But He Said This On The Air

New Zealand Listener, Volume 12, Issue 296, 23 February 1945, Page 9

But He Said This On The Air

| Netra are some excerpts from the . short recorded talk which Lord Reith gave for the NBS, and which was broadcast on Sunday evening: DO not suppose anyone is com- | pletely normal after flying 15,000 miles in 10 days; but, apart from that, I think I must have wanted to appear agreeable in New Zealand. Anyhow, when asked if I would broadcast, I said I would, but it does not come easily to me. : And I wondered what I could say that would justify attention ina country in which I had only spent a busy few days. I had to broadcast, however, and I would not, if I could avoid it, waste listeners’ time with banalities. There is too much of that in life as it is. But, if one is to avoid banalities, one risks saying things which were better not said. One may give offence; or bring trouble on oneself-which may not matter; perhaps, also, on others-which probably would matter. . A wise man of old left this observation for all ages to ponder: "The greater part," he said, "of what we say and do being unnecessary, if this were omitted, we should have more leisure and less uneasiness." And, as’a further commentary on the perversion of the faculty and responsibility of speech, a modern and perhaps unwittingly honest member of a legislature repelled an endeavour to secure from him an expression of his own opinion on some controversial subject by crying: "How can I tell you what i think till 1 eee what I have said"

At least one should know what one thinks before one speaks; and it is often better not to speak even when one knows what one thinks and is inclined to say. ae % * ‘THE besetting danger of democracy is its tendency to dislike, distrust and disrupt leadership when it gets it-even well-disposed and well-directed leaderShip. Perhaps the greatest problem of democracy is to secure, by democratic method, the efficiency which comes so easily, so ruthlessly and so abominably to. dictatorship. « . « World leadership must be based on principles which are, even to-day, more in evidence in our community of nations than in any other. I believe we are. still determined, or capable of being determined, in our policy by the moral and spiritual beliefs and values which alone are an effective basis for action. They have to be studied, recognised and exploited. Whether we may care to admit it or not, without the fundamental inspiration of the Christian ethic we shail get nowhere at all. With it, with unity of objective and inflexibility of purpose, we can, in concert, give the world what it needs. If anyone can evolve anything better than the Christian ethic, let us have it, quick. But what has to be sought is the means for translating the Christian ethic into practice, into political, national and international action. Let our leaders at least attempt it. "Pray God our greatness may not fail through craven fear of being great."