March 8

Hippies​—Who Are They?

YOU have seen them​—if not in person, then in the news media. They are usually young men and women. They wear their hair long, and the men frequently have beards. Their clothing often includes beads, bell-bottom trousers, unusual jackets and headgear. They may wear sandals or go barefoot.

These are the “hippies.” Most people shrug their shoulders and shake their heads when encountering them. Some dismiss their behavior as just the antics of headstrong youth. Others view their behavior as sheer nonsense and would deal with them very harshly.

Who are these hippies? What do they hope to gain by their unusual behavior? Why have they chosen this way of life? Does the movement have any real meaning for our time?

In order to answer such questions, it would be well to understand that hippies cannot all be lumped together into one category. For example, when you hear of violence triggered by young persons dressed like hippies, do these represent the majority? No, they are the minority​—political activists who feel that violence is justified as a means to an end.

However, most hippies do not believe in violence or killing as a means to an end; they are peaceful. Others are “drug” hippies. These may start by smoking marijuana (“pot”), but often move on to stronger drugs such as the stimulant methedrine (“speed”), peyote, LSD or heroin. Then there are “spiritual” hippies. They seek guidance through various forms of religion, particularly through Eastern religions such as Zen Buddhism, the gurus (Hindu “holy men”) and astrology.

Also, there are the “plastic” or weekend hippies. These dress, act and talk like hippies but are not wholly dedicated to the movement. They still rely on society (the “Establishment”) for employment and conform to it in varying degrees.

Of course, any hippie may be a combination of these types. For instance, he may be for peace, practice astrology, and also be a drug addict. Indeed, a large proportion of hippies do use drugs.

Is there a ‘common denominator’ among hippies? Yes. It is their rejection of the standards and authority of the older generation. In small or large measure they reject the guidance of governments, parents and orthodox religions. Also, they have contempt for the economic systems.

Where do hippies come from? It would be easy to dismiss them all by assuming they are simply foolish or ignorant young people intent on mischief. And no doubt there are plenty of that kind among the hippies, just as there are among other social groups.

However, most of the earlier hippies came from “good” middle-class homes. Some came from wealthy families. Many were well-educated and informed; indeed, often more than those who were their critics. One study revealed that 68 percent had a college education, 44 percent had a college father and 46 percent a college mother.

True, some hippies are emotionally disturbed youths. As one investigator said: “Some of those vacant stares you see on youthful faces belong not to the drug-crazed but to the psychotic.” However, these do not make up the majority​—no more than mentally unbalanced persons make up the majority of any social group.

Most hippies, then, are as Life magazine of November 7, 1969, noted, a “counter culture” from “middle-class white youth.” But why have families who have more money, better homes and educations produced a crop of young people who completely reject the values of the older generation?

What Are the Hippies Saying?

WHAT has caused many of these young people to embark on the strange and difficult life of a hippie?

When we listen to what hippies themselves are saying, a definite pattern emerges. What is that pattern? When asked why they have chosen this course of life, many hippies give the same simple answer: “WORLD CONDITIONS.”

World Conditions

Today, young persons are better informed than ever. They are very much aware of what is going on in the world. They see among the nations great anguish, injustice, poverty, hatred and hypocrisy. They see that world leaders often do not solve man’s problems peacefully, but drench the earth with blood. And whose blood particularly? You know the answer: it is the blood of younger persons. They are asked to pay the supreme price for the mistakes of others.

That is why John W. Gardner, a former presidential cabinet member in the United States, said: “This generation will not accept solutions that are precooked in the back room of the Establishment.” No, many young persons today simply do not accept the standard explanations for the horrible things that have happened in our time.

Typically, a young woman acknowledged that world conditions led her, and others, to become hippies by saying:

“I was from a well-to-do ‘nice’ home. But I moved out. Why? Mostly because it was so apparent that not only was hypocrisy and prejudice prevalent in the nice quiet suburbs, but I was more aware now of the completely apathetic, lethargic state that most people seemed to be in about world conditions.

“Couldn’t they see what was going on? Didn’t they know what was so wrong in the world? How could they just do nothing, not even think? I had to be where people were at least trying to find answers, even if their way seemed strange to outsiders.

“I can authoritatively say that this is what causes most of these young people to embark on this course, because I was a hippie. Greenwich Village, Haight-Ashbury, and a Hopi Indian reservation were among my homes.

“My involvement with drugs and the so-called ‘hippie life’ was not a ‘phase’ as my parents wanted to believe. Nor was it a weekend trip. I was totally immersed in the philosophy and habits of the hippie generation.

“Although my smoking marijuana started when I was 16, the disenchantment with authorities, parents, religion or anything ‘Establishment’ had already taken place. I had been active in our church and met with the assistant minister about my questions and doubts. I did not get any reasonable answers.

“So I turned my back on all religion and decided to ‘get the most out of life.’ Nothing meant anything anymore, and experience was the thing​—the ‘god.’ I was searching, but I didn’t know what for.”

Her explanation is not at all unusual. You will find that it is common to many who become hippies.

However, some claim that world conditions have always been this way, so why should there be any more reason for people to become hippies than in the past? But world conditions have NOT always been this way. Never in the history of man has there been a century so filled with trouble as the one you are living in. As Mr. Justice Jackson said at the Nuremberg trial of Nazi war criminals:

“Two World Wars have left a legacy of dead which number more than all the armies engaged in any war that made ancient or medieval history. No half-century ever witnessed slaughter on such a scale, such cruelties and inhumanities, such wholesale deportations of peoples into slavery, such annihilations of minorities.”

Mankind’s problems have increased since Mr. Jackson said those words. As you know, it is now within the capacity of man to annihilate human life. And poverty, hunger, social unrest, racial and national hatreds, pollution, overpopulation and other problems are not diminishing at all. They are growing.

Worldwide Movement

It is not just a few people who are distressed by world conditions and who reject today’s society. They are to be found throughout the entire world, and in significant numbers. A writer in the Detroit News noted that there was never another time in history “in which the brightest kids in every nation on earth looked around them at the same time and said the hell with all of it.”

Mankind has never seen such an agony-filled century. Only those asleep to the facts deny it. But many are not asleep. This is why it can be said that not in the memory of living man has there been such a worldwide revulsion against the established way of life. A writer for the German magazine Der Spiegel said: “This applies to Capitalist countries as well as those professing state socialism.” He also noted: “Perhaps it derives its motivation from a deep-rooted weakness in the fabric of our civilization.”

Thus, increasing numbers of people everywhere, especially the young, are showing their disgust with this present system of things. Therefore, it is not strange that one form of this disillusionment should be the hippie movement.

But have not parents in our time given their children more of the better things of life than they had when they were young? True, in many lands the young today have better food, finer homes and more education than their parents had. Yet, the hippie movement is strongest where the living standard has improved!

