University of Virginia Library

The Civic Sense

3. The civic life of the Negro race does not give sufficient evidence of the widespread presence of a keen sense of personal responsibility for the general welfare.

Whether one approves or disapproves of the principles of the N.A.A.C.P., it must be conceded that it has been very vigorous in pushing the claims of the Negro race. After twenty years of such service contributions from Negroes for its maintenance do not average one cent per capita according to the following statement by Mr. Eust Gay: And for the year ended 1929, December 3l, the Association got from membership barely $40,000, ten times the minimum it should have received. Just one cent per capita. Evidently we cannot value the Association's program very much. Evidently we hold our liberty and the securing of justice in this country very cheaply. Now here is an angle of this situation which should cause colored people to hang their heads in shame."

There is nothing more fatal to a democracy than an attitude of apathy. It is the mother of corruption and machine politics. Autocracies and oligarchies thrive where the masses of the people are apathetic. The seriousness of this matter may be seen from the following statement by Dr. Alfred Adler in the book Understanding Human Nature: "When the social feeling has been insufficiently developed, one acquires sufficient interest for his fellows only with great difficulty, even under threat of punishment; whereas in the presence of a well-developed community consciousness, this interest is self-evident. * * *

"It really does not matter what you think of yourself, or what other people think of you. The important thing is the general attitude towards human society, since this determines every wish and every interest, and every activity of each individual."