Social Reform and the Church Author:John Rogers Commons Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE EDUCATED MAN IN POLITICS. The current recommendations for the educated man to participate in politics are vague. The preacher, the editor, the reformer, u... more »rge him to go to the caucus and see that good men are nominated. Again they tell him to be the independent voter and the scratcher, — the man who is always looking out for something to oppose, — until he is driven to believe that his only part in politics is that of a self-righteous and negative scold. But there is something better for the scholar in politics. Not that he should fail to be independent. This follows necessarily, if we assume that he does his own thinking. But there is a difference between independence and stubbornness. Independence is positive and progressive. Stubbornness is negative and stationary. Independence recognizes that political parties are large, cumbersome, unwieldy machines. They accomplish nothing perfectly. Their one inseparable feature is compromise. The independent man should recognize himself as a very small part of an immense enginery. He should try to make his influence positive for good, but he should remember that good in politics is accomplished only by moving massive bodies. But what is politics ? And what is there in politics that should call for the thought and action of the educated man ? Is politics a struggle between office-seekers, or between classes, or sections ? Practically it is all of these. But to the educated man it is something far deeper. It is assumed that the educated man is. the Christian man. It may not be that he is a signer to any formal creed, but if he has rightly grasped the fruits of the highest education he must accept the ethical teachings of Christianity. The Christian is here to benefit his fellows in every possible way, — physically, mentally, spir...« less