The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1911-08-17
HONEST THINKING AND DOING.

HONEST THINKING AND DOING.
In Polonius' advice to his son we notice
that special emphasis is laid on honesty or
sincerity in our dealings with self:
sstThis above all: To thine own self be true;
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man."
Of piece with this wise counsel is the
time honored adage ''Let justice be done,
though the heavens should fall" for hon.
esty. fairness and sincerity in arriving at a
decision must necessarily precede justice in
our dealings with ourselves and others.
Needless to say, this absolute, unflinching
honesty or openness of mind is by no means
superintendent commodity. 1t is not al
ways an easy thing to seek and follow the
truth whthersoever it leads, whether it be
for or against US. On the contrary, it re-
quires fortitude of no common order. For
the truth often clashes with self-interest,
and at times with lifelong friendships and
deeply cherished convictions; and the man
who can thoroughly divest himself of bias
and prejudice, ever keeping his mind in an
open or receptive attitude, Ikea blank tablet
or wireless telegraph receiver, ready to
accept the message of truth whether pala-
table or unpalatable, from whatsoever quar-
ter it comes, regardless of consequences, is
a veritable hero. He is, too, man whom
we can trust absolutely and implicitly, for,
as Polonius remarks, if he be true to him
self there is very little danger of his being
false to another. Being just to himself, he
will naturally be just to every one else.
The two go hand in hand.
This mental poise, or openness of mind,
is absolutely essential to the attainment of
truth; and those who knowingly fail to
cultivate it are not really honest with, or
true to, themselves. The full radiance of
truth never lights on the blind and preju-
diced partisan. The fact of the matter is
he doesn't want the truth. If he studies
the other side at all, it is only to pick flaws
in it, or to find arguments to bolster up
his own position. He is not willing to
recognize a truth which runs counter to
his preconceived views. And since it is
only the truths of mathematics, or the ex-
act sciences, that compel our assent, nOlens
rolens, it is easy enough for such one to
remain in his error with perfect compla-
cency and self satisfaction.
Even in matters of conscience we know
that men often manage to convince them
selves that they are doing no wrong when
every impartial onlooker sees clearly that
their conduct is utterly at variance with
the principles of the moral law. Of course,
a change like this in the average, normal
man doesn't take place in single day. 1t
is gradual process, the result of long
continued mental dishonesty or insincerity
with ones self; it is the natural conse-
quence of looking at only one side of a
questionable side that favors his interests
or his prejudices-to the exclusion of the
other. At first, perhaps, his methods will
give rise to some qualms of Consequence;
but oft-repeated acts of the kind soon
blind and burden him, dull and even
deaden his moral sense, and eventually
find him in the slough which we are wont
to style an elastic, or india rubber, con-
science. For, after all, conscience is not
an automaton, or mariners compass
unerringly pointing out the way without
our assistance. 1t is human reason itself
pronouncing judgment on the morality Of
this or that particular concrete act, and,
like every other judgment, depends, largely
on our moral dispositions. From repeated
twistings of conscience some people come
to have such little regard for truth tina,
they will defend either side of question
with equal ability and equal insincerity.
We can put no confidence in the man
who is mentally dishonest with himself
who tries to convince himself that wrong
is right, who is ever on the alert for ex.
cuses, endeavoring to patch up his con-
science, and square his immortality with
the moral law. When one has arrived a,
this pass his case is hopeless, at least un.
til he changes his viewpoint. Far better
the man who does wrong occasionally
without making any attempt at self -decep.
ton and who is honest enough with him.
self to admit his error. There is some hope
for him.
We cannot insist too often or too strongl,
on the evils of bias or prejudice, or on tn.
necessity of looking upon mental honesty
as a primal factor in the training of youth