San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-07-26

TO see them in the same room, at the
same table, around the same campfire.
was the signal for some mischevous
one to start the ball rolling. Then
there was an uncorking of the walls
of opinion with vengeance. Peace
able conversation at an end, quietness
murdered upon the field of contention,
bitterness engendered, hot recrimina-
ton INDUCED in unless politeness or
friendly Intervention prevented, and
all to what end? Simply in the vain
'endeavor to show that you know more
than the other fellow. Far better to
sit down and draw up confession
that he is smarter than you are and
drop contention forever.
Among the inalienable rights of the
individual, not mentioned in the inn
mortal declaration of the fathers, is
the right to be mistaken. That is,
the right TO be wrong taken, by the
other fellow. You are not infallible.
Neither is the man or woman who
differs from you. To say that this
one or that one is mistaken is only
half a truth. The real truth is that
you are both mistaken. The truth lies
between you, like football that is
kicked first from one side and then
from the other. 1t is bad thing for
the football, and not much better for
those whose shins are barked in the
operation. A realization of the fact
that you are partly in error, as well
as your friend the enemy, may lead
you to consider whether it is wise for
you to draw attention to your own
mistakes, by general attack upon
his adverse position.
As the Light preacher pens these
words he hears the ball crier' on his
rounds calling out: whats the mat
ter with Houston? Kick! Kick!
Kick!!" There you have it in a nut
shell. This insane desire and itch to
kick at something is at the bottom of
half this contention. The self-conceit
of the kicker is at the bottom of the
other half If there is any more to be
accounted for it can be attributed to
the weakness of the flesh. the eternal
desire to be meddlesome. 1t was born
with the race and will only die out
when the last of the breed is buried.
Let the sinners indulge in their crimes
in this direction. Better things are
expected of those upon and among
whom the Light shines. Dissatisfac-
ton with what is, Kick! Kick!! Kick!!.
Eternal meddlesomeness, Pry! Pry..
Pry!.! These lost Eden and curse
Earth.
Curiosity is the inheritance of
Earth. Curiosity is the condition of ig-
norance. Curiosity is the stock in
trade of small souls. Curiosity is the
source and parent of all meddlesome-
ness. Meddlesomeness is the mother
of this eternal attempt to set those
right who do not see things as we do.
1t is born in ignorance Of the rights
of others and our own limitations.
1t is baptized in the waters of self
confidence that arises from our own
lack of knowing. 1t breeds in every
society where culture and refinement
has not stamped it with the seal of
damnation. That it grows like weed
and is hard to uproot is natural, for
it finds homesoil in all of us. 1t has
to be starved into inaction, and pre-
vented seeding by never letting it's
head appear above the ground. Its
only remedy lies in a wise sense of
our own ignorance.
If this is not at hand, then consider
how great a nuisance to society at
large, to the home, to the school, to
the church, to the fraternity is the
man or the woman or the child who
is eternally correcting Qn his mind
the mistakes of other people. How
forcibly the words of Bobby Burns
rise to the lips on such occasions: "Oh
wad some power the giftie gle us, to
see oursers as ithers see u.s." To see
ourselves as others see us is just what
the person who lives and grows fat
on the mistakes of others never does.
The mistakes of Moses as set forth
by Pagan Bob" are not in it with
the mistakes of the person who thinks
he knows it all. The he or the she
with this hallucination under their
hats, is the best person in the world
to give wide birth to. They are the
people ordained to torment us before
our time.
AS in all else the correction of this
habit must begin in the home. I'm