Teaching the Child Patriotism Part 3

"I may or I may not," said the youth, with some spirit. "I reserve for myself the right to vote for the best candidate, especially in local affairs."

"Then,--ahem--perhaps you haven't got into just the right place. This is a straight organization, you know. Maybe you can find an 'independent'"

(p.r.o.nounced with scorn) "organization somewhere in the ward. I rather think that is where you belong. We have found these 'independents' a sort of obstruction to the transaction of business,--a kind of kickers, you know, though of course, you might not turn out so. Still,"--with decision,--"you really don't belong here."

"I was mad clear through," said the youth, in relating the story later.

"I was disgusted with the looks of the man and with those who were in there with him. I just turned on my heel and left, and I haven't darkened that door again."

Was that patriotic? Was not that boy deliberately turning over the government of his city to "boodlers" and "grafters"?

"But," you may say, "should he have stayed on where he was not wanted?"

Certainly he should. He had a right there, as any citizen had. He should have taken time to find other voters like himself, which he could no doubt have done, and together they could have maintained themselves.

He saw that this man and his companions were not proper persons to have control of an organization of his party, and he should have done his best, even at the sacrifice of considerable time, to oust them and get better men in. He was no patriot.

CHAPTER IV

TEACHING THE MEANING OF DEMOCRACY

In a country like ours, there is a public opinion of almost uncontrollable power. The educated and the intellectual may have a decisive voice in its formation; or they may live in their own selfish enjoyments, and suffer the ignorant and depraved to form that public opinion.--HORACE MANN.

ONE of the most irritating things in the world to a true patriot, is the visitor at his table, who exalts the superiority of other nations to our own.

Not that nearly every other nation may not have some one or more points of superiority, which should be acknowledged and emulated; but your wors.h.i.+per of the foreign usually makes a blanket indictment of America.

One such man was a guest at a certain table just before the war. He had recently returned from a long stay in Europe, where his great wealth and important commercial and social connections gave him access to many of the circles which largely control the life over there.

"How are the people abroad thinking of us nowadays?" inquired his hostess rather lightly. "Do they despise us as much as ever?"

"Yes, indeed," replied the great man emphatically.

"But I hope you stood up for us?"

"I wish I could say that I did," he had the effrontery to reply calmly; "but how could I? They consider that the corruption of our government is so bad that it cannot possibly continue very long. I couldn't deny it, could I? I agreed with them entirely that we were nearly at the end of our rope."

"Really?" gasped his hostess. "Are you in earnest?"

"I never was more so in my life. Look at the condition of affairs in Blank and Blank and Blank,"--naming several states in which legislative scandals had been lately unearthed,--"How long do you think that things can go on like that and a government survive? I had to admit that a democratic form of government is a failure. Of course, it was a great dream of the fathers, but it has proved to be as impracticable as a good many other rainbow visions. Sometime the world may be ready for it, but it evidently is not now."

"And what do you think will follow?" asked his hostess, holding on to her temper with difficulty. "Are you in favor of an autocracy like Germany, or of a limited monarchy like Great Britain? Or do you think an oligarchy a better form? And if we decide on a monarchy, where should we get our royal family? Should we elect one from candidates that present themselves? Or should we request Europe to send us one?"

"Now you are making fun of me," he commented with some feeling.

"Oh, no, not exactly," she laughed. "But really, if Europe is unanimous in thinking our republic a failure, there must be 'something in it.' You have been in many countries and have met the leading people, and you know what you are talking about. If we are truly on the verge of a revolution, it is to the men like you, our foremost and ablest men, that we must turn to save us. Therefore you ought to be thinking of ways and means. Here is a nation of nearly a hundred million persons. If its government is so rotten that it cannot last, what should be done?"

But he declined to continue the discussion. He merely laughed rather weakly and some one just then introduced a new topic.

Strange to say, during the next few months several other men were encountered, who also bemoaned the "failure" of our inst.i.tutions.

Our children must be taught how to meet such pessimists. They would probably, in the light of recent developments, say that they repudiate the doctrines of Nietzsche, but they are really endorsing one of his prime tenets, namely, that democracy is bound always to be a failure; that the "ma.s.ses" should be kept down; that all attempts to elevate "the herd" are folly; that they should be made to observe that strict morality, from whose shackles the "supermen" are free; and should submit unquestioningly to authority. Women, even in the "super" cla.s.s, are made in Nietzsche's opinion, simply, as Milton says, to serve by "standing and waiting."

One would think that men who hold such views as this traveled guest, had never studied democracy. They surely do not understand its deep and splendid meaning. They should be made to see, as our children should be, by every means that we can devise, the tremendous advance which a democratic form of government shows beyond any other that the world has. .h.i.therto known. They should have impressed upon them Elihu Root's definition: "Democracy is organized self-control."

Especially should they be told that universal education and unselfishness of patriotism are the only conditions under which a democracy can be perfected; and that no nation has ever yet been sufficiently educated and unselfish to arrive at perfection, and probably will not be until the millennium.