Materialism

Since “middle-class” children are usually better educated, they are often more aware of world conditions. Their youthful idealism enables them to focus on the vital questions of the day. Also, they have not been so concerned with food, shelter and clothing as children from poor families; so they are more able to think of other problems.

However, the very improvement in a family’s living standard is part of the “deep-rooted weakness in the fabric of our civilization,” as Der Spiegel put it. What does material well-being have to do with many young people becoming hippies? One hippie from California well expressed their attitude. She had come from a family that lived in a $50,000 house, and she had her own inheritance. Of her parents she remarked:

“They gave me everything I wanted. I had my own car. But it was all so phony. Everything revolved around money. . . . So I just flipped out.”

Thus, to the dismay of their parents, many youths refuse to accept cold material riches as a substitute for the warmth of parental love, attention and leadership.

Hippies often are the products of parents who went without material things during the struggles of the Depression years after the economic “crash” of 1929. These parents were determined that their children would have ‘all the things we were denied when we were growing up.’ This was very noble, but often their quest for money was at the expense of time that should have been spent with children in their formative years.

Thus, hippies grew up in an acquisitive society. Money was made the god. In the rush, too many children got too much materially. To complicate the situation, permissiveness was the rule. Discipline became old-fashioned, or there just was no time for it. The main emphasis was on bettering one’s position in life.

Commenting on the hippie problem in Toronto, a Toronto Daily Star reporter said:

“The hippie movement is a forcible reminder of what we sometimes forget: Better housing, more jobs, higher education, cannot in themselves bring healing to people who have found life in the 60’s empty and inhumane. Only a reversal of values, in which men are accepted​—in fact loved—​unconditionally, will make life worth living.”

A New Society Wanted

So, to most hippies a new society is needed. They reject a money- and position-oriented society that tramples its fellowman instead of loving him. They reject a world in which there is so much hypocrisy, dishonesty, phoniness and inequality. As one writer put it: “The hippies hope to generate an entirely new society, one rich in spiritual grace that will revive the old virtues of agape [principled love] and reverence.”

Hippies do not see that any reform of the present order will accomplish this. So they feel that the way to individual freedom from society is to reject it and break its rules. They feel that there must be a liberation from the enslavement to materialism so that they can enjoy the simpler things of life, its beauty and pleasantness.

Therefore, money and work, associated in the minds of hippies with a corrupt commercial system, have been challenged as false gods. As one Canadian hippie leader stated: “Work isn’t everything, work isn’t holy.” They feel that work should be done when and if one wishes, at his own pace.

In the hippie world there would be little private ownership. All that is held would be for the benefit of the group. Even children “would be the responsibility of everyone, not only of the blood mother and father.”

In the hippie society marriage contracts could exist, but if one decided he wanted another partner he could “marry” that one too. Freedom to have sex relations with anyone is really their accepted standard.

Are many of these ideas shocking to you? Does the hippie rejection of all authority disturb you? Are you dismayed by their belief in having sexual relations with anyone they choose? Does their marijuana smoking and drug-taking seem too much?

To most persons, particularly the older generation, the hippie philosophy is extremely radical, unacceptable. Can you not hear some older persons saying: ‘Why, where did they get those foolish ideas?’

Well, just where do you think they got their ideas? Who is greatly responsible for their beliefs and behavior?

You Reap What You Sow

MANY persons disapprove of the hippies’ drug-taking, their loose sexual conduct and their rejection of authority. They feel that this is going too far.

But where did the young get these ideas? Well, what example have they had? Remember, a Bible principle says: “Whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap.”​—Gal. 6:7.

Now, then, who first sowed disrespect for authority? What kind of respect for authority was built when nations scrapped peace treaties and took to slaughtering one another, including innocent women and children? What kind of example was it for the young to have their elders begin wars that in just this century killed and injured 100 million persons?

Does it build respect for authority when young people see those in high places lie, cheat and steal? Will the concerned, intelligent young respect the authority that often allows millionaires to go tax-free, but people living in what is considered poverty having to pay tax?

What of respect for the highest authority​—God? Who has taken the lead in belittling his supremacy and authority, his right laws and principles? Who in recent decades has robbed youth of solid belief in this Supreme Authority? Who has promoted the evolution theory that makes God “unnecessary”?

The Example

You know that it is not the young who set the example. It is the older generation that does so. Sadly, they have set a pitiful example. They have disrespected all kinds of authority themselves. World leaders have often trampled on international law and disrespected the rights of others.

Educators and even clergymen have promoted the evolution theory, as, of course, have scientists. This theory makes God “unnecessary.” Hence, it undermines his authority. Too, many clergymen have destroyed the Bible in the eyes of the young. They have belittled it and called parts of it myth and legend. If parts of it are not to be believed, then the young wonder why they should believe any of it. And why, they reason, should they then adhere to the Bible’s counsel to respect law and authority, both man’s and God’s?

Once the older generation embarked upon the road of rejection of law and authority, particularly God’s, it was a simple matter for youth to imitate their example. After all, if God, His Word the Bible, and international law can be rejected by older persons, then the young have little incentive to respect lesser authorities such as parents and local officials.

Yes, the older generation has sowed disrespect for authority. They are now reaping​—with interest, for their own authority is being rejected by their young.

Moral Values

The hippies advocate “free sex.” But is this a new idea? Who first cast aside the moral standards of the Bible? Typical of the attitude of many adults was that of a highly regarded “intellectual” who declared: “We objected to the Bible’s morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom.”

Many investigations have revealed that a high percentage of adults, including fathers and mothers, engage in fornication and adultery. Residents of suburbia have indulged in various forms of “wife swapping.”

Are not hippies reflecting in an open manner what many adults thus do, or advocate, in a more “sophisticated” way? The loose sex lives of adults who put on a veneer of propriety is surely not missed by today’s alert youth. Often the hippies’ utter frankness in speech and conduct is an expression of their contempt for the hypocrisy of adults.

Too, the adult world promotes movies, television shows and stage plays that make heroes out of actors and actresses who lead immoral lives. Is this calculated to improve youthful respect for morality? And the contents of many of these shows​—do they not tend to demoralize their youthful viewers?

What of smoking marijuana? Well, who has promoted the smoking of cigarettes? This has been pushed into the minds of young people all their lives by adults, through films, advertisements and by adult example. And since harmful cigarettes continue to be smoked by adults, the young feel that there is not that much difference in smoking marijuana.

They also reason that their use of drugs is not that much different from the use by adults of all sorts of pills to have their tensions and troubles eased. Consider, too, the adult overindulgence in alcoholic beverages. Too much alcohol produces effects not unlike that produced by some drugs. So if adults can get “high,” the young say, why not their offspring?

