from Amphibious Force Pacific Fleet – The Amphibian
Greatness never comes to anyone by imitating others. We may not apprpriate another man’s words or another man’s gifts. Why is it that four great Shakespearean actors such as Hampden, Sothern, Barrymore, and Evans each presented a different Hamlet? The answer is that each one had to be himself. They used the same words, but they made them their own.
Let each use such virtues of the mind and soul and heart as we possess. That, after all is the only accomplishment a man will ever have –to be himself–to be what he can truly be.
This truth becomes evident in the realm of our high ideals. How many a young man is stirred by a real passion for mankind! He is conscious of the ills that beset society. He is sensitive to the injuries that come to the innocent. He cannot calmly look upon a world saturated with the blood of youth.
So, he will change the world NOW. He will make it a better place in which to live. Nobody in his right mind would discourage a young man. But even here lies a danger which besets the zealous reformer. It is not true that a man must begin with himself? to want to die for mankind is a beautiful thought, but will not a man first die for those about him? Some day you must work justice in the far, wide world, but you must begin with yourself.
We know there are problems which await our wisdom and our courage. There is racial prejudice and intolerance. What are you doing about it in your own back yard! there are many problems which will not be solved until you and I begin their solution just where we are with what we have. How about starting today – where you are!
