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

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Hits of 1952 {20

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Class Oration “WE SHALL FIND A PATH OR MAKE ONE” “We shall find a path or make one” is an extremely apt motto that we, the graduating class of ' 1952, have chosen. It is our goal to make this world a little better for our having been in it, by each doing his share to achieve peace and justice. If this seems like a grandiose ambition for high school graduates, let each recall that society, both nationally and internationally, is a social organism. The wholesome activity of each part contributes to the health of the whole. Each grain of sand plays its part to make the beautiful coastline of New England and similarly each tiny tissue that the blood stream nourishes contributes to the healthy, virile body. Likewise, each of us can make his tiny, but essential contribution to the welfare of the national and international societies which make the world. Many are the paths which have been beaten out for us. What trail blazers, through the savage undergrowth of selfishness, greed, stupidity, brutality, and disunity, were such greats as Washington, Jackson and Lincoln! George Washington, to whom our nation turned first for leadership, and who is admired today by everyone, young and old, was exceedingly instrumental in aiding the American people to realize their dream of a free, democratic country. At all times during the Revolutionary War, he was fated to lead an army that was ill-fed, scantily-clothed and lacking ammunition. It was only through his ingenious military strategy, equalled only by Caesar, that he mastered these overwhelming forces and won the war. Yet not once during that bitter fighting did Washington lose sight of its purpose — the improve¬ ment of the life of the people, their liberty and the pursuit of happiness for everyone. Another outstanding example in American history is Andrew Jackson, a courageous frontier lawyer from Tennessee, who devoted his life to making the Federal government serve the common man. It was his firm belief that any honest man could hold a public office acceptably. This expension of political ideas to include the common man indicates the fast-growing feeling of democracy, and the gradual turning away from the aristocratic ideas of the mother country. Another great pioneer was Lincoln. We are indebted to him for his tireless efforts to preserve and pacify our country so that it might become the united nation it is today. He did not achieve this extremely difficult task by the subtle art of politics and intrigue, nor by resorting to ruthlessness and inhumanity. This goal was accom¬ plished by his rigid ideals, firmness of purpose, and qualities of humanity. To this great man we owe gratitude for the lesson he taught, — that the combination of understanding, kindness and humanity with leadership constitutes a true greatness in statecraft. Even in our present day, prominent trail blazers such as MacArthur, our E.C.A. administrators and innumerable unknown heroes in and out of uniform, are facing the same seemingly insurmountable odds that our past leaders struggled with. They are attempting to spread the exact ideas of democracy to the other countries of the world, trying to show these nations the benefits of a people’s government compared with a Facist, Nazi or Communistic regime. World Wars I and II were waged because of this, and it is also the primary reason for the ominous threat of a third cosmic eruption. To make newer and broader paths now will be the work of our generation. We cannot and we must not, like lost wanderers, be without an objective. We must realize the uselessness of sulking cynicism and petulant disillusion. The world crisis we face affords us neither the time nor inclination to strike poses, to lick our wounds, or to weep great salty tears of self-pity. For us a more virile and American task is at hand. The patient courage of a Washington, Jackson’s abiding faith in the worth and ability of the common man, the clear-eyed and all-embracing Christian charity of a Lincoln — all these are the frail marks which point for us the way to go. And as we push down these glorious paths we shall push on into newer realms of newer problems. But from the paths we have followed we shall know how to mark out the new paths needed. We have found the path. It is now our task to advance it and make the new one. Marian Bamford I }

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