Example of Clergy

The efforts of many clergymen to become more acceptable by becoming “modern,” excusing or even recommending fornication, adultery, homosexuality and drug-taking, backfire. Recently when some young people were asked why they no longer go to church, one replied:

“I was in one group where the minister kept telling us about all the people he knew who smoked ‘pot.’ The kids laughed at him behind his back. They thought he was a phony. A minister should be a person who feels strongly about the existence of God and the moral laws we should follow.”​—Toronto Daily Star, March 8, 1969.

Hence, many young people today simply do not respect the orthodox religions as earlier generations did. Hippies feel that the “golden rule,” doing to others as you would have them do to you, is not practiced by pharisaical clergymen who “say but do not perform.” (Matt. 23:3) As one hippie told an interviewer: “A bishop is about the furthest from God that I can imagine one being. You didn’t see Jesus walking around in velvet robes while the people starved.”

Yet, with all of this professed idealism, are hippies building a better society for themselves? Do they have the answers to the problems plaguing mankind? Do they improve their happiness?

Hippies ‘Tell It like It Is’

HAVE the hippies found the answers? Has their way of life proved to be the way to happiness? Are their dealings with one another genuinely loving and upbuilding? What are they reaping from the life they have sown?

You will find it of interest to hear what persons who have been hippies say. They can ‘tell it like it is.’ Of course, not all have had the same experiences. However, the following are quite representative of what many have said.

Finding the Answers?

One young woman in the United States entered the hippie movement with the same idealism as others. She wanted answers. Listen to her experience as told to Awake! magazine:

“What we were all really doing at first was trying to find the answers to the staggering problems of life. In this quest I became involved in drugs and sex worship. Later on I became even more involved with the occult, with mysticism and demonism.

“Yet, with all of this, nothing made any sense. Through my so-called ‘guru’ I got more involved in the mystic and occult and drug-taking. I found, however, that it was all getting harder to take. I began to feel such deep depression that I had to control the urge to jump off a bridge more than once.

“Many of my friends were now heroin addicts and alcoholics. One used a dirty needle when taking dope and gangrene set in, with blood poisoning. He almost died. Another finally got a gun and shot himself. He just couldn’t cope with it all, particularly the spiritistic forces working on us.

“This really shook me up. I felt that I couldn’t take this life anymore, as it was definitely not providing the answers I was searching for. I had ‘had it’ with these so-called ‘holy men.’”

No, she did not find the answers for which she was searching. Nor did the hippie way lead to a better life for her. It brought neither happiness nor hope for the future.

Materialism, Hypocrisy

A young man from California who was a hippie for years also was looking for the answers and a better way of life. He was ‘fed up’ with the materialism and hypocrisy of society. He says:

“Sure I tried drugs​—every one on the market. I let my hair grow down to the middle of my back. I wore gold earrings, a beard​—the whole bit.

“There was so much lack of concern by others for young people. Kids today are fed up with the system. That’s why they take drugs​—it’s an escape. They see the people around them ruining the earth and the water by polluting if and not caring that they do it. Their hang-up is the hypocrisy of today’s world.”

Yet, after more than five years of living as a hippie, what did he observe among their ranks? He states:

“The hippie is just as hypocritical as the people he criticizes. Materialism is as bad in the hippie movement as it is elsewhere. The hippie talks about love, but he doesn’t mean it or practice it in the Biblical sense. It is mostly sex​—in fact, sex worship. They didn’t really care about anybody else.”

A dictionary defines materialism as “the doctrine that self-interest is and ought to be the first law of life.” So it is materialistic, or selfish, to think primarily of one’s own desires.

Do hippies think primarily of their own desires? Well, do they not abandon responsibility to parents and others, regardless of the effect it has? Do they not often selfishly break the hearts of their parents who, with all of their faults, have usually worked hard to rear their children? Do not hippies selfishly indulge themselves to gratify every whim of passion? And nowhere is this selfishness more evident than in their desire for drugs.

From Drugs to Where?

Many hippies have a continual problem trying to get enough drugs. Drugs are expensive. It takes money to buy them.

To get drugs, some hippies resort to begging on the streets. Others acknowledge that they steal to get the money. Some have talked the women with whom they live into engaging in acts of prostitution to make the money. What is the frenzy to acquire drugs, if not rank materialism?

Smoking marijuana is only the first step. Very often it leads to the use of stronger drugs. What does this lead to? Finding answers? Uplift? Happiness? An improved way of life? A writer who posed as a hippie and lived with them wrote about his experience in Look magazine. It is similar to what many hippies and former hippies admit is the truth. He stated of the “pad” where he lived:

“Rick and Kathy’s place was a filthy, litter-strewn, swarming dope fortress that was a great deal less savory and sanitary than a sewer, since people attempted to live in it. Along the hallway when we walked in there were at least a half-dozen hippies lying in various stages of drug stupor. And in the darkened bedrooms, blank-faced males and females sat stupefied on the floors as rock music howled full volume from radios and hundreds of flies churned through layers of sweet-smelling marijuana smoke. . . .

“[One hippie] was so stoned when he arrived that he was talking in a whiny, scary falsetto voice​—yet whatever he had been taking still wasn’t enough. Around five a.m., I woke up briefly to catch sight of him . . . shooting sugared water into the veins of his neck, since he had run out of real drugs as well as available places to stick the needle. Each time he injected himself, he would moan, ‘Ooooohhh, oooohhh, this is my thing . . . this is my thing,’ and would ‘freak out’ by rolling around the floor, thrashing and flopping and hooting like an owl.”

Hippies rightly criticize those in society who make money their god, who pursue materialistic things. But the frenzied pursuit of drugs by many hippies is every bit as materialistic, perhaps even more so. And the results?

A doctor at San Francisco’s General Hospital estimated that the hospital admitted fifteen to twenty drug-deranged patients weekly. He said: “Users come in here sleep-deprived, malnourished and often with needle diseases . . . . Many users develop respiratory diseases because of malnutrition.” A California attorney general revealed: “Every 60 hours someone in the Haight-Ashbury district dies tragically because of drugs.”

Even those who escape immediate tragic consequences must yet face the possible long-term effects of taking drugs. One of these effects from LSD has been described as “chromosome breakage” in body cells. It may occur, it is reported, “after only one or two uses . . . . Such breakage, experiments show, could cause subsequent children of the users to be born abnormal, retarded or both.”

Neighbor Love?

Love for one’s fellow human ranks high in hippie philosophy. But what happens in actual practice? Is it really love for one person to supply another with drugs, as hippies do for each other? How many minds are broken and deranged by drugs? How many bodies are shattered and worn down? Methedrine, LSD, peyote, heroin and other drugs are pushed by hippies. But they turn their backs in helplessness or lack of concern when a fellow hippie’s mind begins to turn to jelly from taking them.

