Kate Upson Clark

“ Some undiscerning ones insist that we are as truly "classified" as is any European monarchy; but they do not seem to realize that with us caste and class change with almost every generation. The great name and estate are not handed down by primogeniture from father to son.
"The only 'lower orders,'" said Horace Mann, "are those who do nothing for the good of mankind. The word 'classes' is not a good American word. In a republic there should be but two classes,—the educated and the uneducated; and the one should gradually merge into the other until all are educated." ”

“ Sometimes it is a rich corporation, stretching out shrewd tentacles to entrap us. Its managers may be philanthropic and courteous, even religious, tyrants,—but despots none the less. It may be a company of racetrack gamblers, defeated for a while by a fearless governor, but stealing back to power as soon as his back is turned. Different states may have different tyrants,—or an arrogant party of socialists may "tie up" the whole country. There is almost every minute some movement going on, calculated, if it succeeds, to hamper or destroy our liberty. ”

“ In any case, the child should be made to understand that in a truly and nobly 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 mass, he should form his opinions with care. ”

“ But we have learned that, as long as there are barbarians in the world threatening to overwhelm civilization, the arts of war must still be practiced. History has described civilizations as good as ours, perhaps better, which were destroyed by barbarians, physically stronger than the gentler races which they attacked. So long as powerful tribes exist, covetous of the wealth and the territory of their neighbors, and willing to trample down everybody and everything else to get them, what can we do but fight? ”

“ All of our greatest modern literature is permeated with its language and its spirit. Every child should know its stories, should be made to learn some of its grand poetry, and should have its ethics and its spiritual lessons deeply graven upon their hearts. ”

“ For, let us repeat, it cannot be too strongly impressed that the underlying and fundamental principles of politics must be taught by the mother, if they are taught at all; and like everything else that is good, they can be and should be taught. It does not seem to be generally understood, but it is a fact, that a training in politics is possible, and if our great experiment in government is to succeed, such a training should be given to every child, and the mother seems to be the natural, and often the only person to give it. ”

“ The independence which can defy a hurtful social custom is very rare among them. Many a man who would "go over the top" without quailing, lacks the courage to oppose a popular social movement, though he may know that it is of dubious benefit to the race.
But true patriotism, to say nothing of other motives, bids us discard every habit and stamp out every malady which lowers the morale or impairs the efficiency of the people. ”

“ Americans properly hate war. It is antiquated, out of date,—utterly opposed to the spirit of the twentieth century. We should bring up our children to see that it is just that, and that we are fighting now simply because otherwise barbarism would overspread the world,—a barbarism which includes autocracy and militarism as its chief features, two elements which are intolerable in a world of democracy. ”

“ Children can be taught the dangers, not only to their principles, but their worldly fortunes, of office-seeking and of making [49] a profession of politics. The child of wealth should be especially instructed in his duty to look after the affairs of his own town, county, state and nation. The man whose powers are strained to the utmost in order to support and educate his family, can of necessity give little time to the searching out of civic wrongs and their remedies. The well-to-do citizen must give all the more to make up for the limitations of his poorer neighbor. ”

“ Our great task is to preserve this nation and its splendid ideals, so sacredly handed down to us by martyr-heroes. Our children must be taught that the task is great, whether peace or war befall us, but that God can impart the wisdom and courage to perform it, and hand it down unimpaired to their descendants. ”

“ If history is to be used, as it certainly is used, in many of our "best schools," in the teaching of political economy, sociology, philosophy, psychology, biology, religion and nearly everything else, why should we not use it also in teaching a child the value of his own country, how dearly it has been bought, and his duty to serve it? ”

“ Our "leisure women" are realizing their plight, and most of them are entering actively into our great philanthropic and civic organizations. The war has given them a splendid opportunity and it is a good sign for our nation that so many of them have seized it. The idle woman, whom George Meredith calls, "that baggage which has so hindered the march of civilization," is coming to realize her responsibility as a citizen of a great democratic [123] nation. The leisure man among us is so rare that he is an almost negligible quantity, for which we may well be thankful. ”

“ As a model, Frederick the Great is repugnant to the soul of America. We may not all be Christians, but the claim that we are a Christian nation is justified by the fact that our ideals are the ideals [146] of Christianity,—of justice toward all, of the love of mercy, of equality of opportunity for all, and of fraternity among men, of all races and creeds. Peace is one of the grandest things on earth ”

