Evening star., 1961-01-01
'On choos and the Dark


but on this New Years Day, with its
mixture Of hopes and fears about what
the morrow may bring, all Of us can be
certain Of at least one thing: 1861 will
have no power in and Of itself to create
events or dictate the course Of history.
That power, apart from heaven,
rests with human beings. What hap
pens to them, individually or In the
mass, Is primarily thing Of their own
doing In any period Of time. It is they
men and their governments - who
make history. And whether it is good
or bad history, whether 1t Is predomi-
nantly bright or evil, depends basically
on the wisdom or unwisdom Of their de-
cisions and the courage or cravenness
Of their acts.
So It VIII be In the year now stretch
ing before Us. Il win be time full Of
promise, opportunity, challenge and
threat on scale Of the first magnitude.
Here In our own country the incoming
Kennedy administration viii undertake
to move forward along what the Presi-
dent-elect has called the new frontier.
The economic and other domestic prob
lens confronting him viii be formidable,
and it win be much easier to deplore
than solve them. As for the world over
seas, all signs indicate that conditions
are likely to get worse before they get
better, and our American leadership
will face tests as severe and as danger
Gus as any In our history.
One has only to think Of places like
threatened Laos, the chaotic Congo and
divided Berlin to realize how complex
and perilous the times are. And one has
only to keep in mind persistent Soviet
negativism In the United Nations and
Nikita Khrushchev's generally menac-
ing attitude (though he seems q trifie
conciliatory at the moment) to appre-
ciate how hard, long and tortuous the
road to peace continues to be. Yet,
despite all the discouragements, man
feels compulsion to survive. More
than that, he has demonstrated over
the long centuries that he Is blessed
with courage and intelligence, and he
therefore has reason to be hopeful about
being able to marshal enough wit and
wisdom to avert global catastrophe
and move into dazzling new era Of
progress. As to that, Emerson has Of
fered each OF US excellent counsel In his
essay entitled "Self- Reliance:
Trust thyself. every heart vibrates to that
iron string. Accept the place the divine Prov
idence has found for you; the society Of your
contemporaries, the connection Of events.
Great men have always done 90 and confided
themselves childlike to the genius Of their age.
betraying their perception that the Eternal
was stirring at their heart. working through
their hands. predominating In all their being.
And we are now men. and must accept In the
highest mind the same transcendent destiny;
and not pinched in o corner. not towards dee-
ing before o revolution. but redeemers and
benefactors. pious aspirants to be noble clay
plastic under the Almighty effort, let US ad-
vance and advance on Chaos and the Dark.
Surely, II they keep on acting firmly,
resolutely and with as much unity as
possible, free men everywhere should be
able during 1861 to cope effectively with
the threat of Communist aggression and
thus advance and advance on Chaos
and the Dark" In any event, using
Emerson's words as text for the day,
we wish all Happy New Year.