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Greed, jealousy and prejudice
R.J. Funkhauser
Thursday, June 17, 1954
I am sure that the things which we consider trivial in our lives are frequently of great importance though we many ignore the possibility at the time.
Like dust and grime on our eyeglasses, greed, jealousy and prejudice can affect our vision until we lose sight of the large things that should loom plainly before us. Prejudice is a poisonous dust which we should wipe away and by "cleaning out glasses" get the true picture.
There is the dust of prejudice on our glasses when we fail to see true dignity in so-called "common labor" for from the sweat of the workshop, from the labor in the dark tunnels of the mines, and the long hours of toil in the fields, come the things necessary to progress. Surely, our glasses are dimmed with prejudice if we fail to see that it is the hand of labor that molds the dream into workable form and gives a sort of soul.
On the other hand, it is not prejudice on our glasses, but greed, envy, jealousy, that distorts our vision when we look at men like the late John D. Rockefeller and see only the gold that glitters.
If we would wipe the grime of suspicion and envy off our glasses, instead of seeing merely a very rich man, we would see one of the greatest humanitarians that ever lived in the late Mr. Rockefeller. If we could see through our prejudice and envy, instead of seeing his gold which we think he hoarded away like a miser, we would see the truth. We would see a vast lot of the misery of mankind disappear as we would see Mr. Rockefeller's gold used to combat disease, that menaced mankind. If we could look through our prejudice we would see his Foundation, which has added to the health, leisure enjoyment and enlightenment of mankind. Yes, the first thing we should do, if we would see the truth, is to wipe off our glasses.
As it is prejudice and near sightedness that keep many of us from seeing that the farmer, miner, and laborer are as necessary to progress as the Rockefellers and Carnegies, it is, also prejudice that causes us to ignore or take for granted, the standards of living that the Fords and the Fricks have brought us.
Let us not go through life "Wearing dark glasses," grimed with greed, jealousy and prejudice.
Source:www.libraries.wvu.edu/funkhouser/1954sz.html#61754
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