a
Rn
EE ——
ti
(Editor’s, Note: This is the
ninth of {essays by leading
men in the world’s academic
community. The writer of this
essay is resident fellow at the
Center for Studies of the Per-
son, La Jolla, Calif. Herein he
discusses many issues concern-
ed with what we call “the good
life.”’)
by Carl R. Rogers
From my experience with
young people, with individuals
in encounter groups, and in psy-
chotherapy, I have become con-
vineed that we are working out
a new definition of the good life.
I want to give you my percep-
tion of this new goal as I see it
emerging in our country, and
perhaps in Western culture gen-
erally.
But first let me remind you
that this has always been a de-
batable issue for mankind. The
“good life’ has had very dif-
ferent meanings for different
groups and in different ages.
For some it has meant a life
given over to meditation—the
holy man on the mountaintop.
In sharp contrast, to others it
has meant a life of achieve-
ment—gaining wealth, status,
knowledge or power.
For many it has meant strict
adherence to a creed, a set of
rules or principles—whether
found in the Bible, the Koran or
emanating from a religious
leader. . still others it has
meant selfless dedication to a
cause outside of themselves—
Christian missionary work,
communism or Hitler's German
youth. For some it has been the
indulgence of every pleasurable
appetite, with the slogan “Eat,
drink, and be merry, for tomor-
row we die.”
These examples indicate that
the ‘‘good life’’ is not some
known, fixed, timeless goal, the
same for all, but is a matter of
choice.
I trust that this quick review
will cause you to be thoughtfully
critical as you read what fol-
lows, which is my perception of
the good life as I'see more and
more people defining it today.
What I say is not based on scho-
_ larly or philosophical abstract-
nersliferof others as they have
willingly exposed their inmost
desiresgs personal discussions,
in thef®lose relationship of
therapy and in the intimacy of
encounter groups.
"To an ever increasing number
of people the desire which is
strongest can be stated in this
way: “I want to be a process in
which I am becoming my deep-
est, truest self.”
Note that the desire is to be-
come a process.
It is not a desire to achieve a
fixed state—whether a state of
happiness; or wealth or even
oneness with the universe. Con-
tinual change is the essence of
the goal. This is certainly in line
with the trend of today’s cul-
ture, * is toward ever-ac-
celerd®®ig change; brought
about by the incredible (and of-
ten frightening) advances in our
technology. 7
But itis perhaps the first time
in history that personal goals
have embodied changingness as
a primary element. In indivi-
dual living, in man-woman rela-
tionships, even in our place of
living, we expect change and
process to be central. Let me
express it in personal terms: “I
do not expect to be the same
person a year from now that I
am today; nor do I expect my
marriage to be the same; and I
am not sure that I will be living
in the same home.”
Gone are the days when
people married ‘‘and lived hap-
pily ever after.”
_ Gone are the days when a
man worked at the same task in
the same place for all of his ac-
tive life. Gone are the days
when the rules of behavior and
the standards of morality re-
mained fixed and certain
throughout one’s life. All is in
flux, and we are accommodat-
ing to this by choosing to be—as
individuals—an adaptive, rela-
tivistic process, rather than an
unchanging self.
But clearly a process must
move in some direction. What
are the directions which help to
define, for many, the meaning
of the good life? Several direc-
tions seem to stand out.
In the first place I have found
to choose the kind of process
person he wants to be, he opts
for movement toward an open-
ness to all of his experience.
Let me explain. We are con-
tinually experiencing—the
changes in our bodily processes,
our feelings, our thoughts, all
the multitude of flow which goes
on within our skin. We are also
experiencing the continuously
altering stimuli from our outer
environment—not only the phy-
sical environment, but the ‘so-
cial as well—the slight snub
from this person, the envy of
that one, the love of another, the
frightening domination of
someone in authority. We are
becoming highly aware per-
sons, conscious of these multi-
ple pulls and prods, We are be-
coming aware of our feelings—
the resentment, the fear, the af-
fection, the anger, the jea-
uppermost in any given mo-
ment.