Also, what kind of “love” is “free sex”? One girl of sixteen explained that she did not mind giving herself to different men, saying: “It’s quite a common thing.” But what are the by-products of this promiscuous life? In addition to jealousies, bitterness and hatreds aroused among themselves, there comes the disastrous spread of venereal disease. Unscrupulous, selfish characters drift among the hippies looking for “free sex.” They leave a trail of infected persons behind.

Exposing her grave lack of knowledge of the real dangers of venereal disease, one hippie naïvely told a reporter: “It happens. That’s the chance you take with free love. So, you go to a clinic and get rid of it.” Many, to their sorrow, are now finding out that a permanent cure is not that easy.

The American ambassador to Afghanistan, Robert Neumann, said of the hippies in Kabul: “They are destroying themselves in Afghanistan. There is suicide, horrible sanitation, disease. They live in hovels.” Does all of this sound like the product of genuine neighbor love?

‘Like It Is’

Persons may be drawn to the hippie movement in a sincere search for happiness, for answers to life’s problems, for freedom. But the facts argue that what they are finding is far from this. Their search has led to much unhappiness, no answers, and even enslavement​—to drugs, one’s own passions, as well as to the hippie ‘Establishment.’

One reporter in Haight-Ashbury said: “Some of the hippies wandering around look more careworn, more concerned, less happy than the stockbrokers on Montgomery Street whom they profess to scorn.” Another said: “The Haight-Ashbury, once the citadel of love, . . . now is a ghost town, a city of fear, of rape, murder, assault, robbery.”

Thus, ‘telling it like it is,’ a reporter said: “Few found what they came for . . . most of them found instead a paradise lost, filled with drugs and dirt and screams of misery.”

No one can blame persons for wanting a better system of things, since this one is in horrible condition. But is the answer a way of life that does not improve matters, often making them worse? The experiences of those who have been hippies and who ‘tell it like it is’ show that the answer must be, No.

But then, what is the answer to life’s problems? Will this corrupt system of things always prevail the way it now does so that young people have little hope for the future? Just where can an honest, sincere person turn for genuine happiness now and a solid hope for the future?

Hippies Who Have Found the Answers

WHATEVER happens to the hippie movement, several things are clear. The troubles that gave birth to it have not disappeared. They have grown worse. And the hippie movement has not brought true hope and happiness within its own ranks.

Yet, no one can deny that there is a great need for genuine peace, happiness and love for one’s fellowman. Honesthearted persons rightly want, and need, a much better world.

What are the answers? Should we try to reform this present wicked system of things? Should we work through political, economic and orthodox religions to try to ‘create a better world’?

These may seem like noble goals to you. But you can be assured that efforts along these lines will not succeed. Remember, such things have been tried for centuries by the “wisest” men this world has produced. Nearly every conceivable idea originated by men has been tried. The tragic conditions throughout the world cry out that they have not worked. All such ideas are now part of the huge wreckage pile of human failures.

The System with the Answers

However, there is a system of government that right now is bringing genuine peace to people from all races and nationalities! It is replacing prejudice and hate with equality and love. It is influencing persons from all walks of life to live together as brothers.

This new system is no part of the hypocrisy and lies of this world. It guides its subjects so that they are not trapped by materialism, while still providing decently for themselves and their families. And instead of family ties breaking down, it teaches them how to strengthen family ties with bonds of love and mutual respect.

In addition, this extraordinary government has the power, the right, and the determination to wipe out all that is wrong. It is certain to bring about a completely new order where peace, justice and brotherly love will be the rule. In that new order extremes of rich and poor will disappear. Sickness and death will be wiped out, never again to plague mankind. And the literal earth will even be made a paradise for all to enjoy.

“Is such a system of government possible?” you may ask. Not only is it possible, but whether you realize it or not it is already in operation! Those who come under its rule are learning the right answers to the many problems plaguing mankind today. Millions of persons, including many hippies, are now learning these answers.

HIPPIE GIRL FINDS ANSWERS

A girl deeply immersed in the hippie movement tells how she found the answers to the troublesome questions of our day. She writes:

“One day one of Jehovah’s witnesses called and left some literature explaining the Bible. She arranged to call again. But I was not at all interested in the Bible. As far as I was concerned, her religion was like all the others that I had investigated in college and found to be simply traditions that men had made up.

“Well, I could hardly believe it, but this Witness had the answers right from the Bible for every question of mine. However, I told her that I didn’t believe the Bible, so she showed me why the Bible is true. She showed me such things as recent archaeological discoveries, confirmation that the account of Noah and the Flood were true, also prophecies about our day and others such as those about the life and birth of Jesus, and how all these were fulfilled.

“I tested her by having my ‘guru’ sit in on the discussions one night, and also a Black Muslim friend of mine. Throughout it all, her sincerity was pure and her faith unshakable. She was no phony, as were so many other persons I had known. This was what I saw in her and the other Witnesses I met later. You could see she really felt love for us. Believe me, that is rare in the environment such as I was in, which was without natural affection. And the complete impartiality she showed to all my friends without judging them or being scornful made it obvious that Jehovah’s witnesses were not prejudiced.

“All these things whetted my curiosity and helped me to continue studying the Bible, even when ridiculed by my friends and scorned by my relatives. But, as the Bible says, ‘by their fruits you will know them.’ It was certainly true that Jehovah’s witnesses lived what they preached. No one else did that! Certainly not the ‘flower children’ with whom I had associated.

“After several months of study, I left the hippie environment. I could see that they did not have the answers, although many sincerely were searching for them. I am now making a new life. There is a change in me that I never dreamed possible.

“I have constantly in my heart the message that has stuck with me from the beginning of my studying. What is that? It is the scripture recorded in the Bible at John 8:32, which says: ‘You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”

HIPPIE COUPLE FINDS ANSWERS

A couple in California had been hippies for years, the man being “hooked” on methedrine. He explains:

“We’ve found something better. One night a couple came to the door. They were Jehovah’s witnesses. What they said began to make sense. I had tried all the [orthodox] religions to some extent. I found what they taught was shallow.

“The Bible answers all questions. The Scriptures now make sense to me and I’m learning more every day. . . . The Bible makes clear what man’s purpose on this earth is.

“As I began to learn more about the Bible and more about the Witnesses, I began to realize that they have a genuine love for people. Honestly, my hippie life​—a real experience—​made me appreciate Jehovah’s witnesses all the more.”

This couple continued to make fine progress in their search for the truth. Like the girl noted previously, they became convinced of the answers, and are now helping others to learn them.

SUICIDE NO ANSWER

A hippie couple living in a resort area in the western part of the United States was called on by Jehovah’s witnesses. One of the Witnesses writes:

“This being a tourist area we have many hippies around, especially in the winter. We have found many that have become interested in the real peace taught in the Bible. One was a married couple.

“This couple was very despondent. After talking to them for a while we found that they, and others like them, were searching very hard to find out why world conditions were the way they were.

