Show kathleen norris says dont be scared by your own children bell syndicate service AV J they arent satis satisfied fled to read that the coming out party of one young girt girl costs sixty thousand dollars and that another young girt girl tired fired and hungry slips into the cool river to end it all in despair by KATHLEEN NORRIS ONG ago when as a young CIG E woman I 1 found life filled with heavy responsibilities and burdens I 1 worked out dut a little scheme for myself it has worked for forty years now flow and I 1 believe it will always work for anybody at any age the scheme was simple it consisted merely in picking out the worst of my troubles looking it firmly in the eye and deciding two things first whether it was my fault and second whether there was anything to be ba done about it if it positively my fault and there was nothing no thing more that I 1 could do to cure it than I 1 had already done then I 1 experienced a certain relief rell e ft a certain peace of mind from the mere contemplation and analysis for example exam ale if one of the younger children was ill and I 1 inordinately worried just the thought that the doctor had the case in charge and that thai the child was being carefully watched did something to reassure me or suppose I 1 had to deny one of the younger members of the family the money or the luxury or the advantage that some other child had to remind myself that that th at advantage however large or small simply could not be afforded through no blame to myself instantly stabilized my own position face ones problems and so with older and more serious problems in all the years the habit of facing them analyzing them dismissing them has proved to be the successful way to escape them why im recommending this process of analysis today to all the mothers and fathers of america who are worrying about one of our latest national epidemics I 1 mean the tendency our children have in high school and college years to yearn for other sorts of government other social experiments other isms iams of au all sorts too often we dismiss this tendency and it is widespread with a mere nervous 1 I dont know getting into schools and colleges nowadays turning out perfect and to the eager student we say coldly 1 I dont want to hear any more of that non nonsense you dont know one thing about russia people buying divorces the mhd way you buy theater tickets arid and no religion and everybody living in one dont you let your father hear bear you talk that way and dont you bring that redheaded red headed boy to this house aga again I 1 look to the constitution now it seems to me we ought to take quite a different attitude it seems 0 o me we ought to try rather to convince these young revolutionaries what the simple truth is that there is ii noldean nol deal social system that is not perfectly compatible with the principles upon which this greatest of all republics was founded there is no system of the sharing of labor wealth land that is not practicable under our own constitution it has bas been called the noblest document ever emanating from the heart of man and it deserves the description if we were true to it if we spent upon the study and de of it one hall half the ume time we spend upon strange despotic ideologies from war torn hate anvel aped europe we would have no time to look across the water to what goes on over there for that matter if THEY had 0 saved aved their powder and their guns f for or a few hundred years and taken a good look at the sermon an on the mount which they all profess to believe we fever never would have heard the names of stalin or hitler it if the czars azars and the military and the greek priesthood of russia had not been sunk in luxury and oppression and taxation the bitter scenes of 1917 in that country never could have taken place A practical sane solution today it we in america stopped wringing our hands over the strange tendencies ot of our children to adopt drastic means ot of settling the questions that disturb the national peace ot of mind and set ourselves seriously to supply these rising young americans with sane and practicable means to accomplish the ends they desire we would find ourselves still safe under the constitution and in a much improved world how often when they are spouting their young complaints and criticisms at the dinner table do we answer them with a simple what do you want changed just what are you working toward well they want equality equally equa lUy they want security they want work for everyone and a fair living tor for everyone who works they aren arent r satisfied as out to read that the coming out party of one young girl costs and that another young girl tired and hungry and coughing her life out after too many hot hours in the cotton mills slips into the cool river to end it all in despair and I 1 say more credit to our children tor for caring for not taking their own privileges and advantages tor for granted as the more fortunate folk have done for so many generations but determining to do something to make right the age old wrongs wrong sl there Is no reason why general indeed universal peace and prosperity and opportunity should not flourish here without disturbing one word of the constitution there is no country in the world that will offer them a better opportunity tor for utopian experiment nor need our basic laws be upset those of us who will may still worship in our churches those of us who love s simple fm home life and privacy may still preserve pie serve these privileges and those who hate work who refuse to assume family responsibilities who wont go to church and will go to roadhouses will be permitted to pursue their own lives peaceably as they do today in other words the freedom of the individual that pre precious clous heritage that was given us by the founders of our country will still be respected by an all who chance to come into contact with it cure lies to in operation cooperation co par far better than the tear fear or scorn with which we treat our young reds today would be an analysis of their motives and desires what got them into this way of thinking anyway why just what we all felt at 18 and 20 and 22 A passionate resentment of the injustices of life a passionate desire to cure them find out what they want and then see it if it something easily achievable and practicable help them to get interested in the n native a tive problems efad of adjusting wage scales clearing out slums increasing employment by increasing trade opening up new tracts tor for new cities and farms and they will discover that instead of the leprosy and typhus that the countries of theold the old world have had to handle americas troubles are only heat beat rash and chicken chickenpox pox |