The Redwood gazette., 1932-02-11
What Others Think
What Is The Object Of Civilization?

~uAT :; The aim of civilization? Our answer,
NJ super6cially, would be that it should seek 70
w bring about the greatest happiness of the great
est number of people To say that the Tinted STATES
even with the tremendous shrinkage in wealth during
the past two years. is still by far the richest nation IN
the world does not make especially happy MOST
people would rather have houseboat OF tnelr own
than to see the towering sky in every city IN
the land the ownership of which is in some one eise
T. :; a obv;o,,slv not the external things of life
or what Won have that makes you happy Instance the
farmer We can recall when most rural residents OF
this county visited local post offices once or twice eac
week and were contented with the service Ihey nad
telephones; they had automobiles; tney mad no
rural carrier to leave mail daily at their door, they
had no radios to enable them to nightly tune In and
hear the finest music and the finest speakers IN the
land; they had county agents to teach them the
higher points in farming; they had their own district
school-and by and large the farmer was nap
pier and contented than he is today. When the
rural routes established and when the telephones
were instaled-now, they said, young people VIII
be content to remain upon the farms When agr1cui-
ture taught in the schools it set forth that
by developing generation of scientifically trained
farmers the agricultural profession would be elevated
into more of science. Has it worked that way we
leave the answer to readers
No, what you have does not make you happy at
all. In recent automobile trip, observed group
of screaming happy children filled with joy of life,
who had just common saw log another saw log
and on which they teeter totterng. No expens-
i've toys no artificial playthings required for a
child full of red blood youth vgor and animal spirits
Give girl rag doll and boy top or a few mar
bles, turn him loose and he will have amazingly
good time at small expense.
1t is true with everybody. Few luxuries are re-
quired for any with inner resources, with mind
that comprehends with eye that sees, with brain
which intelligently understands what sees and
hears. Such does not know the meaning of bore
dom and he is selfsuffcient-it is marvellous how lit
tie he needs to really enjoy himself and how little he
requires from others The other day man said to
us-look at the people of today many of them dis
satisfied grumbling, fault-fnding Discomfort appears
upon their faces. We live far better the average
than we lived before than the of people
of any nation lived before But people iebt
happy-why? Because they have thought money and
automobiles and radios and silk shirts would make
them happy, but they don't.
If that theory were true the man with $40 would
be 10 times happy the ma. with one. We have
been in homes where q man had nothing other than
house full of coon dogs and children, and there was
more genuine happiness in that home than in the home
of any millionaire in the land.
With all our boasted progress, we doubt if the
people of today as happy the people of
80 years ago-that is the average If comfortable
living, if proper division Of labor and leisure,
tentedness is the aim and objective of civilization
verify believe the people of the late nineties had
the people of today with all their boasted progress Life
simpler, less complex, less exactng, less of
strain. It takes strong man, physically mentally
and morally to stand the terrific pace of modern in
dustrialism. Connelsville (Ohio) Herald