Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-12
Culture Held Chiefly Good Taste,
And Quite Apart From Education

Continued From Third Page)
ment can come in time, If we will
have it.
We are likewise in the intellectual
condition of the SophiStS in the DAYS
of Protagoras. We have not settled
down in definite thinking, but are
fading and fancying our way along
toward wisdom. Our form of sophistry
is that of popular sophistication or be-
ing lin the know" The Athenians
we're first lin the know"-then they
got knowledge.
Information is spreading with the
velocity of light. Boy and Girl Scouts
are familiar with the stars OF first
magnitude. and know something about
the ecliptic. Your tailor may ask you
what you think about relatively, since
he is interested in Einstein. and some
delicious young woman, who Is sup
posed to be devoted to the fashions,
may make some critical comments in
quantum physics or CeZanne'S concep-
ton of perspective. 1t is not safe for
ignorance to walk abroad even in the
daylight.
Culture Spreads Like Rash.
The fact of the matter is we, the
people of the United States, are now
threatened with culture which is
spreading over us in the form Of a
light rash. We are itching to know
about things, and the Sunday papers
keep irritating us with their tnforma-
ton. We have long had our public
schools, We boast thousand colleges
with a million students and have all
sorts of school and university extern
sions. There are the free libraries, the
drug store book counters. newspaper
columns" with great names attached
to them. so that there seems to be no
escape from culture Of certain sort
The bliss of ignorance is rapidly being
supplanted by the joy of sophistication
Radio is a source of national culture
whose depths are still to be sounded.
OF course, the thing is supported by
advertising, but SO are the newspapers
and the magazines. The loud speaker
can put forth stuff that splits the ears
of the groundlings, but makes the judi
cious grieve. But the judicious should
bide their time and tune in when
Beethoven and Wagner are on the air.
Symphony and opera will then redeem
the time when days are evil. Radio is
making people familiar with good music.
They NAV even become fond OF 1t If
they are not careful.
A decade ago the average person
would not have understood If you made
the casual remark that certain stars
sang areas from Aida" "Rigoletto' or
"Lakme." They might have taken these
to be the names of new tooth pastes.
Still less would the young choir singers
in small towns the land over have been
heard competing for prizes running up
into the thousands and shooting at them
with selections usually associated with
Nd xYOtPns nf tho YlriYf1o
donna and primo tenore robusto. Such
musical culture is now taken for
granted.
Culture itself is something deeper
than the popular science one gets from
a magazine or the popular entertain
ment receivable from radio, but reading
matter with ideas and music with tech
nique to 1t is preparing the way for
good taste. Safe thinking and sane
feeling pave the way for good Judgment
and taste. They get us out OF the pooh
pooh habit and make the low brows''
stop talking, for moment at least,
about the high brows." The time will
come we may believe, when those who
wear the "brown derby will cease talk
ing about the high hat" They may
even change their own style of brows
and hats.
Meaning of Word Misunderstood.
Now, If we are to be opponents or
proponents of culture, We must take
some pains to find out what it is. To
do this we must avoid certain culture
confusions peculiar to society and col
lege. we are in the bad habit Of think
ing makes one either polite or learned,
or both. when as q matter OF fact the
cultured man is neither a gentleman
nor a scholar. He gets along without
either spats or sheepskins.
In rural regions the cultured per-
son is one with fine clothes and just as
fine manners. Sometimes such a per-
son is spoken of as being clever" in
the sense of being kind and courteous.
OF course, our people should have bet
ter manners and less Of the subway