounded on the north by the Aurora Borealis, on the east by Primitive Chaos, on the south by the Precession of the Equinoxes, and on the west by the Iudgment Day! This, and other such grandiloquent declarations of America's greatness, may be credited to an exaggerated Fourth of luly exuberance, and may readily be dismissed as over-patriotic effusions. On the other hand, America First can denote to some minds a rather narrow, bigoted Nationalism, which is dangerous because of its selfishness. An Amer- icanism which constricts the whole world to the limited confines of its own country, which makes its own markets the exclusive motive for all international relations-an Americanism which is determined to hold its favored place in the sun at the expense of all others who are to have nothing but shadow and darkness, which constantly proclaims, My country-may she ever be in the right: but right or wrong, my country! -that type of Americanism can easily grow into an imperialism which is perilous for ourselves and for the whole world. Can that be the idea and the ideal of America F irst '? Whether we think of America in a narrow or in a broad sense, this country should be foremost in the personal allegiance of everyone who is a native or a naturalized citizen. Unfortunately, there are some people who are so engrossed in a world of nations and in a brotherhood of all mankind that they disclaim any fealty whatsoever to their particular fatherland. They entertain the notion that they are citizens of the world! Their altruistic outlook is above any specific allegiance: to them the love of one's native land is too cramped for their universal vision. This fallacy of being so imbued with world- wide affairs that duties at home have no significance is common with certain people in many attitudes toward social institutions. Here are some examples of this type of individual: one man asserts that he is an ardent believer in all religions, but he ties up personally with none: he claims that he is so inter- ested in all institutions of human welfare that he cannot be a member or partisan of any one of them, the same man declares that a world federation of nations is his creed and that this makes it impossible for him to pledge his allegiance to any one country. He is a citizen of the worldl His assertions may be idealistic, but are they not lacking in logic? We cannot make any contribution to a final achievement by standing aloof from the working group. In order to love the world, do we not have to begin 21