The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-17
The War Agairsst Idols
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When men start at idol breaking they an. narently become so obsessed with the work they are doing for humanity that they knock down all idols indiscriminAtelys would there were some way in which, we could knock down everything that is detrimental to mankind and permit to remains whether true or false, svstything of benefit tc tie world. whnt it discovers, but what is destroys The idea that sbecause q thing iss not true it is not ,seftlt land should, theref6i6, De Ab6iished, is not correct Many of thesfhines in. which we have an implicit faith are wholly untrue. yet I3feel that some of the things which may be proved to be untrue are not untrue, and that other things, however untfne they ac- ually may be-. are of infinite benefit tc man. kind because they contribute to our peace and happiness. One can prove to be true or false things which he can see or touch or handle, but he cannot prove the truth or falsity of things which come out of the imasi- nation. ss
 depreeate the modern idea that n child must be taught cold, deliberate, scientific truths Childhood suffers . great loss when parents and teachers attempt to cabin, crib and confine the imagination. The reflex is most valuable, and it will be . sorry day when the world is composed of hneh and women who see with their eyes and see with nothing else. T understand it is bad form now to teach children that there sis | Santa Claus. the argument being that soonef or later they will discover the decept and lose confidence in their fathers and mothers, with the result that they will question everything that is told to them. Unfortunately, am one who still believes in Santa Claus. He may be just . mythical character, but to me he even yet is very real My mother told me that he ex- isted and my confidence in his existence and in the truthfuliess of my mother never dis appeared. After he ceased to bring to me yis- ible pleasures in life in the shape, of toys he brought the music of the Angelic Chorus.
 Modern iconoclasts go even further. They are seeking to destroy our faith in myths about the great men of the past. Only re gently was gravely assured that the incl dent of George Washington and the cherry tree was not true and should no longer bs related to children,
 has been governed by imperfect men, which leads me to doubt that world rule, even now, is to fall exclusively into the hands of, those divinely wise and just, It helps us to believe that~the past was golden age that the men who formed our government and fixed it among the nations of the earth were just a little better than the men of today. It does no harm to put a halo over the heads of the dead. It Aioes no good to bury with their ashes all their weaknesses frailties and follies, and to transmit to future generations only knowledge of their virtues, wisdom and patriotic endeavor.
 Humankind is not now. never has been, and never will be ruled by the cold logic of man. kind. The world gets on not by what we see or handle, but gets on by the imagination of men. Therefore, to my mind, 1t is wholly helpful to endow those who have departed with mythological stories touching their lives and conduct. Wholly false they may be, but whenever they point moral or adorn a. tale, wherever they are for good and not for i'll, they are of benefit.
 Of course, no one can know what really has caused the great things of the world. We know now that Odin and Thor were purely mythological characters, yet it was faith in these mighty Morse deities that sent men across the seas and made Englishmen out of Saxon, Norman and Dane. None of us now believe in, Juno and venus yet who would deny that it was faith in these beauti- ful goddesses that wrought the art, the ctil- ture and the, beauty of Greece! Jupiter and Mars no longer move us to worship, yet it was faith in these characters that made the Roman the master of the world Nor did Ne cease to rule until his Augurs began to smile.
 was moved to make these observations by reading Gilbert K. Chesterton, who wrote: Now, the Mayflower is myth. It is an in- tensely interesting example of real modern myth. The Mayflower is not merely a fable. but is much more false than fables usually are. The revolt of the Puritans against the Stuarts was really revolt against religious toleration. A Druid temple is a ruin, and Puritan ship by this time may we'll be called q wreck"
 This all may be true. but do not believe 1t. The Mayflower was not myth. It was not revolt against religious toleration. Its influence has not passed from the life of America and will not pass Destroy every. thing else about it and there will yet remain the fact that on Elder Brewster's chest in It's cabin was signed the first constitution prepared by and in the name of the people. If nothing else came out of the Mayflower, this alone would make it worthy of the wor- ship of free men, ~
 If it were g myth, is was the most dan gerous myth there ever was in the history Of the British empire or in the anuais of autocracy. In that myth was first written the language which has since become the model of every just and satisfactory Rovern- ment Vain would be all constitution nnakArs who would ever think again of writing doe ument which did not begin We, the peo. pie. To the Mayflower belongs the honor of starting democracy along its weary but sue cessful way.