The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-01-20
On Narrowmindedness

and the stumbling DOCK III tHe PAIN
of success, not only the narrow
mindedness which is of himself and
which he can hope, therefore, to up
root, but that which is implanted
within the minds of other people and
which persists in stamping its dis
approval or it's criticism upon all the
mass of matter and those masses of
men and problems which it does not
understand. And the individual who
would make the most of himself, has
tens to crush out his own bigotry
and tendency to illiberal views and
to look upon life beyond his own ho-
rizon with broader, more impartial
view and to regard the efforts of his
n neighbors and the failures and weak
Vness of the next man with less pre-
JUDGED eye for the selfish and en-
tirely laudable reason that he would
desire to other men to reciprocate
the understanding sympathy and to
allow him the same broad margin for
his foibles and blunders.
There are few of us who escape
some element of narrowness of views
in our relations with other men and
one cannot be too early in casting
from him all that savors of prejudice
and partially and bias. 1t is abso-
lutely impossible that a man should
know all the circumstances which af.
feet the decisions of his neighbor
and it is, therefore, narrow and de-
cidedly unfair, to attempt to Judge
that neighbor save in the most unre-
stricted and broad classification.
In all times, narrowmindednes
has worked evil and harm. Religion
and free thought have, especially felt
its cramping dominance but one Of
the most hopeful signs of the passing
years has been the widening of men
tai limitations and the deepening IF
soul capacities and the erasure OF
those narrow boundaries which have
formerly confined the ideas and am
billions and sympatbies of each man
to his hide bound circle. More people
ask of themselves, "Am l my BROTH
er's keeper@ and more frequently
the answer is, "In a large sense.
yes" And this is broader human
itarianism that will eventually make
possible the attainment of the highest
pinnacles of thought and action.
Men and women are living less
within the boundaries of themselves.
They are giving the next man elbow
room and breathing space. They
may not understand him or his mo-
tives but they give him credit for
having .x,purpose in life and they are
charitabel enough to think that he
may not understand them in any
clearer sense than they him. They
would never have been a Salem witch
if other Salemnites had not been mar
row minded nor a martyred Joan Of
Arc if the English had not been VIC
Tins of bigoted, narrowed beliefs
which gave birth to cowardly super
stition. No man would be called a
crank, or genius would be termed
crazy if other men, average in their
own abilities gave their fellows credit
for extraordinary and unusual capac-
tiles denied to themselves.
Women, especially, are reproached
for snobbishness (form of narrow
mindedness) based upon an accident
of BIRTH position In society, or other
attainment. One often encounters
the woman who will tell you that she
detests the rich because of their
wholesale snubbing of those who were
not born with a silver spoon in their
mouths or who did not, at least, &C
quire such a spoon in early infancy.
But If one is quite honest the fact
proves that every woman who feels
hurt because a woman higher up"
on life's sliding scale snubs her, has
her own little set and daily and in
tentionally snubs other women whom
she regards as commoners, seeing
thereby no inconsistency The law
yer's wife who is snubbed by the at
torney generals wife and who in turn
snubs the clerk and his wife is as
unforgivingly narrow as the wife of
the higher legal light.
Nor does narrow mindedness mean
the untutored state of the unlettered
man or woman of limited opportuni-
ty. Mabie, in his essays on books
and culture, points out very empha-
ically that there is just as much vul-
garity and provincialism in a Parish
an crowd as in a backwoods settle
ment though the former may be more
wealthy and better dressed and Just as
much narrowmindedness in the man
who considers the dress and customs
of the boulevard unapproachable as
in the inhabitants of the mining camp
who recognize no existence beyond
their horizon.
To be narrow in ones understand
ing of other men is to be threatened
with the biased opinions and mani
testify unfair judgments of other men
in their reckoning with us. To be
broad minded is to live freely,
tasting the last possible drop of en-
joyment from all phases of life, catch