VALLEY SETT1SR
Published every Friday at Printer,
Alaska, by the Matanuska Valley
Farmer's Cooperating Association
for tbe purpose of ^ivinj nows of
the Association's work, problems,
accomplishments, and news of local
and general interest.
By C.R.Rasmussen.
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TOLERANCE A PRIZED POSSESSION
One cf tbe earmarks of n well
balanced civilized man,-is the a
bility to meet other human beings
with a tolerant attitude toward
4 heir haioits, ideas and thoughts.
For thousands of years, men and
omen have m5nuled with others of
beir kind, and. strangers as well,
and the ,_raco of tolerance has
gradually, though slowly, been de
veloped. We are told that the
habit cf creetinu people by <_rasp
3nc hands ^ri^inated from the time
tnat nearly all t.rav icrs carrier
swords to protect themselves from
unfriendly or mercenary fellow
travelers. That in order to pro
tect themselves from attack while
£,reetin^ other travelers the two
would cautiously approach each
other and 0rasp the others' hand
until satisfied that their inten
tions were friendly. Thanks to
the development , f a better under
standing and ^r nvth of knrwle^e
of the need of a more friendly
universal attitude in our relation
with one another, we no longer nee
tc be sc careful. However, we
haven't yet Ccne so far in regard
to tolerance, but we are travelin0
that way.
It is indeed unfortunate that so
many people are \mahlo to tolerate
ideas su^ested by their follow
citizens without flyin^ into a
•a^e rnd tryint to persecute the
person who.hrd the idea. The most
detestable character of this kind
is usually cither a rank conserva
tive or a bellowing radical. The
Well-balanced person usually c :.n
siders the question before making
a decision as to whether it is
useless or valuable, and, during
the tine of the consideration, must
maintain a reasonable state of
mind so that he can ^ive the ques
tion a fair and Impartial answer.
iU
People who are creed.y or selfish
can seldom arrive at a fair decis
ion, because they are only think
ing of themselves and their nter
ests. It is indeed unfort’uvto,
that so many people are so sure
that their brand of politics, re
ligion or way of life, is the only
way, and are so determined to make
everyone else see It their v;ay. As
lcnj as man has so little knrwled^e
in comparison to things that may
exist or that mi,_ht be known, It
behoves each one of us to be toler
ant to the Ideas of others.
The war requires so many adjust
ments to the prevallinc ideas in
U.S., that one cannot heln dut won
der what the result will to. Out
soldiers who are Ooinc to f rci0n
shores, are bein^, taught t he tol
erant of many Ideas, customs and
habits of life that are entirely
foreign to curs. In hand books
prepared by Army authoriti s for
the guidance of our men wh are In
various countries overseas, they
are told to respect the cu t-ms,
habits, and reli0i. ns of tb. people
,'ver there. They are ashed to oe
careful net to offend the v; rship
pers of the Mohammedan faith as the
Mohammedans are deeply rel1 ?'us,
and that they worship the sr c God
as the Christians ma- the .. Av;s, ana
speak with reverence of Abraham,
liases and Jesus, That Mob- ~ed
preached atninst the same vices
which are don unced by our American
Evangelists. The men Ooin to
hhina are jiven similar advice a
bout the snme subjects, end no
doubt those Ooin0 to India are be
ino orepore'3 also.
Now, in view of the fact that it
Is desirable that we tolerate and
respect the ideas an'3 oust''is of
the people of foreign land’s, would
It not be consistent to practice
this at home? True, our p' Ilosoph
ers have been advocating tvis very
idea for many years, hut vk . have
nut taken them too serious1v, be
cause, as usual they toe re
"Prophets without honour in their
own country", Dut if it has been
feund to be valuable in pr m tin0
successful relations In our con
tacts with other countries, it
should be of value at home. Toler
ance opens up a New World t , the
person who has .never tried it.
Try to understand the tb-'\bts
and wishes of your nel0ht r and
you will make a friend and a Oood
neighbor. Meet all of his i'eas
with mistrust, ridicule and an,_er
and you will make a enemy, ^ven if
you don't cLree with him, It him
have his say before y ,u be in to
find fault with him.