As. wé are more aware of
these changing: reactions, we
are also more willing to take the
risk of expressing them when
we feel it appropriate—and in-
creasingly we take the chance
that it is appropriate.
Hence, many people today
are choosing to be more open to
their experience, with all the
discomfort that that involves,
for it is not easy to recognize
that you are jealous of a collea-
gue when you ‘‘should’”’ be ap-
proving of him, or that you are
angry at your wife when you
“should” be feeling love.
This means that a growing
number are deeply opposed to
sham, hypocricy, to wearing
a facade. We feel contempt for
political leaders who say one
thing and act very differently;
we do not easily tolerate the
teacher who wears the mask of
an instructor all day, putting it
off only when leaving the class-
room; we are skeptical of mar-
riages that are always ‘‘peachy-
keen,” hiding the tensions un-
derneath.
This is truly ‘an enormous
change when we consider that
many people, and a number of
cultures, live entirely in terms
of ‘keeping face’’—presenting
a correct but false facade to the
world, no matter how much in-
ner turmoil is being concealed.
Instead we are choosing to
move—and it is a slow and life-
time task—toward: being more
aware of, and more openly ex-
pressive of, any persistent inner
reaction, whether the world re-
constructive or destructive. We
believe that even destructive
impulses if expressed when
they first occur, rather than
being compressed by repress-
ion, will be healthy in the long
run.
A second direction I perceive
is toward a greater trust in
one’s own self. In a sense this is
implied in what I have said.
The emerging modern indivi-
dual places his confidence not in
society’s norms, nor in reli-
gion’s rules, nor parent's dic-
tates, but in his own changing
experience as it occurs within
himself. He is, in a very deep
sense, his own highest author-
ity. He chooses his own way.
This does not mean that he is
sure he will make no mistakes.
Quite the contrary. But as he
finds that the consequences of
his choices are not rewarding,
he has within his own exper-
ience the data to reorder his
direction. He can modify his er-
rors more easily because he is
not acting in terms of some sup-
posedly infallible external
guide, but in terms of his own
inner reactions which he knows
to be fallible and only approxi-
mate in their accuracy. So it is
not so devastating to admit,
see now, with such openness as I
have been able to achieve, that
another course is preferable.”
Thus the guide of conduct is
the ever changing flow of inner
experience. The person grad-
ually developes an increasing
trust in his own capacity for
making choices. He is less and
less guided by ‘“You ought to—"’
and “You should—" as these
exhortations flood in from the
external world. He takes them
into account as data conveying
society’s wishes, but he is not
ruled by them.
What'IT am saying helps to ac-
count for another direction
which is evident. The good life is
no longer defined for us by insti-
tutions. There is in fact a grow-
ing distrust of institutions—of
government, law officials, the
church, our schools and college,
and even the institution of mar-
riage. The individual is more
and more standing up to enor-
mous institutional pressures,
saying, in effect, ‘‘I trust myself
and my experiencing of the total
inner reactions and my, exper-
ience of these outside forces—
more than I trust the institu-
tional conclusions.”
A final direction I would
stress in this emerging person is
a thrust toward community. In
the midst of a culture becoming
more dehumanized, more al-
ienated, this person is not con-
tent to be a stranger. He is fol-
lowing his own deep drive—a
tendency I believe inherent in
the human species—toward
community. He wants to be
known, accepted, close. So we
see a burgeoning development
of communes, of encounter
groups, of ‘“‘underground
churches’’—all of them at-
tempts to come into close, shar-
ing, interpersonal relationships,
where one is not anonymous but
unique and specific, yet related.
define one of the most profound
aspects of the good life—to be
fully known, and to be accepted
for the process that one is.
It is doubtless evident that
this new definition of the good
life is built upon a basic trust in
the constructive potential of the
human organism. It is only on
that basis that it makes sense to
cess of becoming; as a move-
ment toward greater openness
to what is, within and without;
as a greater trust on one’s own
self, one’s own experiencing,
even when that puts the indivi-
dual at odds with our institu-
tions; and as a thrust toward
deeper communication and inti-
macy with one’s fellows. Yet it
is that definition which is
emerging more and more fre-
quently.