“Not knowing the Bible answers, the couple had turned to LSD, marijuana and other drugs. They also turned to the ‘Ouija’ board for answers. The board told them that they should kill themselves!

“Not wanting to live in this perplexed world any longer, they decided to take their lives. They were afraid to die but thought it was the only way out. They decided to take a large bottle of aspirin. They each took half the bottle and laid down on the floor to die.

“But they did not take quite enough. The next day they woke up very sick and not being able to hear. This was all such a horrible experience that they did not want to try it again. At this time the woman decided to pray to God ‘if there was one.’ She prayed for Him to show them the answers to the many questions that troubled them.

“They were called on the next day by Jehovah’s witnesses. They immediately took to the Bible truth, studying almost every night. They changed their lives completely and were baptized at an assembly later.”

“CHAIN REACTION”

Another hippie, a young man living in Ohio, attended an assembly of Jehovah’s witnesses. The person familiar with the experience tells about it:

“He was obviously identified with the ‘hippie’ movement, fully in harmony with the philosophy of rebellion against society. Immediately after his attendance at the assembly, a Bible study was begun with him and he began attending the meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses at the local Kingdom Hall.

“Soon, he had shaved, cut his hair, and gotten his suits out of mothballs. By that time he was convinced thoroughly of the Bible’s authenticity, and that if anyone taught the truth of the Bible it was Jehovah’s witnesses.

“The results during this period of time have been a chain reaction that has resulted in eight new Bible studies, all with young people. Another young man attended an assembly to see what could possibly have caused such a radical change in the first man. He too had hair down to his shoulders, a full beard, and a typical hippie style of dress.

“He was favorably impressed at the assembly with the way he was treated and by the information he heard. He immediately began studying with the Witnesses and attending every meeting of the local congregation. He also recognized that much in Christendom was not Christian.

“In two months, the clarity of Bible teachings caused him to shave his beard, cut his hair, and clothe himself in an appropriate manner. And through his activity, four Bible studies have been started with young people.”

These experiences are not unusual. Others like them come to our attention regularly. Of course, since we have highlighted the hippie movement in this issue of Awake! we have confined the experiences to some who had been hippies.

However, persons from all walks of life, from all races and nationalities, are learning of the Bible’s promises. They are finding the answers. They are learning of that new government that is having such a profound influence for good in the lives of people today, and that will usher in a completely new order for all the earth soon.

God’s Word the Bible tells us about this government. It is the government that Jesus Christ told his followers to pray for when he said: “Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.” (Matt. 6:10) God’s kingdom is a real government established in heaven. And all the evidence in fulfillment of Bible prophecy shows that it is already operating, directing its attention to earth.

Kingdom to Crush Wickedness

It is not God’s purpose to have his heavenly government convert this wicked system of things. Instead, the Bible foretold: “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.”​—Dan. 2:44.

This crushing blow will accomplish two major things: it will rid the entire earth of every person and every thing that is bad; but it will preserve those honesthearted persons who do what is right in God’s sight. The Bible shows: “The upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it. As regards the wicked, they will be cut off from the very earth; and as for the treacherous, they will be torn away from it.”​—Prov. 2:21, 22; see also Zephaniah 2:3.

Then, God’s kingdom will be the only government. It will be in complete control of the entire earth. It will usher in a new order that will see the fulfillment of this grand promise: “[God] will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be any more. The former things have passed away.”​—Rev. 21:4.

Gigantic Teaching Program Under Way

When on earth, Jesus Christ spoke a prophecy about a worldwide preaching work: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.”​—Matt. 24:14.

In harmony with this, hundreds of thousands of people throughout the earth are learning about God’s kingdom. They are lining up their lives with its requirements, becoming its loyal subjects. In more than a million homes in 203 lands and islands Jehovah’s witnesses are having weekly Bible studies with interested persons.​—Isa. 2:2-4; Matt. 6:33.

This Bible-study program is of gigantic magnitude and growing rapidly each year. It is by far the largest such program in the history of the world. But then, this was to be expected. Did not Jesus say that the good news about God’s kingdom would have to be preached earth wide before the end came?

One of the aids that Jehovah’s witnesses have found so valuable in assisting others to understand the Bible is the 192-page book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life. Published in dozens of languages, it has already had the widest distribution of any Bible-study aid in history. In fact, according to a published report about “best sellers” in the Western world, it has become the “best seller” of any book in all history for the length of time that it has been distributed! Over 23,000,000 copies have been published in about a year and a half!

In addition, among other literature, Jehovah’s witnesses printed more than 325 million copies of their magazines in just the past year. These call attention to God’s kingdom, The Watchtower being published in seventy-two languages, and Awake! in twenty-six. The printing of these magazines increased more than 50 million over the previous year!

What effect is this gigantic Bible educational work having? In just the past year over 120,000 persons took up the work of teaching others God’s purposes! These new ones joined the one and a quarter million of Jehovah’s witnesses already teaching the Bible. This amazing increase of Bible teachers comes at the very time that the ranks of Christendom’s clergy are decreasing due to clergymen quitting and a constant drop in seminary enrollment.

Are you acquainted with God’s marvelous remedy for the many problems facing mankind today? Do you sincerely yearn for true peace and happiness, perfect health and eternal life on a paradise earth? If so, then you will want to learn about the Bible’s promises.

Jehovah’s witnesses will be happy to use their time free of charge to show you how to get the right answers from your own Bible. For about one hour a week, over a six-month period, they will call on you to share with you the knowledge of what God is doing now and will do in the future for mankind. Write the publishers of this magazine, or contact Jehovah’s witnesses at a Kingdom Hall near you and a qualified Bible teacher will be sent.

In this way you can join the swiftly growing number of people all over the world who have come to appreciate the urgency of the times. You will then fully understand what the Bible means when it says: “The world is passing away and so is its desire, but he that does the will of God remains forever.”​—1 John 2:17.

“Continue to Love Your Enemies”

A PRINCIPLE that Jesus Christ enunciated, and which is recorded at Luke 6:27, 28, reads: “Continue to love your enemies, to do good to those hating you, to bless those cursing you, to pray for those who do you injury.” True Christians seek to apply this principle in their lives. Here is what happened in Greece to one of Jehovah’s witnesses who did:

“In one village there is a lone Witness who was constantly harassed by the village priest. This priest threatened the Witness with imprisonment because of his Christian work, but the Witness always replied with kindness befitting a Christian. The priest was determined to put this Witness behind bars. He found some who were willing to testify falsely against him, and they did so. The judge found the Witness guilty and sentenced him to two months in prison. When the two months were over, the Witness was released, and he returned to his village and resumed his previous activities.

“One day as the Witness was walking along he saw the priest sprawled on the street bleeding profusely and nearly dying from the injury he had suffered in a fall. The Witness rushed to the priest’s aid, and when the priest recognized him he cried, ‘You, of all people! Can anyone else be found?’ The Witness told him that he was in great need of medical attention and that they had to go quickly to a doctor. So the Witness kindly took the injured priest to the nearest clinic and paid for seven days’ hospitalization for him.

