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Editorial
April 27, 1914
Daily Independent
Elko, Elko County, Nevada
What is this article about?
This editorial urges leaders and individuals to act decisively on their ideas to drive societal progress, using examples like Plato's Athens and Elizabeth's London, emphasizing that time is short and nations can rise or fall quickly.
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LEADERS ARE MEN OF ACTION
Having an Idea, They Have Impressed It on Their Fellows and the World Has Moved.
The nations are a series of short experiments. A nation may disintegrate inside of a century. It may flower inside of 30 years. It would be possible that a middle-western town like Cedar Rapids should tomorrow begin to put forth a group of heroes, who should overrun the earth with the charm and vigor of their ideas. A sudden quickening, mind catching flame from mind, and once again you would have the miracle of Plato's Athens, of Elizabeth's London.
If now and again some man had not decided to stop drifting and take hold of things and reshape them, there would have been no discovery, no invention, no art. He might have said, as many like to say: "Why not let my big idea rest quietly? There is time enough in the long future. Why be in a hurry? Why so hot, little man? There is quiet sleep in the churchyard for the men that have gone before, and soon I too will be there." But, prevailing, he said:
"Now is the time, and the place is here, to bring my idea to action. I insist on being heard. Here is the plan. We will not postpone it till next century. We will try it now."
It is our business to make our ideas prevail. We are not to go silent, nor to retire from activity, believing that our nation is long-lived, and that our thought has an eternity in which to come to pass. We must speak up. We must strike early and strike hard. The time is short. It is right to wish to get something done in our own lifetime.—Harper's Weekly.
Having an Idea, They Have Impressed It on Their Fellows and the World Has Moved.
The nations are a series of short experiments. A nation may disintegrate inside of a century. It may flower inside of 30 years. It would be possible that a middle-western town like Cedar Rapids should tomorrow begin to put forth a group of heroes, who should overrun the earth with the charm and vigor of their ideas. A sudden quickening, mind catching flame from mind, and once again you would have the miracle of Plato's Athens, of Elizabeth's London.
If now and again some man had not decided to stop drifting and take hold of things and reshape them, there would have been no discovery, no invention, no art. He might have said, as many like to say: "Why not let my big idea rest quietly? There is time enough in the long future. Why be in a hurry? Why so hot, little man? There is quiet sleep in the churchyard for the men that have gone before, and soon I too will be there." But, prevailing, he said:
"Now is the time, and the place is here, to bring my idea to action. I insist on being heard. Here is the plan. We will not postpone it till next century. We will try it now."
It is our business to make our ideas prevail. We are not to go silent, nor to retire from activity, believing that our nation is long-lived, and that our thought has an eternity in which to come to pass. We must speak up. We must strike early and strike hard. The time is short. It is right to wish to get something done in our own lifetime.—Harper's Weekly.
What sub-type of article is it?
Social Reform
What keywords are associated?
Leaders Of Action
Ideas Prevailing
Societal Progress
Historical Examples
Urgency Of Now
What entities or persons were involved?
Plato's Athens
Elizabeth's London
Cedar Rapids
Editorial Details
Primary Topic
Urgency Of Leaders Acting On Ideas For Progress
Stance / Tone
Exhortative And Motivational
Key Figures
Plato's Athens
Elizabeth's London
Cedar Rapids
Key Arguments
Nations Rise And Fall Quickly, Like Experiments.
Leaders Must Act Decisively To Impress Ideas On The World.
Avoid Complacency And Postponing Action.
Speak Up, Strike Early And Hard To Achieve In One's Lifetime.