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diff --git a/old/68159-0.txt b/old/68159-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ebf73a9..0000000 --- a/old/68159-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1112 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Good citizenship, by Grover Cleveland - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Good citizenship - -Author: Grover Cleveland - -Release Date: May 23, 2022 [eBook #68159] - -Language: English - -Produced by: David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed Proofreading - Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from - images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GOOD CITIZENSHIP *** - - - - - - GOOD - CITIZENSHIP - - BY - GROVER - CLEVELAND - - [Illustration] - - PHILADELPHIA - - HENRY ALTEMUS COMPANY - - - - - Copyright, 1908, by Howard E. Altemus - - Published June, 1908 - - - - -CONTENTS - - - Introduction 5 - - Good Citizenship 11 - - Patriotism and Holiday Observance 37 - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -It is not of the author’s own motion that the following essays are -given to the public in this form. With characteristic modesty, Mr. -Cleveland was willing that these addresses should lie undiscovered and -unread in the limbo of pigeonholes or of yellowing newspaper-file; and -yet the thoughtful reader will be the first to proclaim that these -utterances are neither insignificant nor ephemeral. Their very themes -are age-old. Before Rome was, Patriotism and Good Citizenship were the -purest and loftiest ideals of the ancient world; and, through the -ages that have followed, those nations have been noblest, bravest and -most enduring in which love of home and love of country have been most -deep-seated. - -Mr. Cleveland’s address on Good Citizenship was delivered before the -Commercial Club of Chicago in October, 1903; and that on Patriotism and -Holiday Observance before the Union League Club, of the same city, on -Washington’s Birthday, 1907. Now, with Mr. Cleveland’s sanction, they -appear for the first time in book form. - -No one can scan these pages, however hastily, without saying to -himself, “Here is a man who preaches what, for a lifetime, he has been -practicing.” - -Not all patriotism finds expression in the heat and joy of the -battlefield; nor does good citizenship begin and end on election day. -Mr. Cleveland has, in himself, proved that an upright and fearless -chief magistrate in the White House may be as true a patriot as the -leader of a forlorn hope, as lofty a type of citizen as a Garrison or -a Phillips. No public man of this generation has been more bitterly -assailed than Grover Cleveland; none has met with more unswerving -serenity the attacks, fair and foul, of those whose selfish interests -have made them his sworn foes. - -That famous phrase, uttered years ago, “We love him for the enemies he -has made,” is a true saying. - - THE PUBLISHERS. - - - - -GOOD CITIZENSHIP - -[Illustration] - - - - -GOOD CITIZENSHIP - - -There is danger that my subject of American good citizenship -is so familiar and so trite as to lack interest. This does not -necessarily result from a want of appreciation of the importance of -good citizenship, nor from a denial of the duty resting upon every -American to be a good citizen. There is, however, abroad in our land a -self-satisfied and perfunctory notion that we do all that is required -of us in this direction when we make profession of our faith in the -creed of good citizenship and abstain from the commission of palpably -unpatriotic sins. - -We ought not to be badgered and annoyed by the preaching and -exhortation of a restless, troublesome set of men, who continually -urge upon us the duty of active and affirmative participation in -public affairs. Why should we be charged with neglect of political -obligations? We go to the polls on election day, when not too busy with -other things, and vote the ticket our party managers have prepared -for us. Sometimes, when conditions grow to be so bad politically -that a revival or stirring-up becomes necessary, a goodly number -of us actually devote considerable time and effort to better the -situation. Of course, we cannot do this always, because we must not -neglect money-getting and the promotion of great enterprises, which, -as everybody knows, are the evidence of a nation’s prosperity and -influence. - -It seems to me that within our citizenship there are many whose -disposition and characteristics very often resemble those found in the -membership of our churches. In this membership there is a considerable -proportion composed of those who, having made profession of their -faith and joined the church, appear to think their duty done when they -live honestly, attend worship regularly, and contribute liberally -to church support. In complacent satisfaction, and certain of their -respectability, they do not care to hear sermonizing concerning the -sinfulness of human nature, or the wrath to come; and if haply they -are sometimes roused by the truths of vital Christianity, they soon -relapse again to their tranquil and easy condition of listlessness. A -description of these, found in the Holy Writ, may fitly apply to many -in the State as well as in the church: - -“For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a -man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, -and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he -was.” - -There is an habitual associate of civic American indifference and -listlessness, which reënforces their malign tendencies and adds -tremendously to the dangers that threaten our body politic. This -associate plays the _rôle_ of smooth, insinuating confidence operator -and, clothed in the garb of immutable faith in the invulnerability of -our national greatness, it invites our admiring gaze to the flight of -the American eagle, and assures us that no tempestuous weather can ever -tire his wings. Thus many good and honest men are approached through -their patriotic trust in our free institutions and immense national -resources, and are insidiously led to a condition of mind which will -not permit them to =harbor= the uncomfortable thought that any omission -on their part can check American progress or endanger our country’s -continued development. Have we not lived as a nation more than a -century; and have we not exhibited growth and achievement in every -direction that discredit all parallels in history? After us the deluge. -Why then need we bestir ourselves, and why disturb ourselves with -public affairs? - -Those of our citizens who are deluded by these notions, and who allow -themselves to be brought to such a frame of mind, may well be reminded -of the good old lady who was wont to impressively declare that she had -always noticed if she lived until the first of March she lived all the -rest of the year. It is quite likely she built a theory upon this -experience which induced her with the passing of each of these fateful -days to defy coughs, colds and consumption and the attacks of germs and -microbes in a million forms. However this may be, we know that with no -design or intention on her part, there came a first day of March which -passed without her earthly notice. - -The withdrawal of wholesome sentiment and patriotic activity from -political action on the part of those who are indifferent to their -duty, or foolhardy in their optimism, opens the way for a ruthless and -unrelenting enemy of our free institutions. The abandonment of our -country’s watch-towers by those who should be on guard, and the slumber -of the sentinels who should never sleep, directly invite the stealthy -approach and the pillage and loot of the forces of selfishness and -greed. These baleful enemies of patriotic effort will lurk everywhere -as long as human nature remains unregenerate; but nowhere in the world -can they create such desolations as in free America, and nowhere -can they so cruelly destroy man’s highest and best aspirations for -self-government. - -It is useless for us to blink at the fact that our scheme of -government is based upon a close interdependence of interest and -purpose among those who make up the body of our people. Let us be -honest with ourselves. If our nation was built too much upon sentiment, -and if the rules of patriotism and benignity that were followed in the -construction have proved too impractical, let us frankly admit it. -But if love of country, equal opportunity and genuine brotherhood in -citizenship are worth the pains and trials that gave them birth, and -if we still believe them to be worth preservation and that they have -the inherent vigor and beneficence to make our republic lasting and -our people happy, let us strongly hold them in love and devotion. Then -it shall be given us to plainly see that nothing is more unfriendly to -the motives that underlie our national edifice than the selfishness -and cupidity that look upon freedom and law and order only as so many -agencies in aid of their designs. - -Our government was made by patriotic, unselfish, sober-minded men for -the control or protection of a patriotic, unselfish and sober-minded -people. It is suited to such a people; but for those who are selfish, -corrupt and unpatriotic it is the worst government on earth. It is so -constructed that it needs for its successful operation the constant -care and guiding hand of the people’s abiding faith and love, and -not only is this unremitting guidance necessary to keep our national -mechanism true to its work, but the faith and love which prompt it are -the best safeguards against selfish citizenship. - -Give to our people something that will concentrate their common -affection and solicitous care, and let them be their country’s good; -give them a purpose that stimulates them to unite in lofty endeavor, -and let that purpose be a demonstration of the sufficiency and -beneficence of our popular rule, and we shall find that in their -political thought there will be no place for the suggestions of -sordidness and pelf. - -Who will say that this is now our happy condition? Is not our public -life saturated with the indecent demands of selfishness? More than -this, can any of us doubt the existence of still more odious and -detestable evils which, with steady, cankering growth, are