Life is not a bed of roses

Aggressiveness is a natural instinct with men, animals and plants. In a forest vegetative growth tries to occupy every inch of place, animals’ kingdom and birds ransack forest to find eatables. Mankind behaves likewise in its own social sphere. In America and similar countries where land is virgin, competition is less and luxurious goods are in plenty. This will, however, not continue for a long period.

                Struggle for existence ultimately makes everyone tough. People should, therefore, train themselves to be hardy. There is no place in this world for a person who cannot face difficult life and cannot stand all kinds of trials, troubles and tribulations. Whether one is a sportsman, a businessman or an artist, toughness of life does not spare anyone. Comfortable life does not make a complete man. Man in the habit of leading a luxurious life may happen to be hard in other directions. Weakness of character results when a person moves in a society. This weakness can be overcome during the academic career.

                Love of calmness and peace do not indicate a soft life. Only a tough man can meditate and defy the norms of social life. This is an achievement and cannot be regarded as cowardice for idleness. Civilization requires competitive spirit to be channelized for noble purposes. Animal use of power reigns supreme where culture has no value. Cunningness, cruelty and war, which results in tremendous waste of all kinds of resources, constitute some or the other form of brutality. War can be overcome by strength and not weakness. The latter is an invitation to war. Brutality is the result of self-interest and indiscipline. Unless these can be overcome, culture cannot hold charge of brutality, people should dissociate with such of the activities as are responsible for the exploitation of labor. Cultural forces in this way can affect the economic sphere.

                When cheap goods are purchased from a market, brutality holds its upper hand over civilized culture. This can be avoided only by refusing to buy the goods produced by the exploitation of labor. This requires great vigilance, which is often lacking in people. To obviate the possibility of brutality taking an upper hand in society, forces of civilized should be encouraged. Luxurious life can result in neglect of masses and habitual use of power. Constitutions do not hold out any hope in this respect. The desired effects can be achieved only by the cultivation of cultural values. Luxurious life in the States, as elsewhere, should not neglect the strong traits of character.