Page 32 - 1964

David Brown, XIIA
It was the fifth of June, 1940. Thick masses of rolling fog tumbled over the London streets and enveloped the spot where he stood. He could scarcely see his heavy, black army boots. He felt trapped, hemmed in an ines- capable prison. He was conscious of nothing. His face was taut with strain and exhaustion, his mouth open, his teeth clenched. His arms hung loosely at his sides, his right hand clutching his ;38 officer's pistol. His grip relaxed, and the pistol fell to the pavement with a dull metallic echo. He could think of nothing.
Slowly, painfully, memories of the days before came flooding back. He recalled con- tinuous bursts of machine-gun fire. He saw a beach and thousands of men, men sitting, men lying in shallow depressions scooped
out of the sand, men crawling, men dying, men very still who would not move again..
He saw himself, quite motionless, paralysed
by the helplessness of his men. He heard the drone of planes and saw the blossoms of bla~ck
smoke as the Ack-Ack hurled defiance at the Stukas. He heard the whine and crump of the bombs and the rattle of small-arms fire.
He turned away towards the Channel. First one, then another, then a dozen; then, it seemed, thousands of small craft began to dot the surface of the sea. They had come for him, for his men, for all the men. A small launch stood in towards the shore; someone shouted: He began to run, splashing through the water like a dog. He reached for the gunwale and collapsed over the side. The darkness roared down upon him.
And now he was in London. He could not think; he could not reason. He felt, somehow, very close to God - there had been a miracle. For that reason, he did not wish to try to under·stand. He turned and walked slowly away through the fog. Only the pistol, unheeded and forgotten, remained, mute testimony of his experience and a tribute to comrades who would not again walk the streets of London.
David Brown 12 A
Within recent years, man has made remarkable progress towards an automated society and push-buttom civilization. Con- quering space is no longer a dream, and man no longer eyes the universe with superstitious awe or sees it as the home of supernatural beings. Science is turning man's ancient dreams into realities, and breakthroughs in scientific problems are almost everyday occurrences. Diseases are being conquered, the secrets of the earth are beip.g unlocked, and now man is looking for new worlds to conquer.
But is man as civilized as he would like to believe? Has his social and his political progress kept pace with his scientific a- chievement?
We ourselves live in a democracy and cherish, sometimes very glibly, ideas about freedom and equality of opportunity. We cannot understand why many peoples and countries seem to prefer dictarorships and communism to our way of life, our concepts of freedom, and our ideals of democracy. Could it be that we are not quite as civilized as we would like to believe? Could it be that our way of thinking is not as wonderful as our marvellous machines?
The answer would seem to be in the negative. So long as force is the order of
the day and so long as men hold to their selfish lusts for power and wealth, we cannot say that we are truly civilized. It is evident hat prominent political leaders cannot walk the streets without fearing the bullet of an assassin. President Kennedy is struck down· the Queen is warned to stay out of French Canada. Hate is a very terrible thing, and nowhere are the ha temongers more active than in the northern half of this hemisphere.
What, then, is the answer? Surely it is that man must learn to put aside his jeal- ousies, his suspicions, and his hates, and pool his resources and energies for the betterment of all. Then, and then only, can he boast of and be proud of the society in which he lives and the world he has fashioned. If he fails to do this, he will only carry his grievances and his hates to the conquered worlds of outer space. He will only provide himself with new battlegrounds for his unre- solved conflicts on this planet.
Man has unlocked'many secrets, and will no doubt continue to do so, but the greatest of all secrets remains yet to be solved. When man can find a way to set aside his differences and work in harmony with himself, he will have made his greatest advance towards a civilized society.
Donald French 12 D
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