more -directly than all others threatening our safety and national life? I -speak of the corruption of our suffrage, open and notorious, of the -buying and selling of political places for money, the purchase of -political favors and privileges, and the traffic in official duty for -personal gain. These things are confessedly common. Every intelligent -man knows that they have grown from small beginnings until they have -reached frightful proportions of malevolence; and yet respectable -citizens by the thousands have looked on with perfect calmness, and -with hypocritical cant have declared they are not politicians, or with -silly pretensions of faith in our strength and luck have languidly -claimed that the country was prosperous, equal to any emergency and -proof against all dangers. - -Resulting from these conditions in a manner not difficult to trace, -wholesome national sentiment is threatened with utter perversion. All -sorts of misconceptions pervade the public thought, and jealousies, -rapidly taking on the complexion of class hatred, are found in -every corner of the land. A new meaning has been given to national -prosperity. With a hardihood that savors of insolence, an old pretext, -which has preceded the doom of ancient experiments in popular vote, is -daily and hourly dinned in our ears. We are told that the national -splendor we have built upon the showy ventures of speculative wealth -is a badge of our success. Unsharing contentment is enjoined upon the -masses of our people, and they are invited, in the bare subsistence -of their scanty homes, to patriotically rejoice in their country’s -prosperity. - -This is too unsubstantial an enjoyment of benefits to satisfy those -who have been taught American equality, and thus has arisen, by a -perfectly natural process, a dissatisfied insistence upon a better -distribution of the results of our vaunted prosperity. We now see -its worst manifestation in the apparently incorrigible dislocation -of the proper relations between labor and capital. This of itself is -sufficiently distressing; but thoughtful men are not without dread of -sadder developments yet to come. - -There has also grown up among our people a disregard for the restraints -of law and a disposition to evade its limitations, while querulous -strictures concerning the actions of our courts tend to undermine -popular faith in the course of justice, and, last but by no means -least, complaints of imaginary or exaggerated shortcomings in our -financial policies furnish an excuse for the flippant exploitation of -all sorts of monetary nostrums. - -I hasten to give assurance that I have not spoken in a spirit of gloomy -pessimism. I have faith that the awakening is forthcoming, and on -this faith I build a cheerful hope for the healing of all the wounds -inflicted in slumber and neglect. - -It is true that there should be an end of self-satisfied gratification, -or pretense of virtue, in the phrase, “I am not a politician,” and it -is time to forbid the prostitution of the word to a sinister use. Every -citizen should be politician enough to bring himself within the true -meaning of the term, as one who concerns himself with “the regulation -or government of a nation or State for the preservation of its safety, -peace and prosperity.” This is politics in its best sense, and this is -good citizenship. - -If good men are to interfere to make political action what it should -be, they must not suppose they will come upon an open field unoccupied -by an opposing force. On the ground they neglected they will find a -host of those who engage in politics for personal ends and selfish -purposes, and =this= ground cannot be taken without a hand-to-hand -conflict. The attack must be made under the banner of disinterested -good citizenship, by soldiers drilled in lessons of patriotism. They -must be enlisted for life and constantly on duty. - -Their creed should bind together in generous coöperation all who are -willing to fight to make our government what the fathers intended it to -be--a depository of benefits which, in equal current and volume, should -flow out to all the people. This creed should teach the wickedness of -attempting to make free opportunity the occasion for seizing especial -advantages, and should warn against the danger of ruthless rapacity. -It should deprecate ostentation and extravagance in the life of our -people, and demand in the management of public affairs simplicity -and strict economy. It should teach toleration in all things save -dishonesty and infidelity to public trusts. - -It should insist that our finance and currency concern not alone the -large traders, merchants and bankers of our land, but that they are -intimately and every day related to the well-being of our people in -all conditions of life, and that, therefore, if any adjustments are -necessary they should be made in such manner as shall certainly -maintain the soundness of our people’s earnings and the security of -their savings. It should enjoin respect for the law as the quality that -cements the fabric of organized society and makes possible a government -by the people. And in every sentence and every