Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-08-13
WHO IS AFRAID
TOBE GOOD?
Are You Willing to Sacrifice
Your Principles For Fear
of Someone's Ridicule?
Ry beatrice Fairfax

Deep within us-so deep that we
| often fail to realize it's a respect
and reverence for goodness. And on
the surface of our knowledge there is
a suspicion that it actually pays" to
| be good.
And yet some of us are actually
afraid to try it out! Human nature
is pathetically afraid of ridicule. A
good many of us would die for a
principle, but we won't be laughed
at for it,
Haven't you ever been in situa-
tion very much like this? Mabel is
lunching with a group of brilliant
society people whose worldliness she
| does not exactly admire, but still
rather envies. All of them take
cocktails before their dinner and
wine with it and liquors afterward.
Mable has a definite principle
| about drink. She doesn't approve
of it; she suspects it of evil effects,
and besides her moral scruples she
thinks it looks rather badly for a
young woman to drink in public.
When asked to Join the crowd in
| drink she is terrified at the
thought of seeming critical; she
doesn't want to take a "holier than
! thou" attitude; she hates the
thought of seeming to preach. So
Sne ventures tlmlQ: honestly l
don't care for cocktails"
Have you ever tried one?" asked
Mrs. Antrim
NO" Mabel confesses her ignor-
an,e acknowledgement proudly.
Then how do you know you don't
like it?"
Mable finds the logic of that ire
futable. The cocktail is ordered.
She drinks it. Then she can think
of no particularly good excuse about
the wine or the liquors.
Mabel is af aid that she will be
thought 'goody-goody." And so she
dare not be true to her real self.
Apart from the right or wrong
of drinking, Mabel committed a real
sim She violated her own principles
She betrayed her own soul. She was
not honest because she was afraid
to be good.
Have you ever found yourself in
similar position? Think about it
moment. Are you very proud now
of the way you conducted yourself?
Not very long ago party of
young people were dining in a res
taurant where there is not only
music with the meals, but dancing
as we'll A young man whom l know
well related the story afterward.
of that of any other decent young
fellow. Think it over. girls.
One of the guests was little Miss
E from Boston. When the first
foX-trot struck up, he asked her to
dance with him. I'm sorry-but 1
don't dance in public. It just hap
pened that my father doesn't approve.
You won't mind if sacrifice the dance
which I'd honestly enjoy and have the
satisfaction of living up to my
fathers idal Cf me?" asked the girl
earnestly.
And by jove. I like that little girl.
| think her fathers rather an old
fogey, and I'd hate it if many chaps
were so strict with their daughters.
But l think it was pretty decent of
her to take chance on having us
laugh at her for wanting to mind her
dad"
That was my friends comment.
And did you laugh?" 1 asked.
Not one of us. We were so busy
thinking how brave she was to risk
having us all ridicule her that we
would have been might. ashamed to
do 1t. She's peach of a girl; and
say. when Norton Jones got mn a
dance in his studio for her the next
week, she turned out to be a wonder
full dancer-waltzes like a dream. A
lot of the girls have been giving
parties in their homes, and it's sort
of fun to stay home for change"
III you nave conviction or a prin-
ciple or feeling that you owe it to
someone you love to act in a GER
tain way; why be too cowardly to
live up to your own ideal? Every
body admires bravery. Almost ey-
erybody knows how hard it is to
take a stand which is different from
other peoples.
If you are on the unpopular side
of the question and are ugly and ap-
gressive about it. of course Won
make enemies. But If you stand in
lonely minority and sweetlv and
amiably back your own principIes
without demanding that anybody
else reform to suit you or act in
accordance with your conduct, you
are pretty likely to make converts
converts to the honesty and
sweetness and simplicity that is moi
afraid to be good"