HERALD Official Organ Of The Slavonic Benevolent Order Of The State Of Texas. Founde BENEVOLENCE
VOLUME 54 — NO 9
HUMANITY
1897.
BROTHERHOOD
Postmaster: Please Send Form 3579 with Undeliverable Copies to: SUPREME LODGE, SPJST, P. 0. Box 100, TEMPLE, TEXAS
MARCH 2, 1966
FROM THE EDITOR S DESK OUR CIVIC RESPONSIBILITIES
QUOTES...
At the 56th anniversary celebration of Lodge 84, Dallas, on Sunday, Feb. 20th, guest speaker Mr. Tom Unis, spoke on two: principal topics: 1) rights of minority groups, tied to the idea of Brotherhood Week, and contributions of minority groups to our American society, and, 2)our very important civic responsibilities, especially that of voting and participating in our political activities, notably in our precincts.
The best compensation for doing things is the ability to do more. It's a strange thing how important your job is when you're asking for a lake, and how unimportant it can be when you want the day off. • Propriety of manners and consideration for others are the two main characteristics of a gentleman. —Disraeli
On the first point, suffice it to say that it oftentimes takes someone "on the outside" to point up our real and true values as members of a minority group. We frequently dwell on our shortcomings, ,co-mingled with a sense of some frustration, and worse than that, we ourselves fail to see the values of the other person's achievements, and even work to detract from them, unwilling to give proper credit where credit is due. We get lost in a quagmire of egoism, jealousy, and grudging forgiveness. At times, we are our own worst enemies. Thank goodness there are people like Mr. Unis, who himself stems from a foreign background and who fully understands the problems of minority groups and the obstacles they have had to overcome down through the years. Mr. Unis is a distinguished lawyer and devoted community servant. It takes men like
him to jar us from our lethargy and self-satisfying egos. • His second point brought to mind ,several important thoughts. He urged us, as ordinary citizens, to take an active part in our local (precinct, county, and state) party conventions, regardless of political conviction. That is where policies are made and leaders chosen to represent US, the people. If we stay away from the scene of local politics, we have no one to blame but ourselves when the "wrong" factions get control of our governmental Machinery. Groups on either extreme end of the political spectrum are usually better organized than the big majority "in the middle," and you can darn well bet they're going to be active on all levels, and unless the vast majority of John Q. Citizens takes an
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active role in local politics, control will pass to those whom we least want to exercise that control. The average American citizen is by nature, a apathetic person, and unless things get way out of line, he doesn't get too excited about politics. By that time, however, it may be too late, or the damage may have already been done. It therefore, behooves all of us to be active participants in our democratic society, rather than passive onlookers who don't "want to be bothered." Anything worth having is worth battling to save, and local politics is a good place to start. Someone put it very well when he said that what we need is ". . . not so much civil rights but more civil (civic) responsibilities . . . • • I could not help drawing a parallel to our lodge , system from Mr. Unis' remarks. The same thing applies to lodges and their activities. If you stay away too long at a time, you're apt to come back one day and be highly dissatisfied with what took place while you were gone. Then you'll start to gripe about the "wrong crowd, who is running things to suit themselves," Where were you when the decisions were being made? Where were you when responsibilities were being passed around? Now the ones in control don't suit you. Too bad .. . If you WERE there, not a sound did you make during all the debate, but later, in small hushed circles, you real-