Donald—IBOL).
a IE
Dallas Township
Two accidents were recorded
last week in Dallas Township.
The first happened Nov. 21 at
12:30 p.m. when Alfreda Malak.
RD 3, Lower Demunds Road,
Dallas was travelling south on
Lower Demunds Road and lost
control of her vehicle as she
rounded a curve in the road. She
went over a small embankment,
knocked down three fence posts
on the property of Chief of
Police Frank Lange, and finally
hit a tree.
Patrolman Elliott Ide investi-
gated and estimated damages
to the car at $1,000. There were
no injuries.
The second accident happen-
ed Nov. 25 on Route 309 when
Richard Derhammer struck the
rear end of a car driven by Tho-
mas Matisko, 112 Harding Ave.,
Endwell, N.Y.
Mr. Derhammer, RD 2, Har-
veys Lake, was travelling be-
hind the Matisko car when Mr.
a turn off the highway. Mr. Der-
hammer couldn’t stop and the
collision resulted.
Patrolman James Kelly in-
vestigated the accident and es-
timated damages at $200 to each
vehicle.
Kingston Township
Four accidents were reported
in Kingston Township last week.
The first happened Nov. 18 at
about 10:45 p.m. on Carverton
Road. Joseph Krupa, 176 Davis
St., Wilkes-Barre, was traveling
west, his car went off the road-
way onto a low shoulder and he
lost control of the vehicle. He hit
a car driven by Claudia War-
den, 193 Lawn St., Shavertown.
Each car had three passengers
and all those involved in the
accident were removed to the
Nesbitt Hospital in the Kingston
Township and Dallas ambu-
lances.
Patrolmen Luther Rozelle
and Hugh Gallagher investigat-
ed and estimated damages at
$1,000 to the Warden car and
$1,900 to the Krupa car. Both
cars were towed.
An accident was reported
Thanksgiving at 12:10 a.m. on
Route 309. Duane Long, 107 Par-
rish St., Dallas, traveling north,
attempted to make a left hand
turn onto Church Street, across
two southbound lanes; John
Sedeski, R. 757 Metcalf St.,
Wilkes-Barre, was traveling
south on Route 309 when Mr.
Long attempted to make the
turn, and passed into the two
southbound lanes.
A witness stated that he was
stopped for a red light when he
saw the Sedeski truck coming
and heard him blow his horn,
but it was too late to avoid a col-
lision.
Mr. Long maintained the
other car struck him, and Mr.
Sedeski agreed with the witness
that it was not his fault.
Patrolmen Joseph Berube
and Luther Rozelle investigated
and estimated damages at $400
to the car and $500 to the truck.
Another accident was report-
ed on Route 309, Nov. 23, at 6:55
p.m, when Charles Banks, 19
Wilkes Lane, Mountaintop, at-
tempted to make a left turn off
the highway onto Pioneer Ave-
nue. Wayne Burman, 125 Mur-
ray St., Binghamton, N.Y., was
traveling in the opposite direc-
tion, south, when the collision
occurred.
Patrolmen John Appel and
Russell Banta investigated and
reported no serious injuries.
The last accident happened
Nov. 24 at 5:15 p.m. when Slobo-
dan Trisic, 300 Indian Creek
Road, Wilkes-Barre, lost con-
trol of his car as he was travel-
ing over Church Road. He hit a
barn, ripped up 40 feet of fence
and ended up in a field.
Patrolman Rozelle estimated
damages to the car at $300 and
$600 to the Hillside Farms pro-
perty. Kris Skrinak, 103 Wyo-
ming Ave., Wyoming, was a
passenger in the car.
James Greeves, 138 Broad
St., Pittston, was charged by
Kingston Township Chief of
Police Paul Sabol with poss-
ession of marijuana and
arrested Nov. 22, on Carverton
milk.
wax beans, pudding, milk.
ple crisp, milk.
raspberry cake; milk.
milk.
with topping, milk.
pickles, orange juice, milk.
bread and butter, milk.
saltines, minced ham
sticks, fruit cocktail, milk.
Road, Trucksville.
