The Penn's Grove record., 1905-03-17
CIVIC PATRIOTISM.
The President of Princeton Says II
Begins at Home.

The President of Princeton Says II
Begins at Home.
The citizens Of Passaic, N. J., to re-
WITTY civic spirit and to develop a new
civic enthusiasm, recently gave a big
dinner to themselves, at which Presi-
dent Woodrow Wilson Of Princeton uni
versity was the principal guest and
chief speaker. DR.. Wilson's subject
was "Civic Patriotism" and he spoke
in part as follows:
1--WE cannot usefully and practically
love the United States until first we
love the place in which we have our
own roofing.
Each community is either self gov
erned or self ~demoralized, self disor-
dered. De Tocqueville even In his SIM
pier day saw that institutions free as
ours and yet complex and difficult re
quired extraordinary variety Of infor-
nation and excellence of discretion on
the part Of the people; that it presup-
posed information and capacity Of quite
unprecedented compass and fexibility.
Every man among us, therefore, is put
upon his honor to understand and serve
the community in which he lives, and
the only true patriotism is that which
is local in Its rootage. Vital patriotism
begins at home; it is not a vague inter
est spread out over the whole affairs
Of a whole nation, but a direct and def
mite Identification of feeling and pur-
pose with the interests Of ones home
and neighbors.
1T would be natural to ask whether
1t were possible to breed a motive which
shall control the conduct that is,
whether one can deliberately cultivate
patriotism. 1t is clear that it is quite
possible to do so. Motive Is the child of
interest, and 1t is perfectly possible to
cultivate an interest, an interest In
your own affairs which will breed q
selfish motive or an interest in the af-
fairs Of your community which will
beget an unsel1sh motive, and the con-
ditions under which this can be done
are worth understanding. You cannot
touch the life of a nation directly; you
must touch and move 1t indirectly by
thought and motive where you are.
You car deliberately acquaint yourself
with the conditions existing around
you, and you can embark, If you will,
upon every local enterprise that prom
Uses betterment.
"This community will never awake
to its W betterment and best devel-
opment through any abstract motive
Of duty, but only. through a concrete
image of its own life and interests,
through a sort of ardent and enduring
self consciousness. You will find that
there is mixed with all patriotic mo-
tives a certain pride in the past Of the
community, a consciousness Of what It
has been and is and a desire for its dis
tinction as a whole. The revival of
historical study in our day in respect
Of the history Of localities, particularly
Of neighborhoods, Of countrysides, is
full Of hope for the creation Of the bet
ter sort Of local self consciousness and
ambition,
"Distrust the patriotism Of a man
who is always spending his feeling
upon some distant object, whose ener-
gy does not seek the nearest duty, but
the more remote. Every citizen who is
thoughtful of the welfare of his coun-
try should seek to see and understand
his nearest duty and to do it with all
thoughtfulness and yet without impa.
tience."