Fitzgerald enterprise. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1895-1912, 1911-12-02
THANKSGIVING OPTIMISM

The creation of the World is COM
piele. The heavens above, tn e
earth beneath, the waters under the
earth, are all there, and the multi
tude of living creatures; and Goa
the Creator declares they are very
good. A man makes something
and then passes judgment upon It.
The Artist looks upon his picture
the Diet upon the song he has sung
the Inventor upon his invention 1t
is of infinite Importance to III N
whether it is good, These things
are &ble pictures Of the scene set
before us in the closing lines OF the
first AAapter Of Genesis. God him
self Was brought forth in the world
II is i part of his own being. He is
lookibg upon himself when he looks
uponsthe world.
Behind all progress, behind all
life anyone is living, at any mo-
ment,3 there always will sound an
undertone which must beat through
every conception man must nave OF
himself and his fortunes-thls hrst
'utterance of God when he looked
upon the earth and said, And be-
hold it was good" | know not what
words could come to US on thanks
giving Dayton this day of reJolc-
ine-so richly as these words OF
God himself when he looked forth
on the new made world and said
1T was very good"
There are two different facts to
be noted with regard to man ano
his work and progress. One is the
actual condition of the world, the
other mans conception Of 1t
They belong together yet they are
two different facts. The one is Oh
iective the other subjective; thai
which exists in fact, and that which
exists in thought. 1t is good fol
man to study these. Along witt
the GREAT conditions of life and the
actual facts it is well for man to see
whether his thoughts and feelings
concerning them are right. Wha'
does man think Of the world? Goo
proclains it good. He looks abroaf
. and sees all the possibilities Of evil
all the sins, all the dangers an(
perils; and yet there remains hi
everlasting word that it is good
But how do men look at it? Al
we listen to the chatter and musings
of our fellow-men, we find there are
two distinct conceptions on theil
parts. One of which comedies witt
the voice of God, the other directly
opposite. They come to us from
home, from the street-these two
views, one that the world is good
the other that it is bad and still
moving on to evil. One man call:
himself pessimist. He sees evi
behind every hill, in every heart
beat, in the movement of all human
life. What power he is in the
world! Everywhere we hear the
cry. The world is growing worse
and worse, and man is moving on
to ruin" This is too much. | say
we must beware of pessimism.
What right have we who are op-
timists to be such? Why should
we always see Gods way and the
way of man another? The pessi-
mist will say, You have not seen
the world like me, you do not know.
Therefore you say 1t is good" But
my belief is the longer man lives
the more of an optimist he will be.
Optimism is not personal tempera-
ment, nor careless, idle desire, nor
simply a broad, clear, anticipation
of what the world is becoming.
1t is a great belief il greater pur-
pose underlying the world for good,
for human ful6lment, wich is alb
soIutely certain to reveal itself
sometime, somehow. Where, how,