Manchester High School - Somanhis Yearbook (Manchester, CT)

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32 SOMANHIS EVBNTS open your eves to the impulses and the ideas that tend to direct their actions. You would be surprised to find how nearly they coincide with your own for- gotten ideas of youth. A few wise parents realize this. The fundamental idea is, after all, the pursuit of happiness. There should be some outlet, some vent, for youthful impulses. It is natural. The only difficulty is the control of the directions which the impulses take. The mod- ern ideas of recreation or amusement should not be compared with those of former times. Progress has caused us to change our ideas of amusements. If the modern ideas of convention seem slack and accommodating, it is be- cause modern customs have rendered it necessary to alter our standards of propriety. The reaction of our behavior upon our fellow-beings is one of res- ignation to the customary. Even the most extreme conduct is regarded with indifference, if not amusement. Is it that we are becoming immune to any antipathy to the personal and familiar freedom of thought which seems to pre- rail today? Rather is it a striking example of adaptability. We no longer evade temptation. Rather do we accept it, the majority sweeping by in an in- spiring self-confidence. The young people of today possess their own ideals as vividly as any gen- eration has ever done or may ever hope to do. However theid ideals are not marred by suspicion or doubt. Their standards are as high as any standards could be. The solution might be expressed best in the words of the “Golden Rule”, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Following this, your attitude toward young people would be one, not of censure and despair, but of sympathy and patience. You will find them to be simply accentuated types of your own souls, a confusion of impulses, emotions, and desires, needing your sympathetic guidance. The response to such an attitude would readi'y prove its value. ‘Vhrough such efforts, youth and age would come to a better, clearer understanding, a compromise that would tend to bring about a lasting faith in one another, a hope for the future and an uplifting spirit of love born of a feeling of sympathy and understanding. Annie Strickland '24, AS ENGLISHMEN SEE US A century and a half ago we Americans declared our independence from England, and started out a “new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” Our manners, our customs, in fact, all things have so changed from the manners, customs, and habits of our mother country, England, that now sometimes we are hardly recognized as being derived from that nation. However, we are still mother and daugh- ter. The one, aggressively young, resents criticism and comparison; the oth- er, being older and having knocked about the world, is perhaps inclined to as- sume an attitude of superiority. England criticizes us on several scores. You all know what they are. In the first place, the size of America amazes the Englishman. Its vast- ness, its great lakes which are huge inland seas, its gigantic waterways, its mountains, its colossal size and immense population, (not immense for its area, for in places it is sparsely populated, but numerically immense) make it seem stupendous. And yet, despite this sense of vastness, a widely known Englishman once said, while visiting in America, “There is no scenery in the United States.” Our coast line with one or two exceptions, it seems to him, is thoroughly tame and uninteresting. The character and grouping of our Rocky Mountains are not “scenery in any proper sense”—and so on. We can see that this critic had in mind the varied magnificence of Switzerland, with its splendor of color in snow, verdure, and water effects.

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SOMANHIS EVENTS 31 A VINDICATION OF MODERN YOUTH Does the youth of today need vindication? Each generation sees the birth of new ideas which distinguish it from the preceding one, and the habits and customs of modern times seem little more radical to the parents of to day than did theirs to the preceeding generation. Che mothers and fathers of today could tell how their parents regarded their youthful impulses and de sires with disapproval and horror similar to that which they in turn pass on to their children, There are, however, events that occur which perhaps influence or direct the course ba change more than other contemporary occurrences. ‘The great- est of these affecting our modern life is undoubtedly the Great War. Although no one enjoys the recollection of this, its influence on modern customs can- not be denied. The young people of today are living under its shadow with- out recognizing it as such. In their happy carefree lives, they have thoughts as remote from the horrors of war as possible, even while they enjoy the lax- ity resulting, unfortunately, from the lack of convention which the war has brought about. The young people are, for the most part, unconscious of this. They only recognize that they are enjoying a wonderful freedom that permits them to indulge their impulses without a sense of impropriety. OF course they are cer insured, but most impulses or actions, whether virtuous or not, meet with opposition, Thus these last few years have seen a great change in the attitude of men and women, and incidentally boys and girls, toward one another. ‘There is an obvious lack of restraint and the presence of a familiarity that is being de- plored. Perhaps this sense of intimacy which does not in any way include the embarrassment and self-consciousness that young people used to feel when in the presence of both sexes, is not so deplorable as one may be led to believe. The young people do not show the fear, distrust, or suspicion that for- merly characterized them; rather are they reckless and self-confident. © Of course this may be carried too far but in the majority of cases the developing of self-confidence is guiding people, even towards success in life, more than any other characteristic, in that it removes timidity and doubt which are the greatest obstacles to progress in life. The home influence on the life of the young people cannot be overesti- mated. Home training has been subject to modification or change and it has been said that the youth of today has revolutionized the home. Has the home ceased to be as essentially valuable as in former times? If it has, there is something wrong. — If young people have left their homes or seem to be drifting into channels which lead away from the home, it is because they have failed to find there the sympathy, understanding, or r reasoning that should es- sentially comprise the home, In the search for sympathetic companionship, young people will stray out into the world mistaking for sympathy, a similari- ty of tastes in a companion. Failing to find understanding in their friends, they become resigned to the idea that understanding has ceased to exist, and they submit to this resignation that often occasions recklessness or despair. Such circumstances are more pitiable than censurable. We hear a great deal about the modern mother; but considering how many old-fashioned mothers have new-fashioned daughters, we cannot lay the blame, universally, on the modern ideas that have robbed many girls of a mother’s care and thoughtfulness. More than ever is there need for compan- ionship between mother and daughter, and father and son. Do not condemn young people because they converse unblushingly and rather naturally on sub- jects which would have horrified and diszusted your parents, had you acted similarly in your youth, It is better to listen and endeavor to interpret them, as they truly represent the age, remembering that young people are now more self-conscious before their own parents than before a crowd of strangers of both sexes. ‘They are not so unreasonable, not so headstrong as parents take for granted. A little investigation would prove this. Young people would