We all realize that our government has many defects; but most of our critics stupidly fail to recognize that our public officials, instead of being our masters, are regarded by us, and in no Pickwickian sense, as our servants. We are all so criminally busy with our personal affairs that we allow our government to run along almost anyway, often knowing that grafters are in charge of it; but feeling that it is cheaper to let matters go until they become unendurable, than to take the trouble to keep close track of them. After awhile, we say to ourselves, we will have a regular cleaning-up, turn the rascals out, and put in a new set of officials, who, we hope, will do better.

Our children must be taught that this is a wicked way to do. They must devote some of their time to following public affairs. They must understand also that, while low salaries must usually be paid to public officials, in order that offices may not be too eagerly sought, yet that patriots must be willing, when they can possibly afford it, to accept these low salaries, if their country is to be well and honestly served.

In this war, we have seen many n.o.ble men resign large incomes in order to serve the nation. We must learn to do that in peace as well as in war.

And we must all understand too, that these officials do not really represent the governing power of our country, which is undoubtedly that intangible thing called Public Opinion. It is as subtly invisible as electricity or gravity, but in this nation as powerful.

In China, in India, and in most of the other oriental countries; in Russia also, as the recent upheavals there have proved, there is nothing which can properly be called organized Public Opinion. In France and in Great Britain, there is much. In our country, it is everything. It dominates our whole social and political system. Our press is sometimes said to create it. Oftener the press says that it follows Public Opinion,--while a considerable section of our population declare that the press and Public Opinion are the same thing.

In any case, the child should be made to understand that in a truly and n.o.bly democratic form of government, no czar, no kaiser, no caste nor clique controls, but the people themselves, who, as Lincoln said, can be fooled by their leaders part of the time, but whose sober second thought usually sets them ultimately on the right side. The child should be made to feel that since he is one unit in this controlling ma.s.s, he should form his opinions with care.

One of the most frequent accusations against us among foreigners, is that we are wholly and ineradicably sordid. As outsiders often put it,

"All that Americans care for is the dollar."

Most of us, when we hear this, share the sentiment of a bright High School girl, who took part in a debate in 1913 on the comparative excellence of foreign and domestic manners.

"I have just come back from a summer in Europe," she said, "and I found there, on the whole, much worse manners than we have here. For instance, in nearly every country where we went, we had relatives and friends, and they were constantly saying, and very rudely, I thought, 'Oh, yes, we understand your America. All you care for over there is the dollar.' But I don't care for the dollar and my father and my mother, and my uncles and my aunts, and our friends,--hardly anybody I know, in fact,--none of them care for the dollar,--not half so much as they do over there,--and I told them so!"

Her pa.s.sionate plea brought forth equally pa.s.sionate applause from her young hearers,--for it was true. Human nature is inherently selfish and grasping. We have only to read the book of Proverbs to see that it was so in ancient times and it will probably always retain something of that meanness; but Americans are the most generous people in the world, and, as a whole, are the freest from miserliness and avarice. Look over the marriage notices of a century or more ago in any English periodical, and you will probably find mentioned there the amount of the bride's dowry.

We all know how invariably it has to be ascertained nowadays before a foreign n.o.bleman takes an American bride. Among ourselves, there is almost nothing of this sort.

One reason, perhaps the princ.i.p.al one, for this universal accusation, is not far to seek. All foreign nations have their leisure cla.s.ses. The great n.o.bles and gentry often do not even manage their own estates. Some "factor" or "agent" does it for them. As for working for money, the very idea would shock them unspeakably. A woman who works for money is especially scorned over there. It is seldom that such a woman has any social standing whatever.

Utterly different is the American estimation of merit. Here we have a leisure cla.s.s, but it is so small as to be negligible, and it is commonly despised. All of our men are expected to work for money, or, as we put it,--to earn their living, though many of our rich men often contribute freely much time and labor to public affairs and to philanthropy. A woman who earns her living over here is quite as likely as not to rank among our most respected citizens.

As a well-known sn.o.b once said, "Even in our first circles, you once in a while meet one of these writers or painters, who expects to be treated as if he were one of _us_."

Thus Public Opinion controls our social as well as our political life.

CHAPTER V

SACRIFICING FOR PATRIOTISM

Look back upon Was.h.i.+ngton and upon the Savior-like martyrs, who, for our welfare, in lonely dungeons and prison-s.h.i.+ps, breathed a noisome air; and when the minions of power came around day after day and offered them life and liberty if they would desert their country's cause, refused and died. The great experiment of republicanism is being tried anew. In Greece and Italy it failed through the incapacity of the people to enjoy liberty without abusing it.

Millions of human beings may be happy through our wisdom, but must be miserable through our folly.

Religion, the ark of G.o.d, is here thrown open to all, and yet is to be guarded from desecration and sacrilege, lest we perish with a deeper perdition than ever befell any other people.--HORACE MANN.