The Father and the Mother State : Part 1

The Family and it's Members
by Anna Garlin Spencer

(Page 16 of 23)

"I should like to point out by what principles of action we rose to power and under what institutions and through what manner of life we became great. We are called a democracy, for the administration is in the hands of the many, not the few; but while the law secures equal justice to all, the claim of excellence is always recognized. When a citizen is in any way distinguished he is preferred to the public service, not as a matter of privilege but as a reward of merit. Neither is poverty a bar, but a man may benefit his country whatever be the obscurity of his position.

"We are unrestrained in private intercourse, while a spirit of reverence pervades our public acts. We are prevented from doing wrong by respect for authority and for the laws, having an especial regard for those ordained for the protection of the injured, as well as to those unwritten laws which bring upon the transgressor the reprobation of general sentiment.

"We are lovers of the beautiful, though simple in our tastes, and we cultivate the mind without loss of manliness. An Athenian citizen does not neglect the state because he takes care of his own household, and even those engaged in business have a fair idea of politics.

"The great impediment to right action is, in our opinion, not discussion, but the want of that knowledge which may be gained by discussion.

"We do good to our neighbors not upon a calculation of interest but in the confidence of freedom and in a frank and fearless spirit." - From the oration of Pericles, 450 B.C., as reported by Thucydides.

"Statesmen work in the dark until the idea of right towers above expediency or wealth. The Spirit of Society, not any outward institution, is the mighty power by which the hard lot of man is to be ameliorated.

"Every line of history inspires a confidence that things mend. This is the moral of all we learn; it warrants Hope, the prolific mother of all reforms. Our part is plainly not to block improvement or to sit until we are stone but to watch the uprise of progressive mornings and to conspire with the new work of new days." - Emerson.

"Nations are the citizens of humanity as individuals are the citizens of the nation. As any individual should strive to promote the power and prosperity of his nation through the exercise of his special function, so should every nation in performing its special mission perform its part in promoting the prosperity and progressive advance of humanity." - Mazzini.

"Our country hath a gospel of her own
To preach and practise before all the world, -
The freedom and divinity of man,
The glorious claims of human brotherhood."

- Lowell.

The Socialization of the Modern State. - In a previous book before mentioned and in many special articles published elsewhere, the idea has been stressed that society is now witnessing a remarkable coalescence of two ethical movements which are of special significance in the new political equality of men and women. These two movements are, first, the call for the application to women of the principles embodied in our national Bill of Rights; and, second, the introduction of what is called social welfare work into governmental provisions and administration. The first marked the reaction of women, belated but strong, and at last successful in realization of purpose, to the eighteenth Century demand for the recognition of human rights regardless of color, sex, or previous condition of servitude. The second was a reaction of social sympathy and a growing sense of social responsibility for the better development of the common life. These two movements so worked together that as women marched toward the citadel of political power and responsibility, political action became more and more permeated by forms of social interest in which women were already alert, and by forms of social activity in which women were already proficient. This is particularly noticeable in the United States. For example, in our country we have changed the common point of view and the general governmental approach to individual and private life in the following important particulars:

1. Health - public and private, in matters of prevention of disease and in care of the sick and the convalescent.

2. Education - in respect to all ages and to all peculiar needs of special training.

3. Philanthropy, or the social care of the dependent, the poverty-bound, the defective, and the juvenile delinquent.

4. Penology, or the laws and their administration which deal with crime and criminals and with both the victims of and the panderers to vice.

5. Recreation and all manner of publicly provided opportunity for helpful use of leisure time.

6. Conservation of natural resources in the interest of common wealth.

7. Checks upon economic exploitation by the greedy and strong of the young, the weak, and the ignorant.

8. Checks upon those commercialized forms of recreation which tend to despoil childhood and youth of innocence and refinement.

9. Official standardizing of ways of living found to be conducive to physical, mental, and moral well-being, and social aids toward vocational training and guidance.

10. The union of Federal with State and Local efforts for the general welfare.

Copyright, 1923 by J.B. Lippincott Company

About the Author

Anna Garlin Spencer (1851-1931) was an American educator, feminist, and Unitarian minister. Born in Attleboro, MA, she married the Rev. William H. Spencer in 1878. She was a leader in the women's suffrage and peace movements. In 1891 she became the first woman ordained as a minister in the state of Rhode Island.