The Good Egg-heads.4.4.
"INTELLECTUAL" has come in some circles, including some Catholic ones, to be seen almost as a term of abuse, mainly, I suppose, because it is so often associated in people's minds with secularisthumanist, and Left Wing attitudes.
Indeed. in America, "egg-heads. pinkoes and commies" are often lumped together as a sort of triple evil—just like that. For those who do not understand the language, egg-heads are intellectuals, pinkoes are "progressives" of one sort or another, and commies are of course Communists.
Yet on the Continent one does not usually find the same stigma attached to the term. Nor should there be. The intellectual is in the forefront ol those in the modern world who make and mould opinions. His influence may be sinister or it may be just the opposite.
Any society to-day which thinks its intellectuals are expendable or can just be abandoned light heartedly to the other side is heading for disaster.
"Intellectual" should be made an honoured term And it will not be the fault of the Newman Association, the organisation of Catholic graduates. if it does not become so.
In the first isue of the association's new printed news sheet (to which fraternal greetings and a long 'Pe) is published as an :allele extracts from a lecture entitled "Our Intellectual Activityby Prof. A. A. Putter. of London University.
It should be read by all Catholic intellectuals, artists. novelises and writers --and also all those who regard intellectuals. even the Catholic ones as being by definition slightly suspect.
Technique STRESSING that we cannot ignore or despise the activities and works of the intelligence Prof. Parker writes: "Our Lord did not come to save men through philosophy, science and art: He came to save all men, including philosophers, scientists and artists. It is true that these activities are not necessary to salvation, but it is also true that they themselves need to be saved, that they need grace as does the whole
oflotinwnatural order to which they be g.
"Piety can never compensate, in the ordet of nature, for intellectual shortcomings or lack of preparation and skill.
"Nothing compels a Christian to choose an intellectual activity as his vocation. for there are other ways of serving God; but if this is what he has chosen then he is obliged to aim at excellence: he is obliged to become a good scientist. a good philosopher. a good economist, or whatever else it may be."
There is a lesson in the second half of that last sentence for every Catholic who is in the world, whatever his job may be.
The other side Y ou know already about the high standard of life enjoyed by Americans. But how much do you pkincti
know aboutthe other side of the
From the current issue of the Catholic Interracialist, published .in Chicago. I cull the following information: "One in every 12 American workers is to-day out of a job or working short time. And, one out of every six Negro workers is looking for a jeb that isn't there. . . . According to the Department of Labour. Negro unemployment is more than 50 per cent. above that of whites. With Negro wages, on the average, 52 per cent. below those paid to white workers, the jobless Negro finds life hard.
What does this mean in practice ? Following my last visit to the U.S. I wrote of the work done among Negroes by the Friendship Houses, which are run by selfless Catholics in Chicago. Harlem, Washington and vlcehcie.
I paid visits to those in Washington and Harlem and was deeply impressed by what they were doing, especially for the flotsam and jetsam of the teeming Negro areas in which the Friendship Houses are situated.
But now a different type is coming to them for aid.
Says the Catholic Interracialistt "We have noticed a great. change at Friendship House in the type and amount of aid we have been giving in the last few months. In the past most of our energies and funds were spent towards helping persons who were unable to work to support themselves—mothers of families. alcoholics. those who needed emergency financial help.
"Now the men who come in for carfare, loans, food and clothing are family men, men who can and want to work. but who arc haying difficulty finding jobs. . ."
Krushcher line THE B.B.C. reports that ii received
1,500 letters from listeners on the subject of the talks on "Morals without Religion." Of these 600 came from people who approved of the talks, or of the B.B.C.'s action in putting them on the ether.
But that latter figure was undoubtedly mech larger than it would otherwise nave been because the Communist Party called upon its members to write letters supporting Mrs. Knight. That was the "Krushchey line" in action.
In the present situation the "scientific humanist' must expect always to have the Communist at his (or her) side. looking for the chance of an alliance.
They may be unwelcome allies, hut they are natural ones.