line of this creed of -good citizenship the lesson should be taught that our country is a -beautiful and productive field to be cultivated by loyal Americans, -who, with weapons near at hand, whether they sow and reap or whether -they rest, will always be prepared to resist those who attempt to -despoil by day and pilfer in the night. - -In the day when all shadows shall have passed away and when good -citizenship shall have made sure the safety, permanence and happiness -of our nation, how small will appear the strifes of selfishness in -our civic life, and how petty will seem the machinations of degraded -politics. - -There shall be set over against them in that time a reverent sense -of coöperation in Heaven’s plans for our people’s greatness, and -the joyous pride of standing among those who, in the comradeship of -American good citizenship, have so protected and defended our heritage -of self-government that our treasures are safe in the citadel of -patriotism, “where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where -thieves do not break through nor steal.” - - - - -PATRIOTISM AND HOLIDAY OBSERVANCE - -[Illustration] - - - - -PATRIOTISM AND HOLIDAY OBSERVANCE - - -The American people are but little given to the observance of public -holidays. This statement cannot be disposed of by the allegation that -our national history is too brief to allow the accumulation of days -deserving civic commemoration. Though it is true that our life as a -people, according to the standard measuring the existence of nations, -has been a short one, it has been filled with glorious achievements; -and, though it must be conceded that it is not given to us to see in -the magnifying mirage of antiquity the exaggerated forms of American -heroes, yet in the bright and normal light shed upon our beginning and -growth are seen grand and heroic men who have won imperishable honor -and deserve our everlasting remembrance. We cannot, therefore, excuse a -lack of commemorative inclination and a languid interest in recalling -the notable incidents of our country’s past under the plea of a lack -of commemorative material; nor can we in this way explain our neglect -adequately to observe days which have actually been set apart for the -especial manifestation of our loving appreciation of the lives and the -deeds of Americans who, in crises of our birth and development, have -sublimely wrought and nobly endured. - -If we are inclined to look for other excuses, one may occur to us -which, though by no means satisfying, may appear to gain a somewhat -fanciful plausibility by reason of its reference to the law of -heredity. It rests upon the theory that those who secured for American -nationality its first foothold, and watched over its weak infancy were -so engrossed with the persistent and unescapable labors that pressed -upon them, and that their hopes and aspirations led them so constantly -to thoughts of the future, that retrospection nearly became with them -an extinct faculty, and that thus it may have happened that exclusive -absorption in things pertaining to the present and future became -so embedded in their natures as to constitute a trait of character -descendible to their posterity, even to the present generation. The -toleration of this theory leads to the suggestion that an inheritance -of disposition has made it difficult for the generation of to-day to -resist the temptation inordinately to strive for immediate material -advantages, to the exclusion of the wholesome sentiment that recalls -the high achievements and noble lives which have illumined our national -career. Some support is given to this suggestion by the concession, -which we cannot escape, that there is abroad in our land an inclination -to use to the point of abuse the opportunities of personal betterment, -given under a scheme of rule which permits the greatest individual -liberty, and interposes the least hindrance to individual acquisition; -and that in the pursuit of this we are apt to carry in our minds, if -not upon our lips, the legend: - -“Things done are won; joy’s soul lies in the doing.” - -But the question is whether all this accounts for our indifference to -the proper observance of public holidays which deserve observance. - -There is another reason which might be advanced in mitigation of our -lack of commemorative enthusiasm, which is so related to our pride -of Americanism that, if we could be certain of its sufficiency, we -would gladly accept it as conclusive. It has to do with the underlying -qualities and motives of our free institutions. Those institutions -had their birth and nurture in unselfish patriotism and unreserved -consecration; and, by a decree of fate beyond recall or change, their -perpetuity and beneficence are conditioned on the constant devotion -and single-hearted loyalty of those to whom their blessings are -vouchsafed. It would be a joy if we could know that all the bright -incidents in our history were so much in the expected order of events, -and that patriotism and loving service are so familiar in our present -surroundings, and so clear in their manifestation, as to dull the -edge of their especial