Montgomery Bell Academy - Bell Yearbook (Nashville, TN)

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IS IDEALISM STILL ALIVE IN OUR WORLD TODAY? ' ‘Today, being constantly subjected to reports of people who seem to have lost all sense of the high principles of man such as honor and integrity, I have often contemplated whether or not man is losing his sense of idealism. To me, this lowering of values can be attributed in part to the news media. Although the news media is an intricate part of our society, it often tends to take a one-sided view. For example, I recall the media’s coverage of the hundreds of men who left the country to avoid the draft; in contrast, I heard hardly one word spoken of the thousands upon thousands of men who, even though objecting to the war, entered the military service instead of losing their integrity. As a result, it occurred to me that perhaps there is more idealism in our lives than we realize. “One phase of our lives in which the higher principles of pride are very evident is sports. To be a good competitor in athletics, a person must have a desire to do his best, a desire to maintain his own honor in fair competition. Without these ideals, sports would become worthless. Another example of idealism much closer to us at MBA is the MBA Honor System. This system is based on the principle that the students will honor and respect the ideals on which this school is founded. “Idealism is not only still very much alive in our society, but it is a necessary priority. It is our only future; for, without hope, where would our future lie?” SCOTT BRITTAIN — Sophomore Class President . -A '

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OUR COUNTRY HAS BEEN AT WAR FOR YOUR ENTIRE LIFE. IF PEACE CAME, HOW DO YOU THINK IT WOULD AFFECT OUR LIVES? ‘Throughout ours lives the ominous threat of war has been present. Our generation has never known peace; but, isolated as we are from the Southeast Asian conflict, the harsh realities of war never reach us. In our isolated situation, we will never fear war as much as those people who have endured it. We fool ourselves into believing that the war will never reach us directly; but, when it does it will be too late. Recently, people have become aware of the horrors of America ' s wars, and war ' s end seems imminent. “Would peace affect our lives? Probably no more than war does. Peace will bring us a pride acquired by ending a war that has lasted almost all of our lives, but true peace is never so simple. Peace in Southeast Asia is a step in the right direction, but world peace for all generations must be an effort of humanity, an effort which will take hard work by all the peoples of the earth.” MORGAN ENTREKIN — Junior Class President

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WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF THE DISSENT SO PREVALENT IN OUR COUNTRY TODAY? “The individual in our society has the right to speak out against people’s ideas which he thinks are wrong and to take action against them. Every citizen of the United States has the right to run for office and to vote. Our country’s consitution is set up so that changes can be made in our government by peaceful process; thus, there is no need for violence. Those for violent change of government are not merely in favor of the change; but, instead, they favor the destruction of our country. The individual does not have the right to infringe upon the rights of society. In fact, too few people believe that society has any rights at all. One of the main rights of society is the right of people to resist unnecessary change. Citizens must be careful to observe others’ rights when asserting themselves against society.” JOE DAVIS — Freshman Class President 29