Thomas Jefferson High School - Aurora Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

Page 12 text:

March 2I. l94O Dear GraduaTes, One aTTer anoTher, The lighTs oT civilizaTion, as someone said recenTly, are going ouT and a conTusing murlci-ness obligaTes us To seek a ciTadel inTo which we may reTreaT. During The dark ages, culTure and civilizaTion, belles leTTres and The Tine arTs survived Through The inTluence oT The church. ln monasTeries, ciTadels oT enlighTenmenT, manuscripTs were gaThered and lovingly pre- served. The process oT learning wiThin Those shelTering walls wenT on sTeadily wiThouT inTerrupTion. Where shall we reTreaT as The enemies oT civilizaTion press harder and harder? WhaT eTernal values musT we preserve and how? The penalTy Tor Tailure is compleTe chaos. To begin wiTh, we musT conTinue To lceep our counTry saTe Trom The inroads oT ToTaliTarian pracTices, be They communisT, nazi or TascisT. We musT worlc wiTh ciTizens oT every race, color and creed To proTecT The Treedom granTed us in our consTiTuTion. The enemy wiThouT may be recognized easily. lT is much more diTTiculT To idenTiTy The enemy wiThin. Generally speaking, The person who inciTes race againsT race, creed againsT creed, naTion againsT naTion, class againsT class may iusTly be suspecTed oT Treachery To our democraTic insTiTuTions. Our TirsT ciTadel, ThereTore. is our counTry, a Tree democracy, by The grace oT God, under a consTiTuTion ThaT has survived over one hundred and TiTTy years. Our nexT ciTadel is The moral sancTion which comes Trom The noblesT Teachings oT The propheTs and sages oT all Times. Every religion known To man, unlilce The Neo-Paganism oT Nazi Germany, is based upon a code oT eThics which in Turn resTs upon The Golden Rule. More Than ever, because The world is so disTurbed, we should Try To pracTice neighborli- ness, kindliness and iusTice. Perhaps one day, we shall wake inTo a beTTer world. ln The meanTime, leT us wiThouT Tlinching hold The ciTadels oT democracy and moraliTy. T Sincerely yours, AY -1,-ca er S I

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To The GraduaTing Class oT June 1940: Now ThaT your high school career has ended in graduaTion, a per- sonal achievemenT Tor you, my mosT earnesT wish is ThaT many more achievemenTs will Tollow. Possibly, you may have already dreamed abouT Them: success in business, a happy home liTe, good healTh, and a hosT oT Triends. Consider also The imporTance oT working happily and ToleranTly wiTh your Tellowman, The saTisTacTion derived Trom helping The less Tor- TunaTe, The recurring impulse To grow menTally Through educaTional and culTural pursuiTs. These accomplishmenTs, combined wiTh a sTerling characTer, a pleas- ing personaliTy, a good breeding, will help you meeT ThaT mysTery known as, The FuTure, wiTh eagerness, TorTiTude and undersTanding. For your overwhelming kindness in dedicaTing This book To me, ac- cepT my hearTTelT Thanks and graTiTude. May The years ahead be many and happy ones! Your Triend, LOUIS L. WEST