commendation. If the utmost of patriotism and -unselfish devotion in the promotion of our national interests have -always been and still remain universal, there would hardly be need of -their commemoration. - -But, after all, why should we attempt to delude ourselves? I am -confident that I voice your convictions when I say that no play of -ingenuity and no amount of special pleading can frame an absolutely -creditable excuse for our remissness in appropriate holiday observance. - -You will notice that I use the words “holiday observance.” I have not -in mind merely the selection or appointment of days which have been -thought worthy of celebration. Such an appointment or selection is -easy, and very frequently it is the outcome of a perfunctory concession -to apparent propriety, or of a transient movement of affectionate -sentiment. But I speak of the observance of holidays, and such -holidays as not only have a substantial right to exist, but which -ought to have a lasting hold upon the sentiment of our people--days -which, as often as they recur, should stimulate in the hearts of our -countrymen a grateful recognition of what God has done for mankind, -and especially for the American nation; days which stir our consciences -and sensibilities with promptings to unselfish and unadulterated love -of country; days which warm and invigorate our devotion to the supreme -ideals which gave life to our institutions and their only protection -against death and decay. I speak of holidays which demand observance by -our people in spirit and in truth. - -The commemoration of the day on which American independence was born -has been allowed to lose much of its significance as a reminder of -Providential favor and of the inflexible patriotism of the fathers -of the republic, and has nearly degenerated into a revel of senseless -noise and aimless explosion, leaving in its train far more of mishap -and accident than lessons of good citizenship or pride of country. -The observance of Thanksgiving Day is kept alive through its annual -designation by Federal and State authority. But it is worth our while -to inquire whether its original meaning, as a day of united praise and -gratitude to God for the blessings bestowed upon us as a people and as -individuals, is not smothered in feasting and social indulgence. We, in -common with Christian nations everywhere, celebrate Christmas, but how -much less as a day commemorating the birth of the Redeemer of mankind -than as a day of hilarity and the interchange of gifts. - -I will not, without decided protest, be accused of antagonizing or -deprecating light-hearted mirth and jollity. On the contrary, I am an -earnest advocate of every kind of sane, decent, social enjoyment, and -all sorts of recreation. But, nevertheless, I feel that the allowance -of an incongruous possession by them of our commemorative days is -evidence of a certain condition, and is symptomatic of a popular -tendency, which are by no means reassuring. - -On the days these words are written, a prominent and widely read -newspaper contains a communication in regard to the observance of the -birthday of the late President McKinley. Its tone plainly indicates -that the patriotic society which has for its primary purpose the -promotion of this particular commemoration recognizes the need of a -revival of interest in the observance of all other memorial days, and -it announces that “its broader object is to instil into the hearts and -minds of the people a desire for real, patriotic observance of all of -our national days.” - -Beyond all doubt, the commemorations of the birth of American heroes -and statesmen who have rendered redemptive service to their country -in emergencies of peace and war should be rescued from entire neglect -and from fitful and dislocated remembrance. And, while it would be -more gratifying to be assured that throughout our country there was -such a spontaneous appreciation of this need, that in no part of -our domain would there be a necessity of urging such commemorations -by self-constituted organizations, yet it is comforting to know -that, in the midst of prevailing apathy, there are those among us -who have determined that the memory of the events and lives we -should commemorate shall not be smothered in the dust and =smoke= of -sordidness, nor crushed out by ruthless materialism. - -On this day the Union League Club of Chicago should especially rejoice -in the consciousness of patriotic accomplishment; and on this day, -of all others, every one of its members should regard his membership -as a badge of honor. Whatever else the organization may have done, -it has justified its existence, and earned the applause of those -whose love of country is still unclouded, by the work it has done for -the deliverance of Washington’s birthday from neglect or indolent -remembrance. I deem it a great privilege to be allowed to participate -with the League in a commemoration so exactly designed, not only to -remind those of mature years of the duty exacted by their heirship in -American free institutions, but to teach children the inestimable value -of those institutions, to inspire them to emulation of the