“When the priest recovered and was released from the clinic he returned to the village and resumed his duties there. Late one evening the priest visited the Witness, who hospitably welcomed him into his home. The priest was remorseful for what he had done and asked the Witness to forgive him for his deplorable conduct. He said, ‘The Devil put me up to this.’

“The priest continued, ‘Go! Do your work freely, and if anyone interferes with you, tell him that he has to deal with me.’”

Your Body​—Marvel of Engineering Excellence

LONG before the development of man-made engineering marvels, there existed a structure far superior to any of them. This structure is the human body.

The some six hundred muscles of your body burn fuel, even as does the engine of an automobile, converting this fuel into usable energy. But the human body is far superior to the automobile in that it manufactures its own fuel from raw materials, does its own cleaning and repairing, and replaces worn-out cells by the millions each day. Would it not be wonderful for car owners if their automobiles could do the equivalent of that?

Structural Masterpiece

Ages before engineers of ancient Rome constructed the dome atop the Pantheon, the dome of the human skull already roofed the human head. And millenniums before those Roman engineers built arches to support their aqueducts, the arches of the foot provided springy support for the body’s weight, and the arched ribs formed a highly efficient flexible cage protecting the organs within the chest. Also, long before the great Greek and Egyptian columns were conceived, man was being held upright by his own columns, his legs.

Your bones, for combined strength and flexibility, far surpass building materials devised by man. The shinbone can bear about thirty times the weight of the man resting upon it. Iron itself would be no stronger. And iron would be too rigid to accommodate the stresses of body motion, and far too heavy for practical purposes.

Encasing the body’s bony structure are tissues that neither splinter, chip nor weather away as do man-made building materials such as wood, brick, cement, stucco and paint. Your eyes have eyelashes for protective shades, eyebrows as overhanging eaves, and shutters that close automatically. The internal organs of your body are surrounded with fluid that acts as a shock absorber. Truly, as engineers engaged in the field of bioengineering continue to study the human body they cannot help but marvel at its engineering excellence.

Pumping, Filtering, Circulation

Consider a pump that no human engineer could ever duplicate perfectly​—the heart. This tiny pump pulsates, on the average, seventy times a minute, forty million times a year and passes about 7,000 quarts of fluid a day, nearly 200,000 tons in the average lifetime.

Nor can any manufacturer of industrial specialties offer a high-pressure filtering apparatus like the kidneys. These consist of approximately two million filter units complete with filter sheet, strainer and reabsorbing mechanism. The kidneys can filter 200 quarts of fluid daily, though being comprised of only two structures, each small enough to fit into the palm of your hand.

Consider also the circulatory system of the body. It can be likened to a city’s system of roads, railroads and shipping facilities that supply the daily needs for food and necessary materials of life. A city also has a system of sewage, sanitation and waste disposal. Similarly, the human body is served by blood circulation that provides the distribution of supplies and removal of wastes.

The United States, for example, has many miles of roads to supply food to its some 200 million inhabitants. However, the human body alone has about 100,000 miles of “roads” and “pipelines”​—arteries, veins, and capillaries—​which transport the life-sustaining nourishment to some 30,000,000,000,000 cells! And how long does it take the body’s some five quarts of blood to make a complete circuit of this vast system? Astonishing as it may sound, it takes only about one minute!

Traffic problems of the body’s “roads” for circulation are ingeniously controlled to perfection. The blood, for instance, can go in only one direction. This one-way movement is achieved by ideally engineered valves built into our veins, known in engineering terms as “check valves.” The blood is pumped by the heart through the arteries under great pressure to the capillaries. Then, returning to the heart from the lower extremities under very little pressure, the blood is forced upward through the veins by the exertion of leg and stomach muscles. The tightening and contracting of these muscles force the blood through the veins. In addition to the muscle action, flow in the direction of the heart is maintained by means of the “check valves.”

But how is it that an even supply of blood is provided throughout the thousands of miles of the body’s circulatory system? In any piping system where a fluid is circulated for a specific purpose, say, that of sending hot water throughout a building to radiators for heating, consideration must be given to the control of the quantity of water flowing to each radiator. Throttling or balancing valves must be installed to assure even water distribution throughout the system.

Thus, too, an even flow of blood throughout the human body is achieved by means of stopcocks in the tiny arteries in the tissues and organs. These control the volume and flow of blood, whether near the heart or remote from it. In addition to controlling the proper flow of blood to each organ, these stopcocks will open and allow an increase of blood flow above normal if temporary circumstances may require it. Truly, in the body, we can readily see the marvels of hydraulic and traffic engineering in their finest form.

Thermal and Environmental Control

Modern engineers construct buildings that maintain year-around comfort regardless of exterior weather conditions, whether it may be extremely hot or bitterly cold outside. However, your body far surpasses the most elaborate environmental control system. It regulates its temperature with an ingenious application of thermostatic control. Regardless of the surrounding air temperature, the body’s thermostatic controls keep the tissue at about 98° to 99° F.

In the cold of winter, we know that heat is obtained by the burning of a fuel of some sort. As the fuel burns, a combustion process takes place and heat is released by means of oxidation. But what about your body? How is heat generated in your body, since there are no “fires” within you?

Actually the body utilizes a combustion process, and heat is derived from oxidation. Glucose is manufactured in the body, and molecules of glucose are shattered within the body and energy is subsequently released as heat. This production of your body heat is known as metabolism.

Then, too, when exposed to the cold, have you noticed that your muscles become tense? This also is one of the body’s ways of producing heat, employing the use of the muscles. If you get cold enough you begin to shiver. Commenting on the effects of muscle tension and shivering, Professor Arthur C. Guyton, noted physiologist, states in the Textbook of Medical Physiology:

“The resulting muscle metabolism increases the rate of heat production, often increasing total body heat production as much as 50 percent even before shivering occurs. When shivering begins, body heat production can rise to as high as 200 to 400 per cent of normal.”

Equally amazing as the body’s heat-generating system is its cooling system. When exposed to warm weather, we perspire. This is the body’s way of dissipating heat by evaporation. Evaporation, basically speaking, is one of the main principles modern refrigeration. The evaporation of the water produces the cooling due to the change from water to vapor. Yet your marvelous body was employing this technique long before human engineers began using it.

Advanced Optics

The lens of the human eye is still another marvel. Through this lens various forms are perceived; then they are focused on the retina. Eye focus is similar to the optical system of a camera. The lens adapts to distance by changing shape. But whereas a camera is manually adjusted, the lens of the eye automatically changes its thickness and curvature to adjust the focal point for various distances.

