WEAR A SMILE

Hokitika Guardian, 2 January 1931, Page 2

WEAR A SMILE

Pessimism has no place in the philosophy of the Inspector-general or Mental Hospitals (Dr T. G. Cray,) judging by some remarks lie made when speaking at the formal opening of the radio euipment installed at Porirua Mental Hospital. “It would be mere foolishness,”’ said Dr Gray, “to avoid facing the fact that tile countiy is passing through a period of economic depression, but I have no hesitation in asserting that the depression itself is of less moment to this country than is the manner in which the people of the countiy rise to meet their difficulties. Mass psychology is not a negligible factor in time ctf national stress, whether of war or of peace, and when times are hard our Cassandras, our prophetesses and prophets of woe, our defeatists, have thear opportunity. Depression and gloomy forboding,” the doctor continued. “are highly contagious in a'community and are liable to end disastrously to it in the same way as fear in an individual soldier may cause panic and stampede in a company or even an army in war. Appropriate remedies have to be taken for national as well as bodily disorders, but sheer funk pessimism and alarm should not be allowed to replace or be mistaken for prudence for they will get us nowhere except into deeper water. The spirit of a nation is the sum of qualities possessed by its individual citizens and it is in fostering a prudent restrained optimism, a philosophic readiness to meet reverses with a smile and a community spirit of helpfulness, that our best opportunity lies of rendering a real service to the country.”