“ If it is true that reason and spirit rule the universe, then the highest and most enduring knowledge is of the things of the spirit. That subtle sense of the beautiful and sublime which accompanies spiritual insight and is a part of it,—this is the highest achievement of which humanity is capable. ”

“ This little girl will probably grow up to see that laws are enforced for pure milk, and for the cleanliness of cows and stables. Even though she may never develop an enthusiasm for any other branch of politics, it is a good thing to have one woman working hard for pure milk.
All children can be taught to see that good laws for such matters are a part of [85] patriotism; and that a man who does not try to help to get such laws, even though he may shout for political candidates and hang out flags in front of his house, is not a true patriot. ”

“ In the religion of Rome, Mars received ten times [27] more homage than did Jupiter. The book and the precept must not be neglected, but your chief weapon in teaching your child the patriotism of peace must be the deed. You must set a strenuous example, or else all your words will pass like the whistle of the wind.
In President Hadley's inaugural, he asserted that the main object of education is to make good citizens,—which is, perhaps, only another way of saying that the chief object of education is to make patriots. ”

“ The Sunday School should be a nesting-place for patriotism as well as for religion. It is occasionally felt by some among us, some even who are truly religious, that the Sunday School accomplishes little good. Powerful evidence to the contrary, in spite of its negative form, was afforded by Judge Fawcett of Brooklyn, when he testified that of the twenty-seven hundred men and women brought before his court during the last five years, not one had ever seen the inside of a Sunday School. The Sunday School has never been developed to its right capacity. ”

“ The task set forth before the conscientious citizen then is to keep alive in himself the clear torch of patriotism,—which simply means the duty to sacrifice as freely, in proportion to the need, in time of peace as in time of war. [24]
It is the difficulty of this task, seldom yet accomplished, which has led to the many eloquent panegyrics, in all languages, upon war as necessary to the very existence of a nation. Several entire books have been written to prove that sordidness and selfishness always possess and soon destroy a nation which does not have frequent wars. ”

“ All of the high-sounding promises of Economic Reform have failed as utterly. Germany's fine insurance plans, England's old-age pensions, the higher wages, shorter hours and better homes of the working people, have proven but vanity. "Be happy and you will be good" is not the great slogan of redemption, after all. ”

“ However disagreeable work may be, life without work is even more disagreeable. All who have tried it, no matter how rich they are, agree that enforced idleness ranks among the most cruel of tortures. Men easily die of it, as doctors know, who every day order broken-down neurasthenics in their middle fifties, back into the business or professional harness they have foolishly retired from. ”

“ Science was to be taught to our children in the place of the outworn fables of the Bible.
Then came the prophets of Education. Herbert Spencer and his followers informed us that education was the panacea for all ills. Educate the people as [151] to what is best and they will choose the best.
The prophets of Culture came next. All that was necessary to bring in the millennium was the diffusion of art, literature, music, philosophy. The mastery of the world by supermen was to be the religion that should create a strong and virtuous nation. ”

“ 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 God, 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. ”

“ Cincinnatus, Hector, Ajax, Pheidippides, have come to fame, which is generally considered reward enough for any hardship; but most of the world's heroes are unknown or forgotten. Every soldier can relate courageous deeds which he has witnessed but which live only in his memory or in those of his comrades. In fact, we are told that heroism is so common in the present war that almost every soldier deserves a medal. ”

“ Thousands of women's clubs and scores of women's periodicals have been hammering at "the bringing up of children," for, lo, these many years. Add to these, the thunderings of the pulpit and of the lecture-platform, and we must admit that the best ways that we know of imparting information and inspiration are useless, unless there has been within the last quarter-century an improvement in the behavior of our children. We must remember that civilization is a slow process, and one cannot readily believe that, even in the millennium, there will not be some silly mothers and some naughty children. ”

“ Again, he must be reminded that patriotism is seldom easy.
Even after you have succeeded in getting your ordinance passed, you may have trouble in having it enforced. Worst of all, the clever rascals on the other side [86] may manage to get your hard-won law repealed,—and there is your long task all to do over again.
Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty just as much now as ever. Look across the ocean, and you see what it is costing the nations of to-day. You think that our fathers gained it for us in the Revolution, and that, however others may have to fight for it, it is secure for us ”

