AN EMPIRE BRAINS MEETING
Sir.-When the war is over we shall want to do something on a-large scale to celebrate victory. I suggest that New Zealand should once again show originality and set an example, by the form our celebration takes. We have had Empire Games meetings; indeed, about the only way for a young man of limited means to see the world in peace time has been by excelling in hitting a ball, in running or swimming one or two hundred yards, in propelling his body to an alarming height. Let himor her-do this and he has been sent, at others’ expense, to the far ends of the earth. In early days men went to the Crusades or sought the Holy Grail; now they seek the Davis Cup, the "Ashes," the Olympic or Empire Games. Brawn and muscle have relegated brain and intelligence to the background. It is time the men, the forgotten men and women, those who work only with their heads, asserted themselves against this domination. of athletic prowess. I suggest that New Zealand should hold an Empire Brains Meeting. Who should attend, and what competitive elements do I propose, as it is this which draws participants and spectators? Well, with modesty, I suggest that first journalists be invited from all parts of the Empire; then representatives of the Civil Service, doctors, accountants, business executives, teachers, all who shine in any way except through muscle and sinew. As for competition, the sight of 50 editors from London, Capetown, Port-of-Spain, Toowomba, Wellington, all
engaged in writing the best leader on a given topic; of 50 lawyers competitively re-drafting a chaotic clause in an income tax act; of a heat in the competition for accountants who have to elucidate the true position of the Government’s guaranteed price scheme-to me and to thousands of others such a sight would bring unalloyed joy. There is endless scope in my suggestion for a highly successful and novel gathering. Farmers claim to be the backbone of the country; perhaps the athletes are the limbs and muscles. What is the value of backbone and
limbs without the controlling brain?-
JOHN
DOE
(Auckland).
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 4, Issue 98, 9 May 1941, Page 4
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358AN EMPIRE BRAINS MEETING New Zealand Listener, Volume 4, Issue 98, 9 May 1941, Page 4
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