virtues in -which our nation had its birth, and to lead them to know the nobility -of patriotic citizenship. The palpable and immediate good growing out -of the commemorations which for twenty years have occurred under the -auspices of the League are less impressive than the assurance that, in -generations yet to come, the seed thus sown in the hearts of children -and youth will bear the fruit of disinterested love of country and -saving steadfastness to our national mission. - -In furtherance of the high endeavor of your organization, it would have -been impossible to select for observance any other civic holiday having -as broad and fitting a significance as this. It memorizes the birth of -one whose glorious deeds are transcendently above all others recorded -in our national annals; and, in memorizing the birth of Washington, -it commemorates the incarnation of all the virtues and all the ideals -that made our nationality possible, and gave it promise of growth and -strength. It is a holiday that belongs exclusively to the American -people. All that Washington did was bound up in our national life, and -became interwoven with the warp of our national destiny. The battles he -fought were fought for American liberty, and the victories he won gave -us national independence. His example of unselfish consecration and -lofty patriotism made manifest, as in an open book, that those virtues -were conditions not more vital to our nation’s beginning than to its -development and durability. His faith in God, and the fortitude of his -faith, taught those for whom he wrought that the surest strength of -nations comes from the support of God’s almighty arm. His universal and -unaffected sympathy with those in every sphere of American life, his -thorough knowledge of existing American conditions, and his wonderful -foresight of conditions yet to be, coupled with his powerful influence -in the councils of those who were to make or mar the fate of an infant -nation, made him a tremendous factor in the construction and adoption -of the constitutional chart by which the course of the newly launched -republic could be safely sailed. And it was he who first took the -helm, and demonstrated, for the guidance of all who might succeed him, -how and in what spirit and intent the responsibilities of our chief -magistracy should be discharged. - -If your observance of this day were intended to make more secure the -immortal fame of Washington, or to add to the strength and beauty -of his imperishable monument built upon a nation’s affectionate -remembrance, =your= purpose would be useless. Washington has no need -of you. But in every moment, from the time he drew his sword in the -cause of American independence to this hour, living or dead, the -American people have needed him. It is not important now, nor will it -be in all the coming years, to remind our countrymen that Washington -has lived, and that his achievements in his country’s service are -above all praise. But it is important--and more important now than -ever before--that they should clearly apprehend and adequately value -the virtues and ideals of which he was the embodiment, and that they -should realize how essential to our safety and perpetuity are the -consecration and patriotism which he exemplified. The American people -need to-day the example and teachings of Washington no less than those -who fashioned our =nation= needed his labors and guidance; and only so -far as we commemorate his birth with a sincere recognition of this need -can our commemoration be useful to the present generation. - -It is, therefore, above all things, absolutely essential to an -appropriately commemorative condition of mind that there should be no -toleration of even the shade of a thought that what Washington did -and said and wrote, in aid of the young American republic have become -in the least outworn, or that in these later days of material advance -and development they may be merely pleasantly recalled with a sort -of affectionate veneration, and with a kind of indulgent and loftily -courteous concession of the value of Washington’s example and precepts. -These constitute the richest of all our crown jewels; and, if we -disregard them or depreciate their value, we shall be no better than -“the base Indian who threw a pearl away richer than all his tribe.” - -They are full of stimulation to do grand and noble things, and full -of lessons enjoining loyal adherence to public duty. But they teach -nothing more impressive and nothing more needful by way of recalling -our countrymen to a faith which has become somewhat faint and obscured -than the necessity to national beneficence and the =people’s= happiness -of the homely, simple, personal virtues that grow and thrive in the -hearts of men who, with high intent, illustrate the goodness there is -in human nature. - -Three months before his inauguration as first President of the -republic which he had done so much to create, Washington wrote a -letter to Lafayette, his warm friend and Revolutionary ally, in which -he expressed his unremitting desire to establish a general system of -policy which, if pursued, would “ensure permanent