“ A dazzling outside may cover a black heart. Illustrate this fact to him by the story of those beautiful flowers whose sweet odor is laden with death. Tell him of William M. Tweed, whose gigantic thefts almost bankrupted a great city, yet who read a chapter in his Bible every day, and who possessed many kind and even noble qualities. Many other public men of ancient and modern times will afford equally striking examples of inconsistency. ”

“ Utterly different is the American estimation of merit. Here we have a leisure class, 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 [75] freely much time and labor to public affairs and to philanthropy. ”

“ Let us quote again Horace Mann's strong words: "Morals should be systematically taught in our schools, and not left for merely casual and occasional mention."
Few text-books in morals are as yet supplied in our public schools, and little [142] time is provided in the daily schedules for lectures upon them; but one great avenue to their understanding and attainment is still open. In many schools there is a story-telling hour at intervals, and, as Miss McCracken and her co-laborers have proved, patriotism and every other virtue can be deeply impressed upon the youthful mind by stories. ”

“ When a series of sex-films was on display in New York, and good people were wondering whether more of good than bad would result to the young who flocked to see them, one distinguished man said to another, "Knowledge alone will never make men virtuous,"—and no truer word was ever spoken, as the spectacle of highly educated Germany amply proves. ”

“ When one reads of the childhood of the vast majority of our distinguished men it seems chimerical to hope that children brought up in comfort, with plenty to eat and to wear, should ever attain to high positions. Most of our great men appear to have struggled through seas of adversity, in order to get an education and a foothold in the world of literature or art or politics or finance. ”

“ The child who has worked in a garden is likely to watch its growth and progress with an interest which he could not otherwise feel. In the same way he can be made to appreciate his home better if he has daily light tasks to do in maintaining its order and comfort; but these tasks should, if possible, be made regular ones, and their performance should become a habit. If they are done only now and then, they are much more likely to be felt as a burden.
The maintenance of the ordinary home requires great labor and expense. ”

“ It is going ahead and doing your duty, even when you are afraid,—as almost every human being is, when exposed to danger. Every one must have noticed, [143] in reading the innumerable war-stories in our books and periodicals, how many times the soldier confesses, "My whole frame trembled and my heart was like water, but I kept right on,"—and in several such cases we are told that some deed of extraordinary bravery was done by the faltering but determined man, which earned for him some medal or cross of merit.
To go forward, no matter how the body may rebel, is the great test of courage. ”

“ But the heroes of duty should be even more emphatically impressed upon their minds. It is true that warriors are soldiers of conscience no less than others, but our children will, we hope, need chiefly the heroism of civil life, which, being less showy, requires more of resolution. Here is a tale of a soldier who kept his courage in another place than the battlefield:
Colonel Higginson was once asked what was the bravest deed that he ever saw done in the Civil War. ”

“ Lyman Beecher once said, "What a pity that so many of our finest and most self-sacrificing Christians have had rough manners! They have robbed their example of half its force."
The current ambition that our nation should be courteous as well as brave, is shown plainly in the questions which come by the hundred to the "household departments" of our periodicals, especially from mothers and young people. Points of good behavior and etiquette are expounded there so fully and so often that there would seem to be no excuse for any ignorance among us of the proper conduct in any situation. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Carlyle's great essays upon work have inspired thousands; and in Professor Carl Hilty's wonderful volume called "Happiness," there is an essay on "Work," which every parent should read. He shows how laziness,—the inherent aversion to work,—has been a chief obstacle to progress in all ages; how hard labor was so universally relegated to slaves during early times that even to philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, any social system was unthinkable, which did not include a slave class. ”

“ Jacob Riis used often to say that the apparent corruption of our politics was largely due to crass ignorance. There are, too, many human beings who are born moral idiots, who cannot be made to understand ethics, any more than intellectual [51] "subnormals" can be made to understand proportion and international law. But we know that up to the ability of every being he should be taught. We know that the appalling illiteracy of Mexico, Russia and China renders a stable republic in any one of them almost impossible. Education is a slow business. ”