Yale University - Sheffield Scientific School Yearbook (New Haven, CT)

Page 106 text:

82 CLASS OF NINETEEN THIRTY-FIVE S. AND E. day more extra-curricular discussion of political and social problems than there was in Mr. Coolidge's paradise. My friends are probably more familiar with the front page of the New York TZ'7716! than were my older brother and his pals. But only wishful thinking or a mind peculiarly impervious to evidence could lead us from this pic- ture to the conclusion that college Youth in general is profoundly disturbed about the world and militantly determined to remodel it. It is a commentary upon the gullibility of the populace that belief in this Youth formula remains widespread though the formula has been current for many decades. Faith in the completely unusual and unprecedented promise of the current batch of Youth is apparently characteristic of every period. Very few Youths can, as individuals, gain the trust and respect of their elders, but throw the whole ag- gregate of gawky simpletons together, call them Youth Ccapitalizing the first letterj, and they are miraculously transformed into an army of heroes marching valiantly upon the forces of chaos and confusion. Generation after generation pour out of the divers educational in- stitutions of the country, each batch being duly informed in an in- spiring graduation address, that it will build a new civilization on the smoking ruins of the old. And generation after generation the ruins go on quietly smoking in brazen defiance of the armies of Youth. Either those who advise us are congenitally blind to the snail's pace of progress, or they think it better we should dream the great dream of conquering vast empires though they know it to be an illusion. But in spite of graduating addresses, most of us do not, in fact, Ht the formula. This sounds, perhaps, like a discouragingly pessimistic conclusion. But must we despair because the men of Yale are not dreaming this great dream? Must the country give itself up for lost because we have not, in our four years here, drawn up blueprints for a new Utopia? I think not. Indeed there is good reason to be- lieve that this should rather be cause for general rejoicing. For this ideal of immediate and vigorous action on the part of Youth is so shot through with naive misconceptions, oversimplifications, and ignorance of the problem that it can only lead us astray. The fact that it is not accepted by the great body of young men at least pre- pares the way for a much higher ideal, an ideal more firmly rooted in reality. Let me illustrate what I mean by reference to the futile activities of those small groups of undergraduates who do fit the conventional Youth formula. There are in the country innumerable little Youth

Page 105 text:

CLASS ORATION As a'eZz'1ferea' on Class Day by Max F. Millilqan. RADITION dictates on this occasion that I be dull and pom- pous. I shall not depart from custom here. In one other respect, however, I find it somewhat more difficult to follow the procedure expected of Class Orators. I am supposed to stand here and explain with a perfectly straight face what we, the graduating Class, think- or more generally, what Youth thinks-about college, about the worlcl, about Life. I-Iaving been given this solemn assignment by my fellows, I find myself a trifle embarrassed. For the question, What does Youth think? implies two things. It implies that there is a category of beings having enough in common so that we may col- lectively label them Youth, and it implies that one of the character- istics of this group is that it thinks. Since both of these assumptions seem to me patently absurd, I find myself, as I say, somewhat baf- fled as to how to answer the question What does Youth think? There is, of course, a formula for the solution of this problem. It has come to the aid of countless Class Orators in the past, and it is the particular delight of those professional Youths, most of them past forty, whose gushings on the New Generation help to fill the pages of our more respectable periodicals. The essence of the for- mula is somewhat as follows: The world is in chaos. Our predeces- sors, especially the generation immediately before us, are responsible for this sorry state of affairs. They have made a mess of things. But we, Youth, are not dismayed by this spectacle of stupidity. We re- fuse to accept either the indifference of the mad twenties or the hopeless pessimism of the late great commercial distress. We look upon the world with clear and eager eyes, understanding the hor- rible mistakes our foolish forebears have made. Let us at it, and we will build a new civilization out of the shattered remnants of the old. As one of Yale's 1'1l0St prominent Youths put it recently, We have stopped saying inclifferently, :What the helll, and are saying impatiently, 'What the devill, H I wish I could subscribe to this comforting and inspiring formula. Unfortunately, I see little in myself or my fellow fledgelings to sub- stantiate it. It is true that undergraduates are in general taking less English and more economics and government and that there is to-

Page 107 text:

CLASS ORATION 83 Movements, each of them with a Plan-Student Federations with platforms of reform, Student Leagues waving banners of revolution, Youth Parties with programs of United Action. A number of these societies buzz about the Yale campus-their members intense, dan- gerous young men perpetually organizing meetings and seeing people. Certain characteristics are common to all these movements-Com- munist, Socialist, Fascist, or nondescript. They all assume to begin with that it is perfectly clear what is wrong and what should be done about it. Their furious activity, then, is all directed towards persuading a perverse and ignorant World to see the light and act ac- cordingly. No two of them agree as to where the light lies, but this in no way dampens the conviction of each that it is promoting truth. They are not looking for a plan, they have one. And each of these organizations is convinced that the adoption of their scheme will completely eliminate the major ills of the world. They have no un- derstanding of or sympathy with the evolutionary nature of the growth of society. We do not have to look far to find the explanation of this Youth Movement phenomenon in the psychology of a depression. The ten- der-minded college man looks about him and is bewildered by the complexity of events. For a time he holds to the liberal ideal of at- tempted objective analysis, but he finds this difficult and its fruits meagre. He wants some definite cause to fight for to give his life direction and purpose. A Youth Movement comes along with a plausible explanation of everything and a crusade to fight. In the face of this opportunity to embrace a creed which will give him cer- tainty, the young man is unable to maintain his skepticism, joins the Youth Movement, and accepts its program. Once he has taken this step, it is fatal for him ever to permit ra- tional analysis of the creed. For such analysis might expose flaws. He has now built his life around the hope of the Cause. If it is shown to be unworthy, his whole system of values topples. ln other words, he has adopted a faith. His belief is essentially religious rather than intellectual and hence is no longer subject from his standpoint to intellectual test. Much of the argument of the college Communists is of this nature. It is essentially an emotional, a-logical attitude which possesses these converts to Moscow. I don't imply that a rational defense of Communism does not exist, but that the defenders of the faith are seldom willing to let their case stand or fall on its logical merits.