Ogden Daily Standard | 1919-07-01 | Page 4 | People Are Too Self Conscious

oo PEOPLE ARE TOO SELF-CONSCIOUS. SELF-CONSCIOUS. Urging self-control as a cure for many of the weaknesses of mankind, the New York World says. "Suicides and homicides of which we read daily are clearly enough attributable at-tributable in many cases to tempera i ments that brook neither restraint nor I opposition A child scolded for wrongdoing wrong-doing or thwarted in some cherished 'plan resorts to self-destruction. A man criticised for some shortcoming by an overburdened wife kills her and their children and perhaps himself. A woman wo-man fancying herself misunderstood turns on the gas. In nearly all such tragedies there is, of course, nervous strain carried to the breaking-point, but there is something some-thing worse than that. When one's wishes are denied, when one's ambitions ambi-tions are defeated, when one's pride is humiliated and when one's power over others is reduced to nothing, are murder and suicide the only alternatives7 alter-natives7 Sorrowful as are many of the conditions revealed in these cases, is it not true that the desperate deeds which bring them to public notice result re-sult as truly from recklessness of the rights of others as from wretchedness wretched-ness on the paTt of heir perpe irators "This is the spirit in individuals that we are trjing to correct in nations It is partly punctilious, partly despairing, despair-ing, partly selfish, partly murderous. Something has been denied. Somethings Some-things stands in the way. Something has led to disappointment. Something greatly to be desired is apparently beyond be-yond reach. Very well. Why not, in hasty anger, an appeal to the revolver, the bottle of poison or tho gas-jet? If we cannot rule rs we would, why not die and take others, with us? That is'the argument, but It is also the argument ar-gument of tyrants "Poor humanity has many lessons to learn in the borne u.s well as in the cabinet cab-inet and the parliament. There is an element of despotism in all of us, and it shows itself in our sad revenges upon each other no less than in our awful wars We are too hasty in our quarrels. We are overdeveloped In B 1 1 i onsciousness We kill err we die when we ought to reason There is even more need of measures leading individuals to self-control than there Is of a league of nations." 00