Lawrence High School - Diary Yearbook (Fairfield, ME)

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LAWRENCE DIARY fathers fought for and put into a Constitution which has been successful for one hundred and fifty years, through peac-e and war, prosperity and depression. The ideals these men put into that Constitution gave us our Four great Freedoms: Religion, Speech, Press and Assembly. These stand for America and her Way of Life. In our land, children can play and go to school unafraid of bombs and destruction that have put fear into the hearts of every child in occupied Europe. Men and women are able to work where they wish and at a fair wageg they are not compelled to attend any Church, but they can attend the one of their choice, they can join the clubs and organizations of their choice-a privilege no other people have. This is not all America means, or all that we prize so dearly. America means our big cities with sky-scrapers miles highg the steady stream of noisy traffic, the hurry and excit-ement of people rushing from place to placeg the sound of mills and factories, places of emtertainmentg and everything else that makes our cities the greatest in the world. America means our small towns with our main streetg a little white church where you meet your neighbors every Sunday morning and listen to the heart-felt sermon of the ministerg the same weather-beat-en school house that your parents and their parents before them attendedg the town hall, the general store, h-omes where families and friends gather to help and enjoy one another, the small town where one is for all, and all for one. Surely the churches, schools, homes, big cities, small towns, the Four Freedoms, the Statue of Liberty, and Old Glory, which fiies so freely over all, symbolize America and the American Way of Life . Certainly no one doubts that This is Worth Fighting For. MAB-EL Orrs, 12L. .-l,- -. --- CHILDREN AND THE MOVIES Many people say, Today children grow up in the theaters. There is a great deal of truth in this statement. Until a few years ago, people had n-ever heard of moving pictures. To- day, however, if you ask a child ten years of age how he spends his Satur- day afternoons, he is very likely to reply that he attends the movies. If this same child is asked about the type of pictur-e the answer would probably be, It was a cowboy picture with lots of shooting, or, It was a picture about criminals and gangsters. I sincerely believe that it is a picture of this kind that encourages young boys and girls to steal, to run away from home, and to commit other misdemeanors. Children see others perform these acts of misconduct and escape punishment, therefore, isn't it logical to b-elieve that these children who are inherently interested in imitation will be anxious to per- petrate similar behaivor? 8

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LAWRENCE DIARY P A TREATISE ON LESSER ASSIGNMENTS It seems that nowadays seniors are superhuman. They are now able to work twenty-eight hours each day. They can digest in one evening: three chapters of ch-emistry, ten diiiicult problems in trigonometry, a story and thirteen questions in English, a chapter of history, and a chronicle or two of events in American History. These seniors exist only in the teacher's mind. It is a shame that seniors, real ones, cannot do such an assignment. But, of course, this is just little stuff now, for the teachers cry, Wait until we actually get into the book, then we'll really have to work. Wait until we get into atomic structure. Wait until we hit the Norden bombsitef' Wait until we reach the politi- cal side of history. Wait until We read Shakespeare. These are the cries of the blue and gray tyrants. Then th-e teachers say woefully, I can't understand this incredible situ- ation-my seniors are not doing their assignments. Just look at this paper which says, 'Prince Henry, the navigator, taught people how to fly? Then the teacher says, I know exactly what the matter is, I'll bet a sugar cookie that I am not giving those lazy good-for-nothings enough homework to do! That's just it, but watch me lay it on now! And so, friends, we thus proceed merrily on our way, learning little, car- ing less. Why should we worry, anyway? We'll soon be in the Army!!! ORVILLE RANGER, 12L. -i,-.-...ii..1. THIS IS WORTH FIGHTING FOR What is worth fighting for? The answer is, The American Way of Life, our precious h-eritage, to preserve for ourselves and to safeguard for our prosterityf' , But we use those words, The American Way of Life, so often that we are forgetting what they really mean to every American. The American Way of Life means that we all have the same opportu- nity for success and the same right to happiness g that men like Lincoln, now as always, can rise from a humble log cabin to the highest office in the land. The American Way of Life stands for all the things our great fore- 7

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LAWRENCE DIARY LIBERTY-NOW AND FOREVER We are now engaged in the world's worst turmoil. At this time, we, the people who love Liberty, must light vigorously to protect that which is dear to us. The Axis nations have been torn from Freedom by men who have no regard for the human race. Germany has seized united democratic coun- tries and has converted them into countries where hatred and cruelty prevails, and it is doing its utmost to tear Freedom from us. Today the prerequisite of nations is: love for every human being and consideration of the fact that all men are equal. All nations must awaken to this fact and actually do something about it, or eventually, and perhaps too soon, the Axis flag will 'be proudly floating over our domains. Let each of us take the responsibility upon his own shoulders and fight, yes, even die for Liberty and that which we must have in order to survive. If we walk in a united manner and work together as a democratic country, then Liberty surely will be preserved. The Statue of Liberty proves that we now ha-ve liberty, and it's up to you and me and every other American to keep Liberty f01'e'ver. The battle cry of our nation must be: Give me Liberty or give me death. KEITH SMITH, 12L. :ffm l 11