Northampton High School - Nesaki Yearbook (Northampton, MA)

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The Senior Looks at His Country Y Y S we raise our eyes from the scrutiny of problems peculiar to youth as individuals and as members of a community to consider our difficulties on a national scale, we see four burning question-marks. The hrst of these, undoubtedly the first to scorch us, is the unemployment situation. lt is a condition created entirely by another generation, whose mistakes may be visited on us in the form of general economic insecurity, if not in actual suffering. Their business methods, which are necessarily one cause of the depression, we must accept without stint or reservation or be labelled un-Americanf, Meanwhile all remedial legislation , must run the gauntlet of' blind partisanship, demagogy, and big business to have its sharp edges smoothed away before it appears on the statute books. The result is a slow, hard-won progress that lags behind present- day needs. An outgrowth, in part at least, of the years of depression is the fast-mounting public debt. Washington is spending money at a rate comparable to that of war-time, and when we consider that economists blame war-time spending for many of to-day's troubles, we wonder for what further financial distress today's spending may pave the way. Of one thing we may be sure: our generation is to look forward to the re- payment of the largest debt total the United States has ever incurred. A third shadow on the horizon for youth is the possibility of war. True, pessi- mists have predicted war for the past decade, but a multitude of false prophecies by no means precludes the fact of real peril. If one of the several danger spots of the world does flare up, the question arises, Will America be drawn in? We, who have had but a comparatively few years to enjoy normal life, answer with an emphatic No, But will our objections arrest the Yea's of voices far more powerful than ours? Looking at the government, we see another enigma. Governments change with the timesg and with affairs in the United States and the world as unsettled as they are, it is hardly to be expected that ours will be able to pursue approximately the same policy toward business and industry that it has in the years before depression. There- fore it is reasonable to assume that, as time goes on, the government will either strengthen and extend bureaucracy, or swing back toward a lairrez-faire policy. Which shall we favor, and how shall we enforce our decision? WALTER F. GRUzD1s The answer to these and all other questions related to the problems of youth we must seek within ourselves. In a republic such as ours the best means of exercising Twenty-eight

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,J Y ,M ,,-X ,, , , ,, gorercamessao Q Q5 0 lMIYj'QFJ34HSf 3 The inability of the modern city home to supply worth while amusements has led to the establishment of recreational facilities by city governments, but these provisions are painfully inadequate. Various community organizations are making efforts to relieve this situation, so that it seems reasonable to believe that eventually everyone will have opportunity for the use of public parks and playgrounds. There is another need, however, which is not so generally appreciated: that is, competent supervision of public playgrounds and a program of athletic contests between organized teams in city-wide leagues. A supervised competitive program such as this would make for harder, yet cleaner and more sportsmanlike, play than do the pick-up games which at present are the only ones available. In regard to recreational activities there is room for improvement in another line. To be of any use, an educational amusement must appeal to youth more than his ordinary pursuits, or he will not co-operate. The solution lies in teaching youth to prefer these beneficial amusements to detrimental ones. Such training should be in- cluded in the programs of our public schools. Many individual teachers have at- tempted this by discussions in class of moving pictures, books, and radio programs, but this education should be made a part of the regular school instruction. Although the modern family, not entirely through its own fault, may have failed in some of its functions to such an extent that city and even state and national governments have been forced to take measures calculated to make up these deficiencies, in another respect the family of to-day is far advanced over the family of fifty years ago. I refer to the awakened civic conscience of our people generally. The nation- wide response to the call of the Red Cross at the time of the recent Hood is concrete evidence of the prevailing Do unto others-'T policy of our society. This altruistic spirit is an indication of the progress of America, slow though it may be, toward the ideal state of complete harmony dreamed of throughout the ages. Twenty-:even

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55iOCLASSHC Q C65 Q NGYTH-QS E X I ' 9 Q2 intelligent control over the factors that govern our lives in a material way is to give ourselves intensive training for citizenship, We must train ourselves in analytical and constructive thinking now, by applying our theoretical and idealistic school-knowledge to current events, including those of our daily life, and we must practice such think- ing when we have the voting privilege. Though the vital force for such a program must come from within, educational institutions would be far from error in laying more stress on those courses that stimulate original thinking and that emphasize whatever encourages an intelligent interest in public affairs. Perhaps even more important is the development of those qualities of character that mean worthy ideals, for if a man's attitude is ignoble or self-seeking, no amount of intellectual ability can make his services valuable to his state or his nation. In the end, we hnd that it is not beyond us to mold our own futures, in spite of the threatening diniculties. To find our life work, to become an integral part of the home, to take our part in community life, and to become worthy American citizens will not be easy, but we have good faith in our ability to follow our chosen path. How well we fulfill our intentions is a matter for anticipation and hope, not speculation or dread. Twenty-mne