Walker High School - Pepper Pot Yearbook (Simsbury, CT)

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The Reading Club Essay Prize Awarded To GEORGIANNA NOYES FLATHER THE MODERN PATRIOTISM N his arTicle PaTrioTism -- BuT How? in The ATIanTic MonThly, Howard MumTord Jones has broughT up an awkward quesTion. He speaks oT The paTrioTism oT The imporTanT dicTaTor-counTries, Germany, ITaly, and Russia, and asks whaT is To be done abouT The American aTTiTude. American democracy has mislaid iTs myThology and losT iTs glamour under The combined a+Tacks oT 'progressive' educaTion, debunking biographers, and social hisTorians, he says: all oT which is perhaps True, Though I believe greaTly exaggeraTed. He oTTers, however, no soluTion: all he can do is deplore The prevalence in The schools oT Today Towards sTressing economic analysis raTher Than The exciTing, Though oTTen TicTional, exploiTs oT The personaliTies in American hisTory. I do noT dispuTe The TacT ThaT The modern schoolboy cannoT reciTe PaTrick Henry's oraTion. He can'T - buT why should he? Does The painTul memorizing oT a long speech bring a Tiner and deeper love oT his counTry inTo his hearT? Does iT mean ThaT American paTrioTism needs resusciTaTing when The young are no longer innocenTIy TaughT as TruThs Tairy-Tales To kindle Their emoTions? Does The TacT ThaT George WashingTon and Lincoln are no longer ThoughT TaulTless specimens oT The human race Tend To make us less aware oT The superioriTy oT our counTry? The answer is obviously, no. Then why The Tuss? The TacT ThaT counTries ThaT are unable TruThTuIly To exTol Their advanTages have To TabricaTe childish Tales oT Their marTyrs, sainTs and heroes, does noT mean ThaT in a counTry where Tree speech is everyman's righT we have To emulaTe such examples. IT is cerTainIy poinTless To combaT The dicTaTorships by Their own misleading meThods. IT democracy is To survive, isn'T iT logical To suppose ThaT in The long run a TruThTul, realisTic hisTory will prevail over Tallacious, gilded, legends? This Then, I believe is The answer To Mr. Jones' quesTion: paTrioTism in The American people can be kepT alive by The repeaTed sTress on The TruTh-concealing policies oT The dicTaTorships, and by Teaching True accounTs oT The gloriously Thrilling hisTory oT America. For American hisTory is exciTing as iT is TaughT in The schools oT Today, honesTly and ThoughTTulIy. By schools, I mean The privaTe preparaTory and high schools, where The sTudenT's mind is in The besT condiTion Tor absorbing The ideals and Theories he will probably carry The resT oT his liTe. I believe ThaT The repeTiTion oT hisTory courses in The high school grades proves ThaT IiT+Ie oT deep or lasTing value is learned in grammar school. Only The lighT Tramework, in The Torm oT skeTchy impressions oT The main evenTs and characTers in world hisTory, remained wiTh me when I graduaTed Trom The eighTh grade and yeT ThaT was all ThaT was expecTed OT me. I had amassed suTTicienT knowledge To geT me comTorTably over The beTTer-Than-ignoranT line, buT I 95

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Bul as l held il close, my love grew small. l was amazed! Yel laler, very clear Quile sirnbly, came lhe answer. This is all... You oannol hold Thai which you love loo for il will fade. In Memory Neal' Virginia Richards. Poised on a iulling craig above a sea oi rosy myslery, Eager, young and beauliiul, Her lroclc brushed genlly by lhe wind, The iealous breeze pulling al her loosened hair. Ah, envious wind, did you laugh secrelly al her, Slanding lhere. Slrelching oul her hands lo liie, Walching, fearless, while lhe angry slcy and sea declared lheir wart Then caughl in lhe whirlwind ol lheir enrnily, Lashed and lossed by waves ol hale, l-lelpless in The swirling lrolh lhal upwards bore her Bruised bul lovely, To be washed up on The shore. 94 Joan Newlon

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was cerTainly supposed To increase iT by aT leasT one more hisTory course beTore college. This I have done. Through my knowledge oT my counTry's hisTory, Through my uTmosT belieT in The principles iT sTands Tor, and The deepesT convicTion ThaT iT Talls upon us Americans To lead The world To a happy, peaceTul civilizaTion, has come a deep-seaTed, unswerving paTrioTism. '. ExacTly whaT does paTrioTism mean? The deTiniTion in The dicTionary says Ildevo- Tion To The welTare oT onels counTry and The passion inspiring one To serve ones counTry. IT seems To me ThaT These Two words, devoTion and passion, represenT Two sides oT The paTrioTism quesTion. One sTands Tor The giddy, razzle-dazzled emoTion ThaT Tlares wiTh The TlaunTing oT colors, and The blare oT brass. DevoTion, however, is a sTeadTasT, serious belieT in The supremeness oT one's counTry. Surely This laTTer is The preferable, lasTing paTrioTism ThaT we need. War Time is no longer The only Time Tor paTrioTism. IT is needed every day, in every move The governmenT makes, wheTher in Toreign aTTairs or in inTernal problems. IT is no more a mere maTTer oT volunTeering Tor war service, or doing wiThouT The luxury oT sugar: iT is a maTTer oT supporTing or condemning every acTion This counTry Takes according To our iudgmenT iT wheTher iT is noT only Tor The beneTiT oT our counTry buT is keeping TaiTh wiTh our principles and ideals. Thus we musT avoid a purely maTerialisTic aTTiTude. We musT be Tar-sighTed, and supporT only Those acTs which will help The oTher counTries. For selTishness will deTeaT iTs own purpose. We cannoT improve our own condiTion in The long run by robbing, swindling or black- mailing any oTher naTion. We can express our paTrioTism in iTs TruesT meaning by encouraging The world Towards The ulTimaTe goal oT universal Tellowship. Believing ThaT I, as a paTrioT, am by no means an excepTion among The people wiTh whom I have conTacT, I have Taken a poll oT a cross-secTion oT my school, asking cerTain quesTions perTaining To paTrioTism. The resulTs, I believe, are abouT whaT all American preparaTory school girls Teel Towards Their counTry. They are all paTrioTic, Though Their enThusiasrn ranges Trom a blind devoTion down To one girl who gave as her reason ThaT iT is The cusTom To love your counTry and ThereTore her conscience demands iTl As I see iT There are Two main reasons Tor Their being paTrioTic. The maioriTy oT The girls were broughT up Thinking The UniTed STaTes The besT counTry oT all, and laTer, when They were able To Torm Their own opinions, They appreciaTed iTs advanTages. The second reason is ThaT one and all love The Treedom ThaT America sTands Tor. They admire iTs ideals, iTs Tirm sTand Tor democracy and iTs progressive naTure7 They like The personaliTy ThaT America and Americans have: They like iT because iT respecTs The righTs oT The individual, because iTs sTandards oT living are The highesT and because They believe ThaT This counTry is The hope oT The world in The TuTure. They do noT believe ThaT paTrioTism should be TIaunTed. JusT as religion is a personal maTTer, so The love oT one's counTry is an emoTion deeply TelT buT rarely 96