Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-11-28
THE WORLDS BRIGHT SIDE.
Some Items of Modern Life to Winch
Our Attention Is Invited

| in social, as well as in individual, life u
| is not good for MS to DC ever ioohIis ~
| the darkest and worst so" 81 tinhsa.
Such AN attitude Of mind Only tends 10
| breed "A generation Of chrome Sfuinbl"TS.
| The genuine lover Of truth wants TO see
| things as they are painted by me op-
timSt not by the pcssimist ms truth
| lies in the golden mean between tne Two
extremes The reader will doubtless re
call the Quixotic legend of the valiant
knights Of yore who Wranglod ana fouSft
over the color Of the shield. oht S"olt 80, ~
WAS white. and tn" other as Stout!y
maintained it was black. Both We're part
right and part wrong, as the shield MS
white on on" side and each saw only M
side confronting his own visual organ.
So it il with orr views ~ life. som"
gep only the bright side. others OnI% tuv
dark ANA as result neither = cohPc
tent to Judge. The habit ~ railing ann
tions AZ unQtaliticd1y bad seems I" max"
some people Very big and EirtuouS III
their own eyes. "" are not referring 70
that inst and tempered criticism whlch
is prompted 10y public spirit. or genuine
zeal for the common good. but fatheF I"
the llnmtaSured abuse SCI mlhSlE lhuuls-
ed i'll for its own sake, and by those WI"
lave nothing to Offer by way OF supStI-
tuto IN short it is destructive, not con-
stluctve criticism that merits our repro
And even ancnt real reformers We
know hat they are not likely to mlnlmize
wc do them no injustice to saying that;
as a rule, the tendency is to let theiF zeal
outrun their discretion: ana the NOR
earnest they are the NOR HHeiy IS Ints
~ poised philosopher who unVarylhgN
keeps his heart in due subsection to his
head is rather rare exception
That there i'll our modern HE many ana
serious evils. endanGering the welfare of
both of he individual and of society IS a
truth which no one with half an eye can
question Every student Of history
knows that wide-spr"ad tuNurN-ahn Us
etrictcd divorce. the dissemination u IN
fdcl and immoral literature and oihlai
corruption, have ever proved most Pc
tent factors in the destruction Of govern
invnts and nations And these ugly spec
tres are certainly stalking about IN our
midst today But, in spit" Of that. y
would be far from the truth to say thal
our. age is the worst ever Owing TO I'M
proved facilities for communication ana
The. rapid transmission of news, we know
more about contemporary III" IMAM tlu
ou ancestors. and the vicious part Is apt
to strike us more forcibly than its viz
tuolS side for vice is ever more blatant
ard ohtrusivc than virtue.
NtVrrt hcleSS. We have good reason To
believe that our era could wen Staho d
comparison with the ages that are past
understanding the lamentations oil tlc
later-day Jcramiahs, religion and moran
II are neither dead nor dying. taf from
passing INTO 1lt ser anu NfilpN i'etl' 'iN'
:lr,, stil green and growing vigorously.
Tie opinion OF the masses-the voN pop
uli-is still to be found on the sldc OF
truth ana righteousness. AS q counter
poise to modern evils we have the ever
vieiIant 1ynX-eyed, and, in the man. I'M
corrupted public press. which. with com
paratively few exceptions. IS dacldediy
moral in tone and character the sturdy
opponent of evidoers and the staunch
defender of justice and right
We sometimes forget that the very hue
ana cry raised against the criminal ele-
ment is proof of a thorough awakenin% !
Of the public conscience, which shows
that after all, the modern world IS not
50 hopelessly wicked. Never before did |
public opinion play such an important
role in the worlds history
These are a few Of the polntS-on the
bright side Of modern lifc-which we
would do. well to ponder over now and
then, lest while looking too exclusively
at the dark and evil side Of the picture.
we become confirmed pcSsimists and fail
to appreciate and develop the real good |
that is strewn everywhere about us =
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