felicity to the -commonwealth;” and he added these words: - -“I think I see a path as clear and as direct as a ray of light, which -leads to the attainment of that object. Nothing but harmony, honesty, -industry and frugality is necessary to make us a great and happy -people Happily, the present posture of affairs, and the prevailing -disposition of my countrymen promise to coöperate in establishing those -four great and essential pillars of public felicity.” - -It is impossible for us to be in accord with the spirit which should -pervade this occasion if we fail to realize the momentous import of -this declaration, and if we doubt its conclusiveness or its application -to any stage of our national life, we are not in sympathy with a proper -and improving observance of the birthday of George Washington. - -Such considerations as these suggest the thought that this is a time -for honest self-examination. The question presses upon us with a demand -for reply that will not be denied: - -Who among us all, if our hearts are purged of misleading impulses and -our minds freed from perverting pride, can be sure that to-day the -posture of affairs and the prevailing disposition of our countrymen -coöperate in the establishment and promotion of harmony, honesty, -industry and frugality? - -When Washington wrote that nothing but these was necessary to make -us a great and happy people, he had in mind the harmony of American -brotherhood and unenvious good-will, the honesty that insures against -the betrayal of public trust and hates devious ways and conscienceless -practices, the industry that recognizes in faithful work and -intelligent endeavor abundant promise of well-earned competence and -provident accumulation, and the frugality which outlaws waste and -extravagant display as plunderers of thrift and promoters of covetous -discontent. - -The self-examination invited by this day’s commemoration will be -incomplete and superficial if we are not thereby forced to the -confession that there are signs of the times which indicate a weakness -and relaxation of our hold upon these saving virtues. When thus -forewarned, it is the height of recreancy for us obstinately to close -our eyes to the needs of the situation, and refuse admission to the -thought that evil can overtake us. If we are to deserve security, -and make good our claim to sensible, patriotic Americanism, we will -carefully and dutifully take our bearings, and discover, if we can, how -far wind and tide have carried us away from safe waters. - -If we find that the wickedness of destructive agitators and the -selfish depravity of demagogues have stirred up discontent and strife -where there should be peace and harmony, and have arrayed against each -other interests which should dwell together in hearty coöperation; -if we find that the old standards of sturdy, uncompromising American -honesty have become so corroded and weakened by a sordid atmosphere -that our people are hardly startled by crime in high places and -shameful betrayals of trust everywhere; if we find a sadly prevalent -disposition among us to turn from the highway of honorable industry -into shorter crossroads leading to irresponsible and worthless ease; if -we find that widespread wastefulness and extravagance have discredited -the wholesome frugality which was once the pride of Americanism we -should recall Washington’s admonition that harmony, industry and -frugality are “essential pillars of public felicity,” and forthwith -endeavor to change our course. - -To neglect this is not only to neglect the admonition of Washington, -but to miss or neglect the conditions which our self-examination has -made plain to us. These conditions demand something more from us than -warmth and zest in the tribute we pay to Washington, and something more -even than acceptance of his teachings, however reverent our acceptance -may be. - -The sooner we reach a state of mind which keeps constantly before us, -as a living, active, impelling force, the truth that our people, good -or bad, harmonious or with =daggers= drawn, honest or unscrupulous, -industrious or idle, constitute the source of our nation’s temperament -and health, and that the traits and faults of our people must -necessarily give quality and color to our national behavior, the -sooner we shall appreciate the importance of protecting this source -from unwholesome contamination. And the sooner all of us honestly -acknowledge this to be an individual duty that cannot be shifted or -evaded, and the more thoroughly we purge ourselves from influences that -hinder its conscientious performance, the sooner will our country be -regenerated and made secure by the saving power of good citizenship. - -It is our habit to affiliate with political parties. Happily, the -strength and solidity of our institutions can safely withstand the -utmost freedom and activity of political discussion so far as it -involves the adoption of governmental policies or the enforcement of -good administration. But they cannot withstand the frenzy of hate which -seeks, under the guise of political earnestness, to blot out American -brotherhood, and cunningly to persuade our people