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Show WHAT DO WE MEAN? Most people speak almost reverently reverent-ly of "Our Country." We all sing "My Country 'Tis of Thee," with great enthusiasm. What do we mean by such expressions of our supposed sup-posed patriotism. Are we thinking of the service which we owe our country, of the love we have for it, or are we thinking only of the protection which our country can afford us, only of the personal benefits we may derive from it? Are we thinking of what we may do for our country, or of what our country may do for us. Our duty to ourselves as well as our country demands positive as well as negative action. We must be constructive, con-structive, as well as passive supporters support-ers of everything good in our home community, if we would fulfill the obligations incumbent upon us as citizens of this great republic. Do we exercise our right to vote, and when we do vote, do we always place intelligence, efficiency and patriotism pat-riotism in government ahead of every other consideration? In other words, do we feel an individual responsibility responsibil-ity for our government my government! govern-ment! We can't delegate our responsibility responsibil-ity in government to someone else any more than we can delegate our responsibility in any matter. There is no substitute for individual interest in government and individual responsibility respon-sibility for government. The greatest duty of the banker is not to loan money but to loan himself him-self to the service of the community . and help build up an integral part of the country in which we all take pride. The greatest duty of the business man is not to sell goods, but to sell himself to the community and discharge dis-charge his obligation as a resident of it. The greatest duty of the professional profes-sional man id not to charge a liberal fee for his services, but to write on the balance side of the ledger constructive con-structive service for the common good. The greatest duty of every citizen is to put his home community first and thus perform a real service for our country of which we sing and speak with reverence. |