Evening star., 1936-09-07
Taking a
Stand in
The World
Youth Should Be En-
couraged to Have
Firm Opinions.
BY ANGELO PATRI.

ONE of the teachers I remember
~ with deepest gratitude and affec-
ton Is the man who used to tell us
that the one duty Of our lives was Ito
take q stand" He had no patience
with the student who refused to take
sides, and less with him who, COM
pelled to take his side, could not be
forced into fighting for it. Life" he
thundered, sis struggle between good
and evil, two ideas. Choose your side
and fight for it or do not say you are
living"
I am passing along Gen. Webb's
words in the hope that some of the
boys and girls will heed it and take
their stand according to their choice.
It Is sad to see young people Of COL
lege age without opinions without con-
victions, and without an urge to have
them much less to defend them. These
young people are not alive. They walk
about in a world that is battlefield
of ideas and never so much as glance
10 right or left.
"Oh, why bother2 What have we
got to say, anyway? Who'd listen to
us? They do what they like. Any
way don't know what they're talking
about. You can't believe the news
papers. I'm not going to have head
ache about it. Only gets you into
trouble anyway"
That attitude Is costly both to the
young person and to his community.
He and his kind are going to be voters
and very soon be in control of affairs.
And they know little or nothing about
them. They are not even interested.
Their games, dances, dates, and aim
hope of a job sometime at something,
about fill their vague consciousness.
We have not done enough to encour-
age boys and girls to take a deep in
terest in what is going on. We have
not taught them to choose their SIDE
and defend it, argue it out, change
their minds and begin again, so learn
Ing how to live. Their crude opinions
worry US, their noisy debates annoy
us, their desire to parade and shout
and wave flags frighten us. We put
premium on their silence and praise
them when they sleep.
It Is time We showed them that they
must learn how to live by selecting
their cause and defending it by speech
and action. would not expect school
children and college youths to usurp
authority, lay down laws for their
leaders. Why should they? What
they want Is the challenge of respon-
sibility, to be asked to study the world
of today, choose their idea and see 1t
clearly. Discussion is the way to clar-
ity. I have seen mature men start
out with one idea and end their dis
cussion by accepting quite the oppo-
site one The main thing is to be
alive to ideas, to stand for something,
to know what one is standing for. and
why. Youth is not static. 1t will de-
velop in activity and, because the
tendency is always toward good, 1t can
be trusted far more than it has been
tn the past.
In day when the world is seeth-
ing with ideas and dangers I much
prefer to hear group of young peo-
pie wrangling over Hitler and Musso-
lini, Great Britain and France, war
and peace, labor and capital, strike and
anti-strike, than to hear them talk
ing bout dates and movie actresses,
scores and hits and who's who in base
ball. They are American citizens and
they should be struggling to see their
way clear to serve the best interests of
their country in their time. Who is
helping them toward this? What
forces are at work to guide them in
taking their stand?
(Copyright. 193e.)