that a crusade of -envy and malice is no more than a zealous insistence upon their manhood -rights. - -Political parties are exceedingly human; and they more easily fall -before temptation than individuals, by so much as partisan success is -the law of their life, and because their responsibility is impersonal. -It is easily recalled that political organizations have been quite -willing to utilize gusts of popular prejudice and resentment; and I -believe they have been known, as a matter of shrewd management, to -encourage voters to hope for some measure of relief from economic -abuses, and yet to “stand pat” on the day appointed for realization. - -We have fallen upon a time when it behooves =every= thoughtful citizen, -whose political beliefs are based on reason and who cares enough for -his manliness and duty to save them from barter, to realize that the -organization of the party of his choice needs watching, and that at -times it is not amiss critically to observe its direction and tendency. -This certainly ought to result in our country’s gain; and it is only -partisan impudence that condemns a member of a political party who, on -proper occasion, submits its conduct and the loyalty to principle of -its leaders to a Court of Review, over which his conscience, his reason -and his political understanding preside. - -I protest that I have not spoken in a spirit of pessimism. I have and -enjoy my full share of the pride and exultation which our country’s -material advancement so fully justifies. Its limitless resources, -its astonishing growth, its unapproachable industrial development and -its irrepressible inventive genius have made it the wonder of the -centuries. Nevertheless, these things do not complete the story of -a people truly great. Our country is infinitely more than a domain -affording to those who dwell upon it immense material advantages -and opportunities. In such a country we live. But I love to think -of a glorious nation built upon the will of free men, set apart for -the propagation and cultivation of humanity’s best ideal of a free -government, and made ready for the growth and fruitage of the highest -aspirations of patriotism. This is the country that lives in us. I -indulge in no mere figure of speech when I say that our nation, the -immortal spirit of our domain, lives in us--in our hearts and minds -and consciences. There it must find its nutriment or die. This thought -more than any other presents to our minds the impressiveness and -responsibility of American citizenship. The land we live in seems to -be strong and active. But how fares the land that lives in us? Are we -sure that we are doing all we ought to keep it in vigor and health? -Are we keeping its roots well surrounded by the fertile soil of loving -allegiance, and are we furnishing them the invigorating moisture of -unselfish fidelity? Are we as diligent as we ought to be to protect -this precious =growth= against the poison that must arise from the -decay of harmony and honesty and industry and frugality; and are we -sufficiently watchful against the deadly, burrowing pests of consuming -greed and cankerous cupidity? Our answers to these questions make up -the account of our stewardship as keepers of a sacred trust. - -The land we live in is safe as long as we are dutifully careful of the -land that lives in us. But good intentions and fine sentiments will -not meet the emergency. If we would bestow upon the land that lives in -us the care it needs, it is indispensable that we should recognize the -weakness of our human nature, and our susceptibility to temptations and -influences that interfere with a full conception of our obligations; -and thereupon we should see to it that cupidity and selfishness do not -blind our consciences or dull our efforts. - -From different points of view I have invited you to consider with -me what obligations and responsibilities rest upon those who in -this country of ours are entitled to be called good citizens. The -things I pointed out may be trite. I know I have spoken in the way -of exhortation rather than with an attempt to say something new and -striking. Perhaps you have suspected, what I am quite willing to -confess, that, behind all that I have said, there is in my mind a sober -conviction that we all can and ought to do more for the country that -lives in us than it has been our habit to do; and that no better means -to this end are at hand than a revival of pure patriotic affection -for our country for its own sake, and the acceptance, as permanent -occupants in our hearts and minds, of the virtues which Washington -regarded as all that was necessary to make us a great and happy people, -and which he declared to be “the great and essential pillars of public -felicity”--harmony, honesty, industry and frugality. - - - - -TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: - - - Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. - - Spaced-out text is surrounded by equals signs: =spaced=. - - Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GOOD CITIZENSHIP *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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