Show What's Wrong With Am America erica t By HERBERT KAUFMAN c LETs LET's ETS ET'S take stock The rest of the world is busy with its own o troubles so we can safely engage in a frank confession of our our I shortcomings 18 Now is the time to find where were we're wrong When the floods are racing- racing against the dikes its it's too late to begin repairs No man can can pr predict when nor how or-how how the storms that are are re now wrecking Europe will wilt move move upon us We Ve e must Ikno know our s strength strength ourselves Its It's a a poor poor patriotism that resents the the- disclosure of national weakness The optimism th that l feeds solely upon suc success ess eventually breeds breeds failure f Overconfidence is the ally of disaster Wisdom is wary History History History His His- tory is a graveyard of cocksure empires empires of of peoples who ceased to post sentinels after they reached supremacy k Campaign orators orators' and F Fourth of July elocutionists to the contrary contrary con con- conI I theres there's a lot tot wrong in America Weve We've grown rich at the expense of citizenship Weve We've det developed de- de t ed ideas faster than ideals The biggest organization in the Un United ted States is The George Society i those Society So i those tY those who expect the other fellow to do his duty the Individualism Individualism the pursuit of personal advantage is is the dom dominant t note in our life I Private ambitions absorb splendid abilities which should be d devoted voted to t the e nation The greater minds an among ong us are planning and rand contriving for their own owls el ends ds Generally Gel speaking public service ervice is deemed a sacrifice instead of a privilege S For example what have you ever ever done for America Indeed Indeed In- In deed f deed what do you re really lly know about the country How familiarI familiar I are are you with its past with past with the principles laid down domn by its founders found found- ers How many articles articles' of the constitution can you recite Do y you ou even know all the verses verses erses of one patriotic song How oft often n have you examined the record of the men for whom you have cast your vote On how many occasions have you gone among your neigh neighbors ors to urge their support for the enactment of pf measures in which you had no direct concern Do you care many how how many fore forests t are destroyed in the next state or what waterways are are choked against na navigation a a thousand miles away To which you probably bly an answer that you'll render as m much ch service as the Uie next man man but but theres there's the rub the rub the next man is wrong too Theres There's too much muck carelessness too carelessness too 5 much l callousness too much ignorance too much willingness to shove responsibility responsibility on the shoulders of a few and to little care in the selection 1 of the few who shoulder the responsibility How can we decide upon the sanest measure measure if those whom you empower to judge the measures s are not themselves the sanest the ablest and nd the most patri patriotic tic among us No form fonn of preparedness is so imp important as Jour your own preparedness preparedness pre pre- pre pre-I for the exercise of the franchise While you remain indifferent to the great causes behind progress and security we wt i will continue to have ind indifferent ff rent legislation through bomba bombastic tic superficial self seeking and por pork grabbing legislators We cannot be gre greater ter th than n our leaders And so so- long as as men Lof of caps capacity city are disregarded and and Bull and Pull ull are s supported sup sup- Sported ported fo for office in their stead we shall continue to be incompetent for Jor the emergencies as well as war Whether we are called upon to meet an invader or not is is' t point Whether r y you u stand stand ready to shoulder should r a rifle rifle or orl l lay laV l the t 4 is E not the questions question tI Theres There's a three h hundred r and 4 1 p sixty-five sixty day patriotism and no other sort is genuine America I needs you and your help year in and put out 4 We can boast of illustrious achievements but weve we've arrived at a point where we must begin to count the costs Gigantic blunders mark the path of our progress unless progress unless we consider them promptly and counteract their influence there will willbe willbe willbe be an incalculable reckoning I Criminal wastes have been incurred in the development of o our r industries j Weve We've licked all creation commercially but weve we've almost licked ourselves in the process Weve We've bluffed prodigiously and the bluffs have never been called because our game has never reached the stage of a show show- down Nature and miles of rich and virgin continent have absorbed our our extravagances S Our wanton exhaustion of wealth sources is probably without parallel in modern times Any world old-world nation conducting its affairs with th the same inefficiency ncy of method and contempt for conservation would have gone bankrupt long ago Theres There's a lot that's wrong in in America But the underlying trouble is YOU Copyright 1916 by Herbert Ka Kaufman Great Britain and all other rights reserved |