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December 7, 1990
Freedom1.ASC
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Freedom and a Piece of String
by Conyers Read
As I grow old, I decide not to bother about things I can do nothing
about.
When I was young I spent much time in search of the KEY which would
UNLOCK ALL DOORS. I never found it and have given up looking for
it.
I do no regret the search. It brought me into close aquaintance
with a large company of good and great men and women. But, so far
as I am concerned, I find it more fruitful to direct my attention to
those elements in this mysterious world around us which are, or may
be, subject to human control, those elements in which the creative
force is the MIND OF MAN.
There, if anywhere on this earth, lies the hope of the future. For
that reason, I believe, first of all, that IT IS OUR BUSINESS to
provide an environment in which the mind of man can enjoy the
MAXIMUM amount of FREEDOM to THINK, to EXCHANGE THOUGHTS with his
fellows, to produce the BEST THAT IS IN HIM.
I admit no distinction between the WHITE mind and the BLACK mind, or
the YELLOW mind or the BROWN mind, or the mind MALE or the mind
FEMALE.
Wherever there is a mind there is the POTENTIAL of great and good
things.
Freedom of the mind I put first of all. But I recognize that men
live together in society and that social obligations transcend
individual interests.
No one man's freedom can be ALLOWED AT THE EXPENSE OF ANOTHER man's
freedom. What we have to aim at is the MAXIMUM OF INDIVIDUAL
FREEDOM consistent with the larger social interest.
I believe that the finest exercise of freedom is IN THE SERVICE OF
ONE'S FELLOW MAN.
I believe that we spend too much of our leisure WATCHING OTHER
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PEOPLE WORK AND PLAY, at the ball parks, in the theater, on the
screen.
In my opinion, the major satisfactions of life proceed from the
EXERCISE OF OUR OWN CREATIVE IMPULSES.
For this reason I regret the increasing REGIMENTATION AND
MECHANIZATION OF LIFE as a MENACE TO HUMAN GROWTH.
It seems to me, as I look back upon my own boyhood, that I got more
fun out of a piece of string than my grandchildren get out of their
more elaborate and much more expensive gadgets. You can really do
things with a piece of string.
I believe in DEVOTION TO CAUSES outside ourselves and in the service
of which we are cheerfully ready to sacrifice our individual
welfare.
This, in its highest form becomes religion, though many men find
their God in strange places and in strange company.
I believe that immortality will be measured in terms of what,
through OUR OWN WORKS or OUR OWN INFLUENCE, we pass on to those who
follow us.
I believe that there are standards of right and wrong, though I
think these standards are too often confused with what is socially
proper or socially expedient. I believe that these standards can be
and should be defined.
I regard it as one of the important FUNCTIONS of educators, from the
PULPIT, in the CLASSROOM and ON THE AIR, to PRESENT, EXPLAIN and
SUPPORT THESE STANDARDS.
I believe that a life lived in accordance with these standards will
be a happy and a fruitful life.
"It is not LIFE that matters, but the COURAGE we bring to it."
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