the lesbian group where society's mores are more lenient as to dress in the large cities, such non-conformity is generally a problem of youth, a phase to be grown out of and discarded as not being worth the social and economic price.

I am thinking of those millions of homosexuals (male and female) who do conform outwardly, who do hold down some type of job, and who do absolutely nothing else except try to keep their private life hidden from the public. They do not read the newspapers; they do not join a political party; they do not vote. They shy away from organizations for civic betterment, either because they do not care or because they fear exposure. The waste of the homosexual potential to the body politic through fear of exposure, alone, is incalculable. They lose themselves in their own in-groups and the omnipresent spectator-sports and diversions which have seduced so many good Americans completely away from reading, thinking, writing, and acting for the public good.

One of the biggest favors homosexuals can do for society is to accept themselves. A man (or woman) would not know whether society had accepted him or not if he had not first accepted himself, nor can he contribute his fullest potential to society until he has done this. Selfacceptance does not come easily, as anyone of any despised minority group knows. It takes thought, time and effort. It takes education on many levels: self-education. The homosexual who has mastered this first step may be quite surprised to find how truly decent heterosexuals are in the main; what grave burdens they also carry, how every human being seeks understanding, acceptance and recognition.

Knowing that one does not will fear away without facts, or gain selfacceptance overnight, ONE, Inc. has an Education Division which brings to the homosexual the opportunity (for the first time that we know) to make a systematic attack on his vast ignorance of himself, his nature, his history, his contributions to society in the past and his potential for the future. ONE's classes, started in the fall of 1956, will re-open for the fifth consecutive year this September.

It is obvious, however, that ONE's Education Division will not be able to serve more than a few thousand at the outside, for several years to come. The responsibility falls back upon the homophile to educate and accept himself with whatever tools are available to him. There is ONE Magazine, ONE Quarterly, ONE Confidential, and ONE's Bookservice. There are also libraries, bookstores, and newsstands. There is also a growing community of understanding heterosexual people throughout the world.

Society needs the homosexual minority. It needs every talent it has to offer. It needs every human being who exists to contribute what he knows and feels to the general storehouse of knowledge and to the building of good social relations between men. The ideals of democracy and protection of the rights of the individual are threatened all over the world, as they have been since those ideals were born. We can help protect those ideals if we believe in them. Our silence and inaction only help our enemies destroy not only us, but all civilization!

Sten Russell, Associate Editor

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