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Show Have You Identified Yourteelf With Your Community In a recent review of a book on Franklin D. Roosevelt, we were impressed with a statement that Mr. Roosevelt owed his great influence to the fact that early in life he "identified himself with the community." In other words, before the late president became important in world affairs he was an active member of his community of Hyde Park, Duchess County, N. Y. Whether or not Mr. Roosevelt's personality was to your liking, it is nevertheless true that his life attainments were influenced by his interest in his village and the people who lived there. Of course most of us have no desire to devote our lives to political affairs as did Mr. Roosevelt, but it is obvious that we should more strongly identify ourselves with our community com-munity in order to better our own lot. Everything in this world whether it be good or bad has its beginnings "at home." The problems of war and peace are simply an enlargement en-largement of the local problems of men being able to get along with each other or not. The evils which beset the world result from an accumulation of local evils. The progress of the world is wholly dependent upon the number of communities small and large which have learned, and are practicing, cooperation, morality, moral-ity, cleanliness, industry and other virtues. Hardly a week passes that we don't hear of corruption in our communities. For us to let it go on is an indication of our weakness. Not enough peple have become "identified with their community." Too many are content to go to work at 8 and return at 5, eat their three squares each day, get a full night's sleep, and indulge in no activity other than the pursuit of personal pleasure. It is inescapable that the problems which are ignored by too many people soon become so great that dreadful things happen. When things "bust loose," everyone's life is affected. Our recent world war is the best example of an accumulation of unsolved problems. Your southeast community needs you to be "identified" with it; to be an integral part of it; and to help it to progress. |