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Paused: Peruse

..... And Ponder

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An address to the VPI cadets

Scholastic Awards Ceremony

by George W. Litton, Extension Livestock Specialist

Forces that pull downward toward mediocrity seem more numerous and to pull harder than forces that pull upward toward superiority. It's easier to go downhill, the laws of gravity assisting, and it seems to hold true for the issues of life. In matters of health, temptation for dissipation and overindulgence seem to pull strong er than practices of moderation. The ads say a man must use a particular brand of bourbon to claim distinction. Smokers will get black eyes rather than change brands and some even eat their hats over their smokes. Arlene Francis makes quite a to do over using Bufferin, and Bromo Seltzer is reputed to be a quick cure for overindulgence. Nobody ever says that prudence in the first place would eliminate the necessity of curing the ills. In matters of citizenship, it is easier to be an echo than a voice. It's effortless to echo the political beliefs of the party in power or the man running ahead. It’s more difficult to be a voice of concern for what is really just and fair. In matters of family and home, the divorce rate is high, crime rate is up, both juveniles and parents are delinquent. Forces favoring mediocrity have a greater pull than the forces that create family happiness and tranquility. It’s easier to buy a ticket and pay someone to amuse us away from home than to plan, teach and play at home with a growing son who needs our influence for character building. In matters of patriotism and country, there is real cash money in selling secrets and providing comfort for the enemy. The communistic appeal is greater ter some than the spirit of freedom expressed in Governor Patrick Henry's speech. It's too bad but true that the high road to honor is also the route as the late Sir Winston Churchill put it of "s^eat, blood, and tears". In matters of culture, my wife can go to a concert or buy -a- record-■-of-classical music or see a beautiful painting and become refreshed and recreated from it. But I let the forces of mediocrity cheat me, for the beautiful music to her is so much racket to me, and a trip to an art gallery just sharpens.my taste fora horse race. when I succumbed to the forces that persuaded me to avoid music and art appreciation when I chose my elective studies in college, they became my locked in mediocrity. In matters of religion, man’s tenderest most easily wounded spot is his spirit. It is, likewise, his most responsive for growth and development. The forces that pull him out of i Sunday School and away from .church are far stronger than the ones that pull him in, and this makes it too easy to neglect growth in this area. You, whom we honor today, and believe me it is one of the great thrills of my career to receive this invitation from Captain Marshall, you have at hand the most effective weapon, the surest cure, the greatest eradicator of mediocrity known... scholarship. So permit me to join with you fellow cadets the commandants staff, the administration and my faculty colleagues in hearty congratulations to you for winning the battle against mediocrity.