A TRIUMPH OF THE AMERICAN SPIRIT
Holmes, John Haynes
A Triumph Of The American Spirit How The Springfield Plan Works For Tolerance THE STORY OF THE SPRINGFIELD PLAN, by Clarence I. Chatto and Alice L. Halligan. Barnes & Noble, Inc. $2.75. Reviewed...
...The emphasis is never upon evils to be avoided but always upon goods to be discovered and cultivated...
...is so ideal a community for a campaign of this sort—a typical industrial city of 160,000 inhabitants, drawn from many nationalities and representing many religions—the Plan itself was formulated with such intelligence and carried through with such enthusiasm, and the results were so remarkable, that it has gained an altogether unique distinction...
...THE essence of the Plan, of course, is what the psychologists call conditioning...
...Now, why should we not be able to condition this same mind to the positive virtues of love and kindliness, mutual understanding and cooperation...
...and a consuming curiosity to know and understand their different habits, customs, languages, cultures, and sacred memories...
...It is the positive note throughout, with frank confession of a country which has high ideals and has failed to live up to these ideals, but, with God's help, may yet do so...
...It is a pity that the book is not written in a more attractive literary style and with a more contagious elan...
...Then comes pride in the wonder of this conglomeration of peoples (e pluri-bus unum...
...Springfield has rightly become a synonym for the true American ideal of goodwill and brotherhood...
...It was this idea that took root in the public schools of Springfield, and led to the great program, now extended from children to adults, which has become famous throughout the nation...
...Detailed descriptions of methods and practises are abundant...
...Beginning with recognition and study of one another, the next step is cooperating in common activities, and thus learning to live together by working together...
...Negroes, Catholics, Jews, Chinese, instead of being objects of aversion, now become centers of sympathetic interest and admiration...
...The program begins with an eager acknowledgment of the great variety of races, nationalities, and religions which have come together to make this country of America...
...Reviewed by John Haynes Holmes THIS book is a manual descriptive of the Springfield Plan, a community program for the eradication of bigotry and prejudice from the public mind so poisoned by the suspicions, fears, and hatreds of these dreadful times...
...The Springfield Plan is not unique...
...In spite of the~sheer fascination of the subject, the book is rather dull reading...
...Typical outlines of material are given in a valuable appendix...
...other cities and towns have undertaken work of this kind, and thus "made smooth in the desert a highway" for the great national organizations against intolerance...
...THE history of the movement is carefully set down in these pages...
...But the story is all here, and is to be commended to anyone who would behold a genuine triumph of the American spirit...
...But Springfield (Mass...
...A kind of final triumph is the bringing of religious studies into the schools, with glad recognition of the contributions made by many faiths to the universal religion of mankind...
...The Nazis have shown us what can be done in the way of conditioning the human mind, especially the child mind, to fanatical and cruel hates...
Vol. 9 • October 1945 • No. 43