There is another interesting phenomenon in connection with human sight. This has to do with the fact that when an object is transmitted through a convex lens, such as we have in our eyes, the image transmitted appears inverted, or upside down. This is how images are transmitted to the retina and subsequently to the brain. But our brain automatically interprets the image so that the world does not look upside down to us, but right side up. It is simply another example of the ingenious operations of the body.

Such a brief examination of the engineering marvels of the human body should deeply impress upon one the wisdom of the Grand Creator of the human body. An honest-hearted, intelligent person is moved to say to God as did the Bible psalmist of long ago: “I shall laud you because in a fear-inspiring way I am wonderfully made.”​—Ps. 139:14.

Valuable Service of Earthworms

Earthworms usually push through the soil, forming burrows. When the soil is hard, they may even eat their way through it, along with their usual diet of decaying vegetable matter. The soil and waste pass through the digestive canal and are deposited as castings. The burrows leave the soil full of pockets, so that both air and water can come through. The earthworm’s castings build up soil fertility, as well as building up topsoil itself. It is said that earthworms can bring about ten tons of castings to the top of one acre of soil in just one year of activity.

Getting a Peacock’s-Eye View of Things

BY “AWAKE!” CORRESPONDENT IN INDIA

IT ALL began when I chipped my way through the eggshell and stumbled into the realm of birdlife. I stood there blinking in the tropical sunlight, bewildered. It was all so strange, everything was frightening. Instinctively, I knew mama. I snuggled into her, underneath her protective wing. There I was safe, I was loved. To me mama appeared so strong, so confident, it made me feel secure.

Thus I spent the first few days of my life. Though I did not realize it at the time, I was a male peachick, and I had two brother peachicks and two sister peahens. So we were an average family of peafowl, since there are generally four to six eggs in a nest of peachicks.

And speaking of nests, I noted that the nest where I came on the scene was a depression scraped in the ground in the midst of a dense clump of undergrowth located in a wild open rural area. It was lined with twigs, leaves and grass​—very comfortable and well hidden from lurking enemies. By observation I later learned that mama must have laid her five glossy pale-cream eggs here, each one about two and one-half inches long. Solicitously she sat on them for twenty-eight days until I broke upon the scene.

I understand that during my incubation an incident occurred that might well have resulted in my not being hatched at all. Our nest was located near fields of growing millet and barley, close to a small tributary of the river Jamuna. Nearby there was also a stretch of uncultivated land strewn with rocks and covered with wild grasses and jungle scrub. Dotted over the terrain were wild myrtle shrubs and acacia trees. It was late in the afternoon as the sun began its swift descent. All was still and very quiet.

Suddenly, a stealthy movement in the jungle scrub brought mama to full attention. With keen eyes penetrating the undergrowth, she spotted a wildcat on the prowl. She froze to the nest, as it were, while the hungry-looking creature drew nearer. Mama’s plumage merged with the background vegetation; she seemed invisible. The cat passed, stalking on toward the grainfields. Had mother been seen, it might well have been our end and hers, mother peahens refuse to abandon the nest even in the gravest danger.

Peacock Customs

We peachicks learn fast. We soon learned that mama was not the only mate that papa possessed. There were five of them! As a result, a peacock may father as many as twenty-five peachicks in one year​—a normal state of affairs when seen from the peacock’s-eye view of things.

Our family belongs to a small flock of peafowl living in a section of the Rajasthan desert of north India, not far from Jaipur. I have lots of aunts and uncles and, being gregarious by nature, we like flock together. Often a number of families will share the same tree for roosting. However, during the breeding season all my uncles wander off in search of mates themselves.

Peafowl are wide awake at the first light of dawn, but, rather than fly down to the ground immediately, we prefer to take our time, descending from limb to limb, shattering the morning silence with our loud cries that sound like “may-awe.” Right away then we are interested in our breakfast cereals. Mama taught us chicks look for our favorite delicacies. Mainly we feed on grass and grains. We often spend entire days wreaking havoc in the grainfields. Because of our “sacred” status here, however, the village farmers endure our depredations with stoic fortitude. Fat, juicy insect steaks also figure on our menu, with here and there a tender lizard. Papa and mama even dine on small snakes! Probably not a relishing thought if you do not have the peacock’s-eye view of things.

When day is done, in the late afternoon, we have an early supper and then repair to our perches in the reverse procedure, slowly climbing the “stairs” until we reach a satisfactory roost. We get the reputation of making a lot of fuss and noise as we settle down for the night.

Peafowl Parents Share Responsibilities

Of my parents, papa was by far the most colorful personality. Mama, on the other hand, knew how to match colors too. She chose a dress that blended with her surroundings while tending her nest and eggs. Probably she was kept so busy making nests, laying eggs, hatching them and tending the young, that she felt a pretty leathered dress was impractical. Papa, who did not share in incubation duties, had more time to don his handsome feathered tail and strut around.

Nevertheless, I must admit, papa was a shrewd guide to his flock. Contrary to the appearances at times, he was always diligent in the watch for enemies​—wildcats, eagles and men. His eyes and ears are so phenomenally sharp that it is rare that peafowl are caught. Of all the jungle populace, papa usually is the first to detect the approach of a leopard. At such times of danger, we do not often take to our wings, though we can fly fast and for long distances. Rather, we prefer to run swiftly along the ground.

Mention of enemies reminds me of something that happened when I was only six months old. Some of us peachicks were playing in the shade. One of the young males was making himself look ridiculous, trying to put on a premature courtship display. Ground squirrels scurried around and a little way off a lone blue jay was quietly perched in a margosa tree. In a nearby banyan tree a group of mynas were mimicking jungle sounds. A few peachicks were squabbling over a lizard that one of them had captured. Abruptly, papa emitted a piercing shriek that stopped us all in our tracks. Danger! We scattered in all directions. A soaring eagle appeared from nowhere, but thanks to papa’s watchful care, no harm resulted.

Peacock Plumage

For the first few months I was hardly distinguishable from my sisters. Our tail feathers were the same. At eight months it came time, under the peacock system, to leave home and fend for myself. This gave mother a respite before her next stint at family raising. By this time I was developing my characteristic tail feathers that grow above the real tail feathers. It is a slow process. Not until my fourth year of life could I hope to attain the full male plumage.

Gradually as the months passed I acquired an immaculate suit of down and feathers. I got to be fully grown, weighing eleven pounds, and was almost seven feet from head to tail. My upper tail coverts alone were five feet in length. I had matured, and had the prospect of living to the ripe old age of twelve. I could look forward, now, to an annual change of clothing, and perhaps even to be admired by human creatures who carry cameras instead of guns.

If you could only have a good look at me! Starting at my head, I have a crest of upright plumules with a bare patch of white on each side. My eyes are also set in a patch of white. My longish neck is covered with brilliant metallic green and blue plumage, breaking out into mottled green under my wing feathers. This turns almost to black on my tummy. Notice that my wings, in contrast, are a gray, speckled with black. My real tail feathers, which you cannot see, are a brownish color.

