Peace on Earth Good Will Toward Men

Going through a pile of old magazines that my grandparents published in the 1950’s and 1960’s I came across an article in December of 1954, written by my grandpa.  I am going to share it with you.  Hopefully it will resonate with you the same way it did with me because the message is very much in tune with our contemporary times, so much so that it begs the question…what have we learned and are we ever going to learn?  Forgive me, but I have to retype it to share it.

                                                            
                                           Chiropractic Home

                            “A Holiday Message from the Publisher”

                                              December 1954

                              Peace on Earth, Good Will toward Men

“It has always seemed to me that this phrase has been in reverse.  As I see it, there can be no peace on earth until there is good will to men.  If we have nothing but good will toward our fellow man, we cannot war. 

 Unfortunately, I think many of us are waiting for our national leaders to promote this good will when actually our leaders are nothing but a reflection of the mass population of our country.  Peace on earth must begin at home and from there it will spread to the neighbor relationship between families and to the community until it has enveloped the entire Nation. 

 When we have, through good will, produced peace in our own families and communities, we will then be better united to choose our politicians wisely. We will not be content to sit back and see the wrong type of politicians put into office just because we are not interested.  We will not be willing to see laws passed that force our neighbor’s children to be vaccinated just because we have no children of our own. Or even if you want your child vaccinated, you will want your neighbor to have the right to decide for himself what type of disease prevention he wants for his child. 

 Those of you who have sons who came home from the war sound in mind and body or who had some type of injury that was completely relieved by medicine or surgery will not sit idly by and allow your neighbors son to lie in a hospital for months on end, sick in mind and body.  If he wants a Chiropractor, it is your DUTY, as a citizen, to see that he gets Chiropractic care, regardless of what your sentiments may be. 

 We speak of the greatest enemy of our country. Can there be any greater enemy than that of listlessness on the part of a country’s citizens while he lets his freedom of choice slip away just because these freedoms do not happen to be of service to him at that moment?

 Let’s Wake up America! Promote good will toward men by seeing that none of his liberties are infringed upon and you will be taking the first step toward “peace on earth”.

Samual Chandler Bend D.C.

  Chiropractor/Publisher

When I read this article it dawned on me that today’s struggle to maintain our individual freedoms are very much the same as they were in 1954.  One would not have thought that given the historical ‘memory’ of the time.  Many envision 1954 in the form of Ozzy and Harriet reruns and Leave it to Beaver.  It might be wise to remember that 1954 may have been a different time but social challenges then and now…remain very much the same.  Peace on Earth had a very different meaning to those living in 1954.  WWII had been over for 9 years and the Korean War had been over for less than a year when this article was written.  Many of the people living at the time had the same doubts and fears as we do now…only the media of the time kept it from seeming so immediately threatening.  

The message is the same, if we want Peace on Earth we must each show good will toward our fellow man…first. 

Dr. Richard Bend D.C.

   Chiropractor