*continued from above*

Thus, historically, when men like Shakespeare have partaken of na­tional p***e, they have also be­lieved in their own worth as human beings and have been able to put that belief to good use artistically, intellectually, and sci­entifically.

Ultimately, it must be concluded that only those who do not wish a nation to prosper culturally, or to defend its integrity against an enemy, will not wish the people of that nation to be patriotic. Love of country and love of liberty are inseparable aspects of the same basic human approach to civilized life. Mature love is an extension of self that must be freely given, and cannot be adequately devel­oped in an atmosphere of repres­sion. Those who would take away a man’s freedom are well aware that they must first take away that man’s belief in the integrity and worth of those in his cultural and social complex who protect him from oppression.

We would hope that our public educators will not continue to ad­vocate o*******w of American lib­erty by suppressing patriotic and moral attitudes in the schools. The study of Shakespearean literature would more surely benefit students than the consideration of the doc­trine of universal love. Shake­speare pondered the "to be or not to be" question, and decided that the struggle to save his country from ruin was more desirable than a quiet death. If educators were to approach patriotism as Shake­speare did, they would know that "to be," or, to live, means to be free, and to learn to love one’s country freely.

By: Judy Anne Headlee

Mrs. Headlee of Mission Viejo, California, is Instructor of Secondary English.

—FOOTNOTES—

1 Urban Whitaker, "War/Peace: The Magic Formula," California Elementary Administrator, 31, May-June, 1968, p. 21.

2 From the Antigone by Sophocles, t***slated by Charles Robinson, Jr., An Anthology of Greek Drama, 1962, p. 112.

3 William Shakespeare, Richard the Second, II, i, 40-59.