Swing (Jan-Dec 1945)

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42 June, 1945 standards of success, are wrong. There is another sort of success which is less often talked about. Not material triumph or pubhc fame, but success as a human being. We tend to undervalue the man who is "merely" a good husband and father, "merely" a good citizen, "merely" a useful worker for his community at moderate earnings. We look for dig' nity as coming from outside things, instead of from the human spirit, where the only true and lasting dig' nity originates. Fame can depart, wealth can be lost, power dissipate with the wind — but the quality of a man or woman is indestructible, basic. High attainment and the world's greatest rewards must be a thrilling happiness. Yet the handful of people who achieve the top tell us they, like the rest of us, still want something more. That "something more" is to be found in our own hearts. Without serenity of spirit, without being able to like and live with ourselves, the pomp of public success soon wears thin. Our respect goes out to — not the man who has the biggest car, the oldest name, the most influence — but to the man in any walk of life who has stature as a human being. That is what democracy is about. The men who wrote our ConstitU' tion with such foresight were men possessed of learning and an intimate belief in God. They believed that all human beings are equal in the eyes of God, and around this belief they built the law of the land. They bequeathed us a set of traditions which values decency above power, character above money, honest accomplishment above fame. Our American values are plain and solid. We Americans are quick to laugh at what is "phoney" — quick to detect and attack what is dishonest. We are the people who refused to have kings, plain people who have always ruled ourselves, and who still are not fooled by outward display. You remember the song from Gilbert and Sullivan : "When everybody's somebody, then no one's anybody." Our Fascist neighbors believe this so hterally, they demeaned and debased their populations, wrecked their nations, so that a handful at the top could be "somebody." We in America know better. Although, here everybody has (and must have) a chance to climb to the top, we know that you do not have to be at the top to be "somebody." We know that a man's or a woman's worth lies within him. We admire the exceptional few. But we also, and equally, respect the value of every human being. Success in the American language means the ability to live freely, honestly, securely, in fulfillment of oneself. The boy was looking through a telescope. "Gawd!" he murmured. "G'wan," said his friend. "It ain't that powerful!" — from The Tooter