Equality: The Level of Mediocrity: H. Kershner

EQUALITY: THE LEVEL OF MEDIOCRITY I HOWARD E. KERSHNER MOST OF US are conscious of the fact that the world contains multi tudes of men who are far abler than ourselves. Far from making us jealous or unhappy, we are ex ceedingly grateful for them. We enjoy great music, but we could not write it, as Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Schubert, Mozart, Verdi, and a host of others have done. We can play a few instruments, but not like Liszt, Paderewski, Kreisler, Heifetz, Rubenstein, and many other immortals who have brought heaven down to earth with their superb excellence. Our libraries are filled with good books, the treasuries of his tory, literature, and culture. We take great delight in reading Shakespeare's plays and Tenny son's poetry, but we could not have written such marvelous works. We Dr. Kershner is President of the Christian Freedom Foundation. This article is from his weekly column, "It's Up to You," March 27, 1967.

340 are fortunate that they could. Sup pose we had no great minds such as these! How fortunate that we can ride along with them, enjoy ing their creations as if they were our own. Why should we be jeal ous of them? Rather we should be thankful and pay tribute to them. Our devotion and spiritual per ception is vastly inferior to that of a Saint Paul, a Saint Francis of Assisi, a Saint Augustine, or a Saint Thomas Aquinas, but we can soar up into the heavens on the spiritual power generated by a host of saints and prophets. We enjoy our automobile, riding about the world in jet planes, our radio, television, and stereophonic music. We could not have devel oped the great industrial giants of our country that have lifted the burden of toil from our backs and emancipated us from the handi craft age into a degree of luxury unknown by kings a few centuries ago, but we can enjoy the results 1967 EQUALITY: THE LEVEL OF MEDIOCRITY 341 of the efforts of the great men who created these things for our en joyment.

When taking a loved one to the hospital, who wants a common, average surgeon? We all want a doctor, not only with superior skill, but a conscientious, honor able man whom we know has spent many long years developing the knowledge and skill required to save the life of the dear one we entrust to his care. We don't want equality. If there were no men in this world su perior to ourselves, no men cap able of earning more than we earn, no men capable of preaching finer sermons, organizing greater businesses, developing greater skill in medicine, in the arts, and in literature, and no men of great devotion or spiritual insight, it would be a poor, drab world in which to live. Let us have done with the cult of the common man and begin to recognize and appre ciate worth, talent, ability, and de votion wherever we find it. Gifted men have carried the world for ward on their shoulders. Whatso ever progress we have made, we owe to them. Let us acknowledge it and be grateful for it, and not try to clip their wings and reduce them to the level of mediocrity. ~ Changes in England A SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE in public opinion is taking place here and it is largely education by events. The Government is finding that it cannot do certain things without also adopting policies which are at least uncomfortable. We have reached the zenith of trade union power and from now on it will decline.

This week on the television we have even had a Socialist Mem ber of Parliament advocating freeing imports so as to help so-called underdeveloped countries and as a substitute for aid. We have also had the socialist National Union of Teachers urging that free meals to school children should be abandoned and that parents should accept that responsibility. Free meals have been costing the budget something well over £100,000,000 a year. It looks as if we are going to get out of Aden and let the Russians in - the consequences of which may be very serious but I imagine that your people can see what ought to be done. From a letter by s. W. ALEXANDER (London) March 31, 1967 342 Private Ownership .... A MUST! HENRY HAZLITT EDITOR'S NOTE: Henry HazIitt, well-known economic journalist and scholar, has written many books, including a novel about the rediscovery of capitalism by a young Russian after all the eco nomic and political writing of the past, except that of the Marx ists, has been wiped out. The hero, Peter Uldanov, performs the prodigious feat of recreating by his own mental effort ideas that it has in fact taken generations of great economists to develop and refine.