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SOMANHIS EVENTS 33 An Englishman, coming to America for the first time, is rather taken back on reaching New York. He has heard much in Europe of the nervous ten- sion of the Americans, of their electric energy in business and pleasure. — Im- agine the sensation and conceive the disillusion met by an Englishman when he finds that the crowds on the sidewalks, in subways, in both business and residential sections, seem to walk in a more leisurely way than do similar crowds in London. Nevertheless things in New York do move fast—but the Englishman has heard so much about it that he is disappointed. Englishmen, in fact all foreigners visiting or coming to America for the first time, say that: American houses and cars are like a lot of ovens. Our politicians are invariably below the average in intelligence and mor- als, The American voice has a grating quality that sets every nerve on edge. Now there is some truth in every one of these statements. Our houses are over-heated. We know ourselves whether or not our politicians are cor- rupt in morals and low in intelligence. That the Americans have a voice of grating quality which sets every nerve on edge is quite a fact. An English- man once said to an American lady, “Why do your drawl your words in that way?” “Well,” replied she, “Ud drawl all the way from Maine to Georgia rather than clip my words as you English people do!’ For example, let us compare the English and the American pronunciations of the word “military”. The English pronunciation is “milit-ary.”. The American pronunciation is “mil-i-ta-ry.” The Englishman is inclined to believe that we are greedy. He says, “The American chases after money with all its might exactly as on the tennis court he tries to hit the ball, and it is the game he likes and not the prize. If he loses he does not feel as if he had lost a part of himself, but only as if he had lost the last set in a tournament.” However, the wealthy Britisher spends his money differently from the American. Ile has a beautiful country place with lovely well-kept gardens, sweeping lawns, and greenhouses. Here he spends his leisure hours in quiet solitude, In America, they assert that the wealthy, while they do have just as spacious country homes, have them only for show or for pleasure parties. No one can be more than a week or two in America, especially in New England or in the western pa rt of the United States, without being conscious of the alert sympathy of the new people he finds around him, their quick de- sire to help even those whom they do not know. There are no bars of class distinction to keep people apart as in the continental countries, and this lends itself to a helpfulness and friendliness which is delightful to a visitor. The charity of Americans, both public and private, is boundless. The courtesy and the gracious manners of the people in educated circles could not be bet- tered in any society in the world. And yet, in spite of all this, the stranger from across the Atlantic, until he gets acclimated, is jarred and shocked by the new, unfamiliar manners of the people in the streets—the ordinary work- a-day people. They do not mean to be unmannered, of course, and would probably be immensely surprised if they were informed of the impression they make. The standard is different, that is all. A crowd on a subway is a good example. It is as different from a London or a Paris crowd, as Chicago is from Moseow. No person stands aside for another in a hurry. Rarely is there an apology. No one says, “Thank vou”, for a railway ticket. Rarely is there seen a smiling query or a friendly response between officials and pas- sengers. Yet boundless hospitality exists in most parts of America. Strang- ers are warmly welcomed, entertained, and made happy. Our frailties, peculiarities, and distinctions do make a rather pretentious showing. It is said that we can be identified in any part of the world by the way our elbows rest upon the table. his trait vexed an Englishman until he discovered our habit of eating corn—from the cob. If for some exceptional reason this sign fails, we may be known by our manner of cating soup. We are