c.ai as compared to the likenesses. 1. spite of mob upheavals in some Puns of the world, the racial myth is on its way out. The color caste system is breaking down. Sexual myths' are being exploded also. It is up to everyone, especially in a democracy, to see to it that the last vestiges of the sexual caste system are removed in America and everywhere in the world. Homosexuals are probably the last of the scapegoats to have been analyzed scientifically, to have not been found inferior, and to rise in demand of their civil rights. No one need be enslaved by those who are themselves enslaved. We do not have to accept the defeatist attitude that homosexuals must be surrounded by superstitions and forever live in a perilous state. The cause for our human freedom is one of the most important social reform movements of our time.
Mankind stands at the threshold of a new era of brotherhood on a planetary scale. The only danger signals which threaten us are fear, distrust and hatred of other people whom we imagine to be so "different" from ourselves. To erase this
No man can, for any considerable time, wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which one is the true one. -Hawthorne
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a
menace of superstition means stepped-up educational program if we are to avoid major disasters in our personal, group and international affairs. And it will require a reconsideration of human values and moral codes and a re-examination of our own conscience.
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The social movements of history
for the improvement of human living have been characterized by the faith, work and diligence of small devoted groups, while great masses have stood by eagerly ready to help reap the harvest of social progress in which OTHER people have pioneered. A conservative has been defined as "one who doesn't believe anything should be done for the first time", but he is usually an ardent "worshiper of dead "radicals." The word "radica!" stems from the Latin radix" meaning "root" the primary source or originating cause." The true radical is one who searches beneath surface symptoms of problems to their underlying root causes, and who seeks to solve problems by understanding and alleviating those causes. When the cause is ignorance, the answer is truth. And there is no alternative for truth.
"Mourn not the dead.
But rather mourn the apathetic throng,
The cowed and meek, Who see the world's great anguish and its wrong.. And dare not speak"
-C. N. LUND
There is no virtue in smug complacency. It was the hush-hush philosophy which prevailed in Germany, and we know what happened to the Jews. To cooperate with an evil is to help perpetuate that evil. To refuse to cooperate with an evil is to help bring about its decline.
We need to watch ourselves that we do not seek refuge in the pseudooptimism that "everything which happens is for the best." Such a sweeping allness evades personal and group responsibility to exercise practical and moral controls. It puts the stamp of cosmic goodness on everything from legalized atomic murder en masse to all manner of other preventable tragedies. When
mallachine REVIEW
a deplorable social condition exists it is a challenge to the people to alleviate that condition. When that condition is ignorance, prejudice and discrimination affecting any group, the members of that group also should take action. And homosexuals are not exempt from this duty. People have a moral responsibility on Earth to face and solve problems, both personal and social, and to improve their lot here and now, to conquer evil, and prevent misfortunes whenever possible, and to leave no injustice go unchallenged not find fantastic excuses in escape mechanisms of selfishness, or weird and occult philosophies of fatalism and defeat. Too many problems go unsolved simply because people have not really tried to work them out, or because they gave up too soon. Man the species and men as individuals have within themselves the power to determine in no small measure their destiny.
There was a time when I never would have thought of telling anyone I am a homosexual. Then came my sudden dismissal from civil service for my mere state of being an invert. The reason was verified. I decided on a course of action which I have never regretted, I told some of my best friends the truth. Some of them have now enlightened others. In undergoing counseling toward my vocational rehabilitation, I have also told several professional people in influential positions. Their positive, broadminded response and helpfulness to me in working through an extremely difficult situation have given me a new faith in people and renewed hope for all our "kind“. And their approval and encouragement of my participation in Mattachine has been most gratifying.
One does not necessarily need to be a martyr to place his faith in truth. If each and every homosexual
man and wonan, including bisex uals, were to take it upon himself to inform even one non-homosexual, many millions of people would be moved out of their present ignorance into understanding. It is not true that "once prejudiced, always prejudiced." I have no doubt that numerous of our non-homosexual friends would willingly come to the defense of our civil rights in time of need if they were only informed about our discriminatory situation. The lone homosexual need not feel he stands alone. He has sound anchorage from which to speak because of the existence in the U.S. of the Mattachine Society, ONE, the Daughters of Bilitis, the National Association for Sex Research, and many understanding professional people, and there's the International Committee for sexual Equality (headquarters in Amsterdam, Holland) which is made up of several member organizations in Europe and America devoted to solving this important problem. The movement for confidence in our friends, the educational-research programs of such organizations, and the major contributions of the Institute for Sex Research (Indiana University) and other institutions will " ultimately have a positive influence on all humanity because of the extensive prevalence of homosexuality and our presence in so many otherwise heterosexual families. Because our lives are so closely interwoven with the lives of the heterosexual majority, the sooner we can be understood and accepted for what we are the better, and the alleviation of mental anguish will be felt not only by homosexuals but by our relatives, friends and associates as well.
Each person can do his part, however small, to leave the world a little better than the way he found it. It is said the best use of a life is to spend it for something that will out13