Evening star., 1932-08-18

A mental card index of ones ac.
quaintances. their likes and dislikes
their opinions and lack of opinions, i.
a handy thing to keep.
Most human beings keep it, too, OF
spend large part of their days in i'm
promptu quarreling. never a satisfac-
tory or really entertaining diversion.
Often it takes man years to come
to the realization that every human
being has his sore spots" and that
there is positively no use in touching
them.
Tender conversational sore spots
are as diverse as mankind. and as many
as the topics which interest mankind
Here is a hot partisan in politics.
One soon discovers that the best thing
to do with him is to agree with every
word he utters.
What is the use Of disputation, In
such a case?
Political argument, when carried on
with some attempt to sift the chaff
from the wheat, by an honest use CT
intelligence, Is a diverting thing, both
to the participants and the spectators
When a real partisan enters the ring
however, another factor comes with
him, and that Is nothing more nor less
than anger.
The political partisan does not wish
to argue, but to browbeat some one
else into accepting his opinion. He
attacks first with a silk glove, however
SO that If one agrees. thereby giving
the crudest sort Of lip service. and
obviously that, he Is completely salts
fed.
He is too easily satisfied. in fact. 1t
To he
pleased with such ready agreement. II
shows that he Is not too sure Of his
facts. that he realizes that the les.
there is said about his facts the better
hence his happiness at the alacrity
with which apparently wise men agre:
with him.
They are wise, make no doubt oi
that.
Nor are they cowardly. as some might
at first think. Long ago they came to
the conclusion that bravery and COW.
ardice are not things in themselves
always the same and unvarying, but
depend upon circumstances for their
very being.
The wise man who keeps his card
index Of others realizes that there is
nothing more fallacious in ordinary life
than the apparent necessity for every
man to stand up for his own opinions
Mankind has grown so huge and COM
plex that there Is no uniformity oi
opinion about anything under the sun
At the same time the outer appearances
CT men make for seeming uniformity
In this unfortunate mix-up the man
who uses his head realizes that inces-
SAINT quarreling Is the reward of him
who insists on stating his opinions a,
any cost
Henceforth. he determines. he will
state his true beliefs only to those who
are fitted to receive them.
If he knows two such people in the
world he is fortunate.
He saves his real thoughts for them
knowing that whether they agree with
him or not they will recpect his opin-
ions
The trouble with the remainder is
that they only respect tl.eir own opin-
ions.
Hence they willingly listen only to
agreements, not to disagreements.
Often 1t seems that the less right a
man has to demand agreement the
more Of 1t he asks, when he indulges in
ordinary conversation about the vari-
GUS topics Of the day.
Religion and politics are topics bout
which such persons demand gross
uniformity.
Just chow they happen to set them
selves up as invariably right is another
matter, outside the scope Of this dis
cussion.
1t may be that the lIeat which they
so often engender is caused by a feel
ing on the part of these argumentative
ones that perhaps they do not know
it all, and that the other has somehow
managed to find them out
These by no means constitute all the
sacred topics. however. Holly argu-