North Andover High School - Knight Yearbook (North Andover, MA)

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THE GOBBLER-1947 JOHNSON HI GH SCHOOL CLASS ESSAY Youth’s Opportunity MlE HEAR and read so much today about the confused world we live in—a I world with little or no hope of survival—a world with a short, uncertain future. Yet I believe that this so-called confused old world of ours offers to us a great challenge and an opportunity, .unlimited and boundless, for a great service, however long or short that future may be. You are all familiar with the parable of the talents. One man received his talent, kept it to himself and sheltered it. Therefore he contributed nothing to the world he lived in. The other two had foresight enough to use and develop theirs, and were commended for their stewardship. Each of us has been endowed with some particular talent. To those of us who have talents along political lines—what opportunities are before us! The recent war is over, but most of the treaties are not yet agreed upon, and our world is not as secure and peaceful as we were assured it was going to be. Peace is still a word found only in a dictionary, not in the hearts of many of our inter¬ national leaders. In these days the chief function of right government is to promote the interests of all. Any citizen who fails to give his best to support his government in days following a war is no less to be despised than the slacker in the time of war. Good citizenship demands that one shall be unselfishly serving society. Others of us may find our interests along social lines. What a field of service there is here! To name a few, better housing and living conditions in all areas of our country, agencies for the curbing of crime and juvenile delinquency, racial tolerance, and scientific research. Today, more than ever, there is a field of service for those who have talents in the line of education. More students are finishing high school and seeking a higher education in colleges, and in technical and trade schools. Those who have such an education are able to procure better jobs with higher salaries, and have more chance for advancement. It is becoming more necessary in these times to have the equivalent of a college education because good jobs are becom¬ ing scarcer, now that the war is over. Religious work offers a tremendous challenge to the young people of today in this post-war world. Many who have this great talent, are needed in foreign fields to heal the sick, teach the illiterate, feed the hungry, uplift the down¬ trodden, and spread the word of God. Here at home, in America, Christian workers are needed to teach our people the meaning of Brotherhood. Christian¬ ity has never failed where it has been tried. Wars of greed and selfishness are born in the minds of ungodly men. We each have some talent. It may be hidden right now, but sooner or later it will come to light. Shall we choose to be like the man who used his talent for the betterment of the world, or shall we only shelter our great gift? We have all been given the talent of understanding, and in this confused and muddled 19

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THE GOBBLER-1947 JOHNSON HIGH SCHOOL In our American system this spirit is embodied in the first ten amendments to the Constitution and is part of the basic law of the land. After the framers of the Constitution had defined the rights, the powers, and the duties of the Legis¬ lature, the Executive, and the Judiciary; after they had struck the balance between state and federal functions, and had reconciled the differences and composed the jealousy between the big and the little states, the rights of the governmental units were clear. But the rights of the individual citizens were undefined and unguaranteed. Hence the founding fathers immediately added the first ten amendments. Pre-eminent among these rights were the four freedoms. First is the freedom of religion. Under a democracy we have the precious gift of worshiping whomever we believe in. We are not forced to avow allegiance to any tyrannical ruler. Second is the freedom of press, a freedom which is little appreciated by those who practice it, but a cherished dream of those for whom it is abrogated. Third is the freedom of assembly, practiced to its highest extent in our New England government by the town meeting. But by our apathetic views toward government we often lose sight of this main pillar of democracy. And last is the freedom of petition, probably the least understood and least practiced freedom of democracy. This freedom taken from us could mean the difference between democracy and Hitlerism. These were the first and best expressions of the spirit of democracy. Why does the state not have the power to take away these rights and still be called a democracy? It is because these rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happi¬ ness were given to all men by their Creator. Germany, unlike the United States, began as a feudalistic region divided amongst many kings. Here the seed of democracy had poor soil to grow in. The people served not their government, but their lords and masters. As Germany merged into a more united nation, this idea of superiority of the few and inferior¬ ity of the many was carried from generation to generation. The modern Ger¬ many is still an excellent example of an undemocratic government. The free¬ doms of religion, press, assembly and petition were abrogated for the rank and file of the people. A few avaricious men took control of a tired Germany. They built their government upon greed, ignorance and propaganda. Merely the retaining of these four freedoms could have made Germany a respectful nation. This basic reason for the differences between democracy and fascism and imperialism may be traced in Russia’s, Italy’s and Japan’s histories as in Germany’s. We must also note that all the nations assuring- their people democracy have been peace-loving nations, whereas the dictatorships and other forms of governments have been chronic aggressors. It is because they do not have this spirit of equality and justice. They are oblivious to other nations’ needs and wants because of their own greed. Here lies the basic and essential differences between democracy and any other form of government. In a democracy the people are citizens, not subjects; the government is their creature, not their master. 18 Robert G. Blanchette

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THE GOBBLER-1947 JOHNSON HIGH SCHOOL world, it is up to us how we will use it. This is youth’s greatest opportunity. Shall we simply let it go by or shall we do something about it? What is to be our answer? Barbara E. Campbell CLASS ORATION “Tonight We Launch; Where Shall We Anchor?” PI IE LAUNCH tonight onto the dark sea of life, in which are hidden mysteries j I and problems as yet unfamiliar to our inexperienced minds. We set forth UU physically from our high school, and mentally from our adolescent manner¬ isms. No longer are we able to do childish and foolish pranks if we expect to gain the admiration and respect of those around us. We have with us now physical training acquired in gym classes, on the base¬ ball diamond, basketball floor, and football field. Although we may seldom play our games as such in later life, we shall always have the valuable lessons taught on the playing field. The mental and moral training will always be of value to us. The respect for authority, the need of promptness (one quality I could not seem to master), learning cleanliness and neatness, and the incalculable mental training are inalienable bits of knowledge that will remain with us always, and in coming years will ripen into wisdom. We launch tonight, but God alone knows where we shall anchor. However, we must have a goal if we expect to accomplish anything in life.. Perhaps one of the most important goals for which to strive is that of being a good citizen. A good citizen, by the common consent of all history, has three loyalties; loyalty to his God, which he doubtless shows every day; loyalty to his country, which he demonstrates by paying his taxes, by electing competent local, state, and federal officials, and by defending his country in time of crisis; and loyalty to his neighbor. The phrase “his neighbor’’ does not necessarily mean the person who lives next door: it also means the neighboring countries. A good citizen should have a world v iewpoint. However, he does not necessarily have to be “a citizen of the world,” but rather a citizen of the United States who accepts his share of respon¬ sibilities in creating and maintaining world peace and order. We can no longer afford to slip into isolationism. We must protect ourselves and our country from domestic and foreign evils. We have this mental and physical training at our disposal, but what we do with it depends entirely upon us. No longer will we have someone to cater to us and look after us; we are on our own now. Whether we are left by the side of the road with the very lowly, to be stepped on and scoffed at by others; whether we follow in the wake of the great, unthinking, regimented horde, to have no minds of our own and to bend our backs to the whips of others; or whether we go against the current, to be classified as intelligent and outstanding in our own particular fields, is solely up to us. It is fearfully true, “Tonight We Launch,” but “Where Shall We Anchor?” Harold R. Vincent 20