Evening star., 1932-04-27
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEEELL.

world which gives them the laugh q
| thousand times over on every street
These are the isolationists, the stand
patters, the ultra and the
| like, who play an important part in the
world, sometimes the highest but who
almost always end conversation by
becoming hurt about something.
Those who are able to master the
| idea of the impersonal, although they
at times may silently feel rebuffed, or
! even insulted, instinctively recognize
the right of another human being to
use them as representatives OF class,
SO long as this Is done without Ill Will
or malice. Those who master this idea
are the so-called radicals, mostly men
whose bark is worse than their bite.
Let them bark, all ye who fear! They
are merely trying to reach the truth
to put the searchlight OF reason on a
dark Spot-at least it seems dark to
them.
1T Is a pity that meetings for con-
versation should end as quickly as they
| ordinarily do" once wrote the wise
Emerson. They end as soon as the
| blood is up and We are about to say
| daring and extraordinary things"
| Who is there who has not felt this? ?
The real trouble lies in the fact that
these very daring things, which every
one feels are about to be uttered, and
which they know should be uttered
must be predicated upon real people.
And these real people, these human
| beings, may be and most often are
right there in the room, party to the
conversation.
One inStnctively knows, after school
days, at least, that to boldly reach out
and speak the truth, for once, is to
run the very large risk Of treadtng
upon their precious toes.
Now, roars Of pain, fright and anger,
never did and never will lead TO the
path OF truth, except in very rare in
stances.
The moment a mental toe-and the
mind, unfortunately, has vastly more
toes, it would seem, than the physical
feet-is stepped upon a shrek is likely
to be emitted by the average person in
average conversation. A roomful OF
Emersons might be able to conduct
itself on highly impersonal and in
telligent plane, but the sad fact is
that meeting of ordinary human be-
ings contains few Ralph Waldoes.
Mostly people in conversation shy
away from the subject at its very crllX.
What comes next demands a frankness
which can be reached only through the
application, the acceptance and the
appreciation Of the impersonal. Out of
the personal the impersonal must be
formed somehow; If this one, and that
one, and this other one, is to feel hurt,
offended, wrathful. how can the con-
versation get anywhere?
1t cannot and that is why, perhaps,
1t perishes, just as the gathering real
hnt xry0c h. 1t,,A -
thing exceptional. An easy explanation
is this, that it died for politeness' sake
So a crime Is committed In the name
Of courtesy. Upon some occasions, and
under certain circumstances, this may
be necessary
Even then the astute will watch with
regret. The impersonal idea, after all,
is not for every one 1t means that
one has bid farewell to self, in a GER
tain sense, and is willing hereafter to
make truth his goal, no matter how
much it may dismay or hurt.
After all. few human beings get very
far along this divine road. There are
many who have believed and will con-
tinue to believe that the truth is not
attainable in this world, that is why we
require another one. perhaps
Most of us need all the help we can
get in this laudable endeavor; one of
the best aids is the idea of the imper-
sonal, personally applied From 1t the
right sort Of man will wrest as much
truth as he can stand. The other sort
must not be expected to imbibe too
much truth; it is heady doctrine, and
calls for the impersonal out of the per-
sonal. Truth in large doses gives them
indigestion; no one can blame them for
not wanting to be Ill. For them the
pap of ballyhoo is just right.