St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1904-06-29
The Spirit of Reverence:-lts Place
in the Life of the State.

| at ST. JOhnsbury.
| The question has been raised: Has the
| reverend spirit any place IN democracy,
or rather, can it exist there? Surely.
| there are no signs of our being surieited
with genuinely reverent spirit at pres
ent, but there are ominous signs that
should lead us to stop and think, to take
our bearings, and to see whittier we, as
| a people, are drifting.
| Hugo Munsterberg, in one of his books,
declares that the danger that threatens
| democracy like our own IS, that "every-
| one feels himself lawmaker and au-
thority." The immediate result" he says,
rs the tendency to disre gard every other
authority but ones own self. A lack of
reverence pervades the whole community
| and controls the family, the school, the
| public life. The pert American boy who
| does just what he pleases may thus get
| an early training IN democratic politics
| but he will learn too late that it is a
| great thing to command-but greater
| to obey, and that no one can sign early
| enough the declaration of independence"
| DIR. Martineau has written: 1.-The
character of the state is shown in the
relation which individuals occupy to the
| arrangements OF the whole-whether the
people are penetrated with reverence for
religion and the church, or whether unbe-
lief, Indifference and frivolity have the
upper hand"
And DR.. Bradford, the moderator of
| our national council, has declared that
| 1T sometimes seems as if we were wit
Messing reversion toward the barba-
rism of the middle ages and the pagan
ism of ancient Rome. The Sunday OF our
| fathers, in the larger cities, has almost
gone. Determined opposition to our
public school system in the interest Of
| l1Svr ,Eocts
in some quarters. The strife between
| labor and capital has been intensified
and an era OF industrial war threatens
| to crowd out what was hoped would be
| an era of friendly cooperation"
| These quotations from the pen of men
| who are eminent in their different call
ings show US the need OF considering our
subject III the most practical way posi-
| BILE.
We surely must recognize large
element OF truth in what Dr. Minister
berg says of the spirit of irreverence in
our modern democracy.
When the chief magistrate Of the great
nation is called, on floor of congress,
| 1.-THE bronco buster of the White House.
and the title is greeted with cheers and
| laughter by the political partisans of the
| speaker, say that it is time to call a
halt and to insist that reverence and
|
| and demagog1sm that is too frequently
| seen in our congressional halls. It is
| time to create a public sentiment all over
| our land that is strong enough and out
| spoken enough to brand with deserved
| intamy the blatant tongue that thus
plays to the gallery and disgraces our
nation in the eyes OF the whole world. If
these and similar utterances are allowed
to go unrebuked in the higher walks OF
=.
the lower! | am afraid that this incl
dent to which reference has been made is
suggestively characteristic of the times
in which we live-and it strikes at the very
roots of everything that we hold sacredin
the home and the church and the nation.
There ought to be something's in our
national lite that are held in such rev.
erence and high esteem that no one
would think OF speaking lightly of them.
There are traditions that we should
honor; there are institutions that we
should conserve; there are holy days
that we should cherish, and there is
sacred heritage that we should prize.
Our nation has a history that we
should never forget. The richest and the
most favored of all the nations of the
earth-she has not risen to this high po-
sition by mere chance. The character of
the cody men and women who landed
on the rock bound coasts 2S4 years ago
has been ingrained into her constitution,
and their God-iearing, liberty-lovi de-
scendants have had a controlling voice in
the shaping of affairs until now. We
are christian nation. The state has
always recognized itself as such and laws
designed to safeguard the sancity of
the Sabbath, to encourage the devotion
al spirit, to instill principles of truth and
honor and righteousness in the hearts OF
men, to care TOR the dependent classes of
all Ainds-these have been among the
most benehcent factors in the nations
lite. And they must still be held in rev.
erence if we are to maintain the eminence
we have acquired among all the nations
of the earth. 1t is eternally true that
righteousness exalteth a nation and
thac only that people where God is the
Lord is happy and safe.
To point out the place the reverent
| spirit should have in the life of the state
| is a difficult task-because there is no
place where it should not exist; and out
| OF the embarrassment OF riches that
| comes to ones mind as he thinks OF the
| subject, it is hard to select the points
| that are OF most vital Importance
| But venture to suggest: First that
| the reverent spirit has most important
part to play in mems thoughts Of what
| constitutes a nations noblest life. This
| has been implied in what has just been
| said but we may well dwell upon it a
! little more in detail
| A nations noblest life does not consist
in the wealth 1t may happen to acquire,
in the lands it may possess, nor is it to
| be found IN the luxuries it may enjoy.
| The lite is ever more than the food and
| the body than the ralment. nations
| noblest lie consists in the character of
| the men and women it produces; in the
| uplifting and ennobling influences it ex-
erts, and in the general trend of thought
and OF lite that its people follow. There
| fore everything that has been benefcent
factor in making christian America what
it is, should be held in deepest reverence
| by every true lover of his country.
| Has the bible been such factor? You
remember the story that is told of the
| Indian Prince who once visited England
| and profoundly impressed as he was