DR. FRANK CRANE’S DAILY EDITORIAL

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 48, 19 May 1927, Page 16

DR. FRANK CRANE’S DAILY EDITORIAL

WHAT TO DO

(Copyright, 1927.)

A N interesting letter comes to me from a man who says that he has enough of my finding fault with this, that and the other i:i society in law, and,in customs; that he is aweary of this aimless icoaoclasm; and that he wishes I would come out flat-footed and tell him and the world precisely what to do to remedy the injustice and folly of mankind. I could comply with his requests. I or any other opinionated man conld in a half-hour tell the world just what it ought to do. The trouble lies here —that neither the individual nor mankind in general becomes better by TELLING. If an angel from God were to appear and tell the world precisely vbat to do, and if every man and woman believed him, they still would not, and could not, do what he said. The reason is a psychological one. It is that the net result of any truth you hand a man is the product of that truth MIXED WITH THE STUFF ALREADY IN HIS MIND. Your information is not ADDED to his; it. is DILUTED by his. It all depends on the kind of mind, the whole set of ideas, habits, temperament, .and so on, with which the imparted truth is compounded. The human mind to-day is haunted by a swarm of ghost 3 of - ancient frauds. Some day, said Victor Hugo, children will be amazed to hear that there were kings in Europe. And some day, we may say, children will look back with incredulity upon our own era, where mothers can be content with their happy children, and not turn a hand to rescue the mvriad other children from stunting toil. Truth is like a lump of leaven which a woman puts in a measure of meal “until the whole is leavened.” All we can do is to keep on declaring the truth as we see it; putting in the leaven and waiting. We are digging about the truth, watering and cultiamg it. we do not “make” it; the gardener does not “make” apples.