Brockton High School - Brocktonia Yearbook (Brockton, MA)

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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

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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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CONTINUATION OF GRADUATION ADDRESS by loving some one person of the world? By the same logic, we must be devoted citizens of our own country before we can hope to attempt to under- stand and contribute effectually to the welfare of the world. Our own land needs much improvement: through loyalty, and interest in its welfare, we can begin the foundation for a better world. There are some interpretations of America First which are important to every American. Every one of us can make America First by his belief in the doctrines upon which our government has been established. The rule of the people, by the people, and for the people, which our forefathers sought to establish, and which we extol so highly today, must become the actual achievement in every aspect of our social life. The Way to make the world safe for democracy is to make democracy safe for the world. Our democracy will be safe only if it is safe for the growing interests and needs of all Amer- icans. Whenever or wherever our democracy fails to serve the needs of its people, they will turn to other political systems to secure the rights which a good government must provide. During the present war, the people of the United States are vehemently denounc- ing the ill treatment accorded minority groups in other lands because of their religion, politics, or race. On the other hand, has America effectually abolished such discriminations within our own borders? We proclaim goodwill toward every man and equal rights to each individual. To what extent do we practice these principles? We still are intentionally setting up barriers against certain people merely because of a difference in color. Think of how we treat the negroes today! Can we expect these and other exploited people to admire an American way of life and to die -for a life which We deny them the opportunity to live? ls such discriminating democracy safe for America? For many years the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor held high the torch of welcome to peoples from every foreign shore to find a new life within the United States. ls it not our obligation, both from the standpoint of virtue and necessity, to see that the light of liberty and life becomes the increased privilege of every race in our country? America First must be applied to an America foremost in tolerance. Nothing, states Everett Dean Martin, a modern philosophical critic, destroys liberty so surely and so quickly as intolerance. The illustrious Socrates, whom we honor highly today, was forced to sip the fatal hemlock. He was far ahead of his contemporaries, who might have gained much from his wisdom, had they not been so unwilling to heed his advice. Today We honor Roger Williams for establishing in Providence one of the most important principles underlying our American form of government-the separation of the church and the state, which implies religious freedom. Early Americans, however, displayed little tolerance toward Roger Williams when they banished him and his ideals from Massachusetts. Our nation has been founded on tolerance-freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and freedom of petition against grievances. Any person has the right to express his opinion whether it seem right or wrong in the eyes of others. Our duty to ourselves is to prove all things and to hold to those which are true. Let us show the world an America First in tolerance! America First should challenge us to make our vaunted democracy more effective in the economic field. The age-long prayer of the common man to Continued on page 80 22