My upper tail feathers, trailing behind for five feet, are a bronzy green and blue. These upper tail feathers develop spraylike webs on which are displayed the familiar glittering “eyes” or ocelli. At will I can erect these vertically above my back spread fanwise, and I can hold them there supported by the actual tail feathers. I can put on quite a show.

But this display is not primarily for the pleasure of human admirers. It is my way of winning mates. When our annual procreation period begins, I set out in search of prospective mates. As soon as I spot one I turn on all my charm. I perform a sort of dance before her. With chest jutting out and upper tail feathers held high, strut to and fro leaning forward. At the same time I utter a harsh, raucous cry, not at all musical to you, but it lets her know I am interested. At the climax of my display I vibrate my lower tail feathers, which in turn gives my train feathers a shimmering appearance to the accompaniment of a rustling sound. And it works, for in the breeding season, January to October, I can usually win four or five mates. Then I feel like a bejeweled maharajah strolling amid his harem.

Of course, my brilliant plumage can also be a hazard. With all this extra equipment, how does one evade hunters and commercialists who are out to eat me or take my feathers? True, there is legislation that restricts the hunting and killing of my kind, but there are always those who are willing to ignore the law. Can you imagine how difficult it is for me to keep out of harm’s way?

There is one thing I can do to lessen the danger. Each year, by molting my long train feathers, I can leave these beautiful mementos lying around on the ground for collectors to find and carry off. Then, too, in spite of my feathery impediment, I have the ability to glide silently through dense thickets with the agility of a cobra. Also, to many people I am an object reverence. They think of me as a sort “holy” bird. So peacock hunters do not dare to carry on their nefarious work openly.

Peafowl History

But my story would not be complete without a little peacock history. I suppose you know that we belong to the pheasant family of birds. However, we have so many cousins among the pheasants that the experts have classified us under the term “Pavo cristatus.” Probably that is because our crest distinguishes us from our distant cousins. When my ancestors emerged from Noah’s ark they eventually settled in India. Here, for thousands of years, my kind have served as ornamental birds in royal courts and aristocratic estates. Even abroad they served as plumed ambassadors in foreign palaces.

It was a great day in peacock history when some of my distinguished ancestors stepped off Phoenician ships onto Egyptian soil and were ushered into Pharaoh’s court, where in full peacock regalia they presented their feathered “credentials.” Bible history tells of peacocks constituting some of the valuable imports of King Solomon. So, three thousand years ago, the splendors of Zion’s royal palace were enhanced by ornamental living peacocks. (1 Ki. 10:22, 23) Centuries later, Alexander of Macedon brought back to Europe two hundred peafowl.

Throughout our history we have always had difficulty in understanding things from the human viewpoint. For example, for millenniums in India we peacocks have been regarded as sacred birds and at times even worshiped. We feature in some of their ancient religious legends. Still today in parts of India it is considered a criminal offense to kill a peacock. Yet the ancient Romans encouraged the use of peafowl as table birds. In medieval Europe a banquet among the wealthy was not complete without a dish of succulent peafowl. You can see, then, how perplexing it has been from a peacock’s-eye view of things.

Now, before concluding, there is just one common misunderstanding I am concerned about. That expression “proud as a peacock” has spread the idea that a peacock symbolizes pride and vainglory. How do you think that makes me feel? And is it really true? Do you really think our all-wise Creator would implant such undesirable qualities in one of his dumb creations? But then, to fully appreciate the peacock’s qualities, one must get a peacock’s-eye view of things.

Going with the Guest

● Edwin W. Rice in his book Ortentalisms in Bible Lands observed that “it is quite keeping with Oriental politeness to accompany the departing guest a certain distance on the way . . . sometimes for several hours. This is a high type of politeness, and is called ‘bringing the guest on his way.’” The author then related the experience of a native Syrian who said, “When a person is going away, friends will go with him a few miles, and kiss at parting. . . . When I was leaving some Mt. Lebanon friends, they followed me for two hours until I was obliged to tell them that they must go no further.”

It was this custom, reinforced by Christian love, that the beloved apostle Paul experienced when, upon his departure from Miletus, Tyre and Caesarea, he was accompanied by fellow Christians.​—Acts 20:37, 38; 21:5, 15, 16.

Danger! Lethal Household Agents!

SHE was just eleven years old and her older brother told her how she could take a ‘psychedelic journey into unreality.’ So, taking the balloon that he gave her, she filled it with the substance from an aerosol spray can. Then she began to inhale the intoxicating vapors that the balloon forcibly exuded as it deflated. In a few moments the little girl began to gasp for air and soon she suffocated and died.

About ten days later a college boy tried getting “high” by inhaling the spray directly from the same type of aerosol can, and he, too, died as a result. Other children have even sprayed this substance directly into their throats in an attempt to experience the strange effects it has upon the senses. Their lives ended most painfully when it froze their larynges.

What is this death-dealing substance? It is called fluorocarbon-12 and it is used as a propellant for aerosol sprays, as a chilling agent for cocktail glasses and as a refrigerant. Not only this substance but many other chemicals pose serious dangers to persons who might misuse the products containing them. For example, there is a chemical in powder form that is useful in relieving asthma victims of their discomforts. If this powder is not used in the manner prescribed, it can be extremely hazardous. This is shown by what happened to a teen-ager when he swallowed two teaspoonfuls of it in an attempt to take a ‘psychedelic trip.’ The result? He was severely poisoned.

In view of such tragic incidents, the American Academy of Pediatrics warned doctors “that this and similar substances may be used in psychedelic experiments.” Not only doctors but parents should be aware of this warning. They need to protect their children from these deadly substances. This means not just warning them, but also taking a few moments every now and then to look in on what they are doing.

Adults should carefully read the labels of the products they may buy, noting especially the warnings listed thereon. Failure to do so can lead to a tragedy similar to what happened in a small hospital’s nursery. Suddenly, nine infants there became seriously ill and developed enlarged livers. Two of them died. Investigation traced the cause of death to the hospital’s laundry, where a mildew-preventing chemical was being added to the wash water. This toxic agent was absorbed into the babies’ skin from the diapers and bed clothing washed in this water. No one had paid any attention to the label on this product, which warned against using this solution in laundering diapers and bed linen. Carelessness in this simple matter exacted a very high price.

Another potentially lethal substance is aspirin. Each year more than 25 percent of the accidental poisonings among children involve this chemical. No wonder the pediatrics academy is expressing concern over the reports that soon a double-strength ten-grain aspirin may be on the market. According to the academy, this “represents twice the poisoning hazard of the familiar 300-mg tablet.” Truly, great caution is needed.

At present, much interest is being shown in the development of hard-to-open safety packages for potentially lethal substances. Preliminary tests with a container that requires twