Basic HTML Version
July 1971
happiness. Few people ever realize that
money and things alone never make
anyone happy. There are other more im–
portant elements in the good life.
Yarbrough at age 41 and after much
"success" in show business, admitted, "l
guess what I'm looking for after all
these hectic years is a
fairly simple life."
Good Life of "Things"
Amidst such growing dissatisfaction
with the hectic American and Western
way of life, merchandisers continue to
hawk their wares. One recent advertise–
ment for a major credit card promised
abundant living through "sports, food,
fashions, the theater, and all the rest of
'the good life.' "
And people gullibly swallow such
propaganda. lt's the stuff of our Wes–
tcrn economy. It's "American," or "Brit–
ish," just as apple pie or chocolate
candy.
Buy. Travel. "Give yourself a Iittle
present. Our cred it card is honored at
thousands of establishments over the
world," go the ads.
Yet, to a growing number of dis·
satisfied people, our W estern way of
life is unfulfilling - a continua! search
which never comes to fruition, a gold–
Ieaf.over-papier-máché
image. Yet, is
simply going "back to the earth" enough
to bring the good life? What is the key
- the missing dimension - that will
bring human happiness?
A "Great Society" for All
We all want peace, happiness,
prosperity - a sense of security and
well-being. No one desires to live in
misery and poverty. Every one would
Jike personal fulfillment and satisfac–
tion, pleasure and peace of mind. All
these make up the truly cooo
LIFE.
Man has searched for this abundant
l ife as long as he has walked the face of
the earth. Ironically, history is a written
record of man's
failflt'e
to attain these
high ideals, goals and dreams.
Every attempt to build a true utopía
- a really Great Society - has failed
or is failing.
Politicians, military leaders and kings
have carved out nations, promising a
new world. Visionaries and philoso–
phers have concocted sd1emes to
g uarantee citizens the good life.
The
PLAIN TRUTH
But all have floundered and fa iled.
Why did these sincere, well-meaning,
dedicated planners fail?
Here l íes a paradox of human his–
tory, a story few people understand, and
a sad commentary on
o11r own
searching
for the good life.
Why O thers Failed
To .find the Way which will bring
harmony and peace to this earth -
brimful, abundant living to all - we
must consider sorne of the utopian
sys–
tems which have been proposed
throughout hi story, and discover
W HY
they failed.
We should understand that the
twcntieth century is not unique in its
uneasy quest for a better way of life.
Historically, mankind has sought to
build a utopian system and find the
good life.
Yet, none of man's attempts havc
ever fully encompassed
all
the necessary
elements which produce the desired
results.
In ancient Greece, for example, ovec
2000 years ago, Plato proposed his idea
of an ideal society. He outlined what he
felt was necessary to create a permanent,
productive society in his day.
Plato espoused a "back to the earth"
theme. Social critic Lewis Mumford tells
us: "The groundwork of Plato's utopía,
accordingly, is the simple agcicultural
life, the growing of wheat, barley,
olives, and grapes"
(The Story of
Utopias,
by Lewis Mumford, Viking
Press, N.
Y., 1962,
p. 35).
Plato wanted the necessities of life
for al!. He recognized special skills and
talents were required for production of
specialized goods and services. He
recognized the nced to limit city
populations, and maintain a constant
agricultura] base for a continually pro–
ductive economy.
Yet h.is utopía was never fully tried
- nor would it have succeeded.
It
lacked many essential elements. Plato
repudiated marriage, and reduced
humans to mere ceproductive machines
for the development of a "super race."
A yet more fundamental mistake was
his failure to recognize that
h11man na–
fllre
is the unpredictable culprit tbat has
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Stor
8ottom Ioft
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H. Armstrong Roborts
Othors - Ambouodor Coltogo Photos
wildwoad
the tllwn thilt rows In the ark