He appeared before District 3-
9 Magistrate Earl Gregory for
arraignment and was set free
on $500 bail. His hearing will be
held Nov. 28 at 10 a.m. before
Magistrate Earl Gregory.
DALLAS BOROUGH
There were two other ac-
cidents in the borough during
the past week, in addition to one
that put the borough police
cruiser out of commission. (The
cruiser story is covered in a
separate article.)
Borough officer Timothy Car-
roll reports that at 8:10 Sunday
morning he discovered a badly
damaged auto parked in front of
the driveway at the borough
building. According to his re-
port, upon investigation of the
car, he found the driver, Jean-
ette Nothoff, 95 Lehigh St.,
Shavertown, lying across the
front seat..
- He said that he then received
a call from Richard Disque,
who described the vehicle in
question as one that was involv-
ed in an accident in front of the
Dallas American Legion Post.
Mr. Disque -did not see the
crash, but upon hearing it, got
up to see the Nothoff car pro-
ceeding south on Route 415. The
accident occurred on the high-
way, about 50 feet south of
Center Hill Road.
The Nothoff woman, who was
slightly injured, did not require
an ambulance, but was assisted
from the scene by a friend.
There were no passengers in the
car.
The patrolman estimated that
her car, a 1974 Chevrolet, had
received $2500 in damages.
Property damage included a
Commonwealth telephone pole,
which was broken half way up,
by the impact; seven downed,
state Highway Department
guard rail posts; and two pieces
of American Legion shrubbery.
The officer estimated that
damage at $500.
The road was wet and the
weather, rainy.
Patrolman Edward Montross
was at the scene of a 4:15 p.m.
accident Saturday in the Acme
Shopping Center parking lot.
It was also ‘rainy and wet’
Saturday, when the cars of Ruth
C. Thomas, 70 Lehigh St.,
Shavertown, and Jack D. Davis,
RD 1, Harveys Lake, collided in
the lot. The Davis car was
damaged an estimated $125; the
Thomas auto was unscratched.
The two principals in the ac-
cident, neither of whom was in-
jured, had slightly different
reports about the accident.
Mr. Davis filed a report which
said that as he entered the lot,
heading toward the back, he
saw the Thomas car approach-:
ing, ‘“tooted’’ his horn, ‘‘then
bang.’’ She had hit his fender on
her way out, he related.
The Thomas woman said that
as she was preparing to pull out
of the parking lot she checked
had plenty of time to cross, she
proceeded. Her report ends with
the information that a car then
appeared, obviously pulling out
of the same lot, ‘‘from a differ-
School Board
To Reorganize
The Dallas School District
board of directors will hold a
reorganization meeting Dec. 3
at 8 p.m. in the library of the
senior high school.
x a :
3
CD.
IN
I
4
Forty Years ago
1933
A bomber, forced down on
North Mountain in a blinding
snow storm, was able to take off
again the following day for its
stone plane landed near Lopex,
and was immediately mired in
soggy ground.
Dallas Township school direc-
tors voted to pay off a long term
obligation of $6,500.
Dallas Borough named Jack
Roberts as basketball manager,
assuring the admission to the
Rural League. Prospects for the
team included Red Carey, Ted
Woolbert, Bob Marshall, Dick
Templin, Dick Johnson, Ad
Woolbert, J. Perrego, J. Price,
Scott Van Horn, Irwin Cool-
baugh, Kenneth Disque and J.
Rusilkoski.
A lake cottage was pinpointed
by detectives as the meeting
place for a gang of check-for-
gers.
Willard = Shortz, repre-
sentative from the Fifth District
of which Dallas was a part, ap-
proved Gov. Pinchot’s plan to
regulate the liquor traffic upon
repeal of prohibition.
. Taxpayers in Pennsylvania
cities were protesting Pinchot’s
proposal to add 53,000 miles of
secondary roads to the state
highway system. Fine for the
farmers, but tough on the urban
population, they claimed, which
has to foot the bill without get-
ting great benefit from it.
Angelo Hewitt, 75, died at his
home in Trucksville.
Thirty Years Age
1943
A Back Mountain boy who
was 10th to land on the beaches
in Sicily, was wounded in ac-
tion. Elmer Lamoreaux, was
one of those who captured 400
Germans, minus their pants.
History, as given in his V-mail
letter, does not state whether
replacements were provided.
Draft boards were calling up
many young fathers. One man
in every 10 in Noxen was in ser-
vice, one of the highest percent-
ages in the country.
Grover Anderson Jr. and
Jack Nothoff got a 150 pound
ported that a crippled man,
trudging along the road with a
cane and a gun, encountered a
400 pound bear and killed it,
enough meat for winter.
A mammouth scrap drive was
set for Pearl Harbor Day, with
all the schools and communities
planning to participate.
The railroads were doing a
magnificent job of moving traf-
fic and material.
Heard from the Outpost:
Bernard Jones, APO; Don
Roberts, Tinker Field; Ben-
jamin Jones, over there; Ho-
ward Dieter, Illinois; Earl
Fogle, Naval Hospital, Oak-
land; Mrs. Edison L. Henish,
Jacksonville; Bill Carroll, Chi-
cago; Donald Yeust, Camp
Hood; Bill Price, South Pacific;
Sterling Achuff, Fort Eustis;
Thomas Beline, Norfolk; Flor-
ence Rusiloski, Arkansas; Wil-
liam Rhodes, South Carolina;
Bob Roberts, Blandings, Field.
Twenty Years Ago
1953
It was the famous Brown Is-
sue, 68 pages of local history
collected over a six-months
period. The issue had been pos-
tponed again and again because
the understanding was such a
colossal job took so much time.
It was a beautiful issue, with
loads of pictures and much fea-
ture story material.
The new Ross Township
School was preparing to open.
Six one-room schools were to
close forever.
It was the Thanksgiving is-
sue, short on news, long on
atmosphere.
Mr. and Mrs. Arch Woolbert
celebrated their golden wedding
anniversary.
Twenty Years Ago
1963
The Kennedy assassination
benumbed the area with busi-
ness slackening, dances called
Proposed redistricting of area
by State brought many object-
ions.
Dave Ryan, son of Mr. and
Mrs. John Ryan, Shavertown,
won National Weightlifting
Award.
A Post insert included a land
use map of the area prepared by
the Luzerne County Planning
Commission.
The Post Office warned
people to mail cards and
packages early.
After three generations in the
family Kuehn’s Drug Store,
Main Street, Dallas, was sold to
Robert Fino.
" Clark Mosier, Kunkle, star of
the Westmoreland High School
basketball team, was signed by
the Wilkes-Barre Barons team.
Lt. David Esler was named,
“Civil Air Patrol Cadet of the
Year in Pennsylvania Wing.”
Harry ‘Bucky’ Edwards was
named to the Lehman Township
Authority and John Vivian was
elected president.
The Dallas Post asked re-
sidents to contribute to the
“memorial fund for J.D. Tippett.
the policeman who was killed as
he sought the Kennedy assassin.
Dead: Ann Hoover, Moore-
town; Harry Ostrum, Chase;
Florence Ruff, Noxen; Ralph
Burkert, Shavertown; Ed Line,
Dallas, and Elizabeth Owens,
75, Trucksville.
Born: Judith, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Michael Loke,
Trucksville; Valerie Ann,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Luther Kocher, Noxen; John
William, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Frank Saba, Dallas; James
Richard, son of Mr. and Mrs.
William Cook, Shavertown.
Supermarkets were featuring
turkeys at 33 cents a pound;
celery, two bunches for 29
cents; pork sausage, two one-
pound rolls for 59 cents; and
five pounds of jumbo shrimp
could be purchased for $4.19.
Nov.
Beisel and Tom Dorosky.
mond and Tom Dorosky.
Nov.
Dorosky.
and B. Rosengrant.
sel.
Trucksville to Nesbitt Hospital.
Howard Keller and Dale Clark.
Robert Crispell,
and Country Rest Home. Crew:
Roger Boston and Dale Clark.
Joyce Decker, Earl Crispell,
$i