Evening star., 1936-08-11

Better Than
Preaching 6
Emotions That Are
Not Constructive
Are Futile.
BY ANGELO PATRI.

THERE is little sense in getting all
heated up about condition un-
less one intends to, and actually does,
do something about 1t. have listened
to people talk with excitement and in
dignation for a whole evening about
condition that ought to be remedied at
once without once hearing anybody
say, Lets go to work and mend it"
Consuming energy in emotions that
are not going to be expressed IN DEEDS
is bad for the nervous system. 1t
trains nerves to tenseneSs and muscles
to idleness. The two states are an
unhappy contradiction that makes for
mental and physical discomfort. Bet
ter not get excited about anything un-
less you mean to get out and do some
thing about it.
Why not?
We are all too busy attending to our
own affairs to really attend to them.
Any community wrong is our personal
wrong, but 1t takes an upheaval to get
us to see that. Not until the water is
shut off In our house, not until the
lights go out, not until there is a
strike in the school. revolt in the
street cleaning department that leaves
our ash cans on the steps for a week,
will we understand that wrong done
to one is a wrong done to all. This
fact has to be faced. and the sooner
the better. Long habit has dulled its
edge for many of us. but surely We can
wake up a bit and help the children
get the idea. Teach them that the
way to cure an Ill Is to mend it.
There are some things that cannot
be mended to any great extent. A
physical deformity, a lack of some
essential power or quality, loss OF
family, are not likely to be mended
much in this world. But many Of
the ills that trouble us can and should
be mended. Teach the children to
accept the hard facts as hard facts
and to build their lives so as to
soften the evils as much as possible,
but to go right after the things that
can be mended. Teach them to think
their way through and then to attack
the problem with might and main.
AS in every other field, practice here
will soon make perfection. Instead
of bewailing your overcrowded and un-
dermanned school, get busy and get
buildings and teachers. For every
teacher that is employed today an
other could be used with advantage to
the children. We have to support the
unemployed teachers, and it seems to
me that the best way to support them
would be to set them to work at teach
ing the children. We have to employ
workmen in the building trades. Why
not build the schools that are crying
out to be built all over this broad
land? We all know the need, but we
do mighty little about meeting it.
Youth needs encouragement, train
ing and some place to go. We are all
worked up about it. And what do we
do besides talk? Precious little. Gov
ernment cures for social ills are pom
derous and slow, and in their very
nature insufficient to meet the needs
Only when communities-and that
means Observation-Disclosures to ac-
tually do something about the ills oi
their localities and their citizens can
any remedy become effective.
If the thing cannot be mended
never mind it. but get around it. II
it can be mended-and most human
ills can be-go to work and mend it
and don't waste energy making
speeches about 1t. Set the children
an example of active citizenship.