Evening star., 1933-03-11
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

ance of duty" and "the clear con-
sciousness of seeking old and precious
moral values" He spoke of leadership
which aims at q larger good"
These phrases are distinctive In their
recognition Of the solemn obligation OF
every man to be true to himself.
This obligation requires 20 much of
the individual that It contains room for
such q personal search as we advo-
cate herewith.
A certain mans writings, let US say.
are not acceptable to all, because they
offend q certain portion Of the public
which demands that no man dare ar
rogate to himself the seeming right to
speak as II he knew the truth.
The critics do not know that these
make the writer what he Is. They give
him the only real value he possesses.
It ID precisely in the points that he
ofiends that he is good.
A certain silly demand for uniform
ity Of appearance, thought and deed Is
based upon an appreciation OF values
from one particular standpoint only,
not from the universal standpoint re-
quired by so many and varied charac-
ters.
The differences, not the likenesses,
are what make life interesting and tre-
mendously worthwhile. In the old days
they seem to have handled this matter
better.
Eccentric characters. Is they would
be called today, were regarded then
with pride mingled with affection A
man was judged on what he was, and
valued for what he .yas, not for what
some one thought he should be. These
An a a vHt - ala
in the early town life as any. It Is
likely that their treatment was not as
kindly, in actuality, IS 1t has been pic
t,red in retrospect but there can be
little doubt that basically the attitude
toward them was one OF tolerance, above
all q clear recognition, in fact If not In
word. that their difference from their
comrades gave them the only value.
perhaps. which they had in the COM
munity. Thus many a small country
town Of the '70s and the sos In the
United States took exceptional pride in
its characters" or "naturals," as they
were sometimes called, who exemplified
in their way true rugged individualism
as applied to intellectual and moral val
ues, not solely to money and the things
OF money.
To dare to be ones self is not all that
ID uCCQcO. AZ 10 lLIlpOoSlOle 70 Ue JuAt,
unless one is helped by the ready ac-
ceptance Of others. Daring is but half
Of the picture. The audience must be
willing to receive
Blame cannot attach to others. In this
matter. II the daring takes q form in
imical to themselves, or to society as
q whole. but when 1t mostly appears in
simple difference. or failure Of some
sort which after all hurts only him who
fails, less charity can be displayed to.
ward these sad persons who are forever
demanding that every one else ought to
please them, delight them. I'LL their
hearts with Joy and gratitude every
hour Of the day
II all men were Of like minds, the
thing might be possible, but since no
two OF them think the same way. or
seem to want to think the same way il
is manifest that difference in every way
is the real distinguishing feature OF
humanity. Tigers are alike but not
men. All tigers respond to the appeal
Of fresh meat. but . man might prefer
to 60 to q symphony concert, rather
than eat dinner.
1t takes courage and devotion to
ones self to be true to the sparks of
difference In others, even when they
offend. and to see that they are the
real lights along the path. not blots
and blemishes. as he one time thought.