We people out here don't want any trouble with otlier
countries.
We want to just mind our own business and get along
in our own humble way.
we're not afraid of Hitler invading this
country. And as for us invading Europe-how are we going to do
it? Hitler is the master of Europe and we have to wait until he cracks
UPt that's how I see it. Give a man enough rope and he'll hang himself,
that's wha.tr..I always say. There's only one way to stop war and
that's to do what Hitler's doing-gobble up all the small nations,
take their arms away from them, and police .the world. We could
do it! If we 'Yanted to be unselfish. But we'd have to give equality
to everybody first. We couldn't do it as conquerors, like Hitler
is trying to do. That won't work. We'd have to take the..,.whole
world into consideration and see that every man, woman and child
got a square deal. We'd have to have something positive to offer
the world-not just defending ourselves, like England, and pretending
that we were defending civilization. If we really set out to do
something for the world, unselfishly, I believe we could succeed.
But I don't think we'll do that. We haven't got the leaders capable
of inspiring the people to such an effort. We're out to save big
business, international trade, and that sort of thing. What we ought
to do is to kill off our own Hitlers and Mussolinis first. We ought
to clean our own house before we start in to save the world. Then
maybe the people of the world would believe in us."
He apologized for speaking at such length. Said he hadn't ever
had any education and so couldn't explain himself very well. Besides,
he had got out of the habit of speaking to people, living alone
so much. Didn't know why he had talked so much. Anyway, he
felt that he had a right to his ideas, whether they were right or
wrong, good or bad. Believed in saying what he thought.
"The brain is everything," he said. "If you keep your brain in
condition your body will take care of itself. Age is only what you
thifIk. I feel just as young now, maybe younger, than I did twenty
years ago. I don't worry about things. The people who live the longest
are the people who live the simplest. Money won't save you.
Money makes you worry and fret. It's good to be alone and be silent.
To do your own thinking. I believe in the stars, you know. I watch
them all the time. And I never think too long about anyone thing.
I try not to get into a rut
