The Washington herald., 1920-04-19
PUT THE BLAME WHERE II
BELONGS.

PUT THE BLAME WHERE 1T
BELONGS.
The greatest her6es in this world
are not those who have the courage
to look unafraid into the bright
face of danger. or who march un-
! dauntedly into the hell of battle.
Those who deserve to have their
chests covered with decorations of
/ valor are the men and women who
are brave enough TO look into their
own souls. and have the grit and
nerve to recognize their own weak
, nCsses and fight with them.
II takes more courage sthan
most of us possess to do this. When
we are called upon to go over the
top and wrestle. hand to hand.
with our pet sins we turn coward.
and quit cold. We have not the
backbone it requires to stand up
and meet the enemy squarely. and
admit to ourselves that the fault is
ours.
1t is so much easier 10 cry KAN
arad! kamarad" and throw up our
hands than 1t is to say "Mea
Culpa" 1t is so much more sooth-
ing to our vanity to say that we
were trapped. betrayed, gassed, out :
numbered than it is to admit that
we simply funked
Yet in this camouf1aging of our
weakness we let down a perpetual
! barrage that We never break
! through between ourselves and i'm
| provement 1t is because we shut
I our eyes to the real cause of our
Iailures that we never succeed.
Heredity. adverse circumstances,
lack of opportunity, jealousy, these
are all excuses with which we dope
| our vanity into making us believe
that rate was against us. and that
we are not to be blamed for not
having made anything of our lives.
We will not put the blame where
! 1t belongs-on our own lack of en-
ergy. or our self-indulgence, or our
| fiabbinsss of will, or our selfishness,
or high temper. or uncontrolled ap-
petites; and so We go on falling.
and falling. and whining over our
ill-luck. when we might change the
luck and turn defeat into victory If
| only we had the nerve to just once
blame the right party for our mis-
| fortunes.
Perhaps this is the difference be-
tween the wise man and the fool
between the success and the failure.
All of US make mistakes. but the
wise man admits his error to him
self and. profiting by it, goes on to
success. while the fool blames his
failure on everyone in the universe
but himself, and goes on failing to
the end OF. the chapter.
Take the drunkard. for instance
Did you ever know a sot who didn't
weep into his glass, and tell you
that he Is the poor unfortunate vic
tim of heredity, and it is in his blood
to crave alcohol. and that he cannot
help himself? Or else he has been
driven to drink by domestic unhap-
pincss. He has had a shrew of a wife
from whom he took refuge in a
| saloon. or he has lost a dearly be-
loved wife for whose death he is
jconsoling himself in liquor.
Always somebody else is to blame
Never he, himself, and his case is
hopeless for there can be no refor-
nation for a man who does not ad
init that his sin is his own, and try
to overcome it.
And there are the ne'er-do- wells
who stick like cookie burrs on the
Fskirts of every family, and are just
as Irritating. They are strong
able-bodied men. They have plenty
OF intelligence. There Is no reason
on earth why they shouldn't sup
port themselves and their families
| instead. of the balance of us having
to do 1t.
We are forever getting the ne'er-
Dwell a job, because he always
protests that he is anxious for some
thing to do, but before we can dra W
a long breath of relief. he is back
on our hands again. He has lost
his position. No fault of his either
He found out that the work injured
| his eyes or back. Or elise the job
was in an unhealthy place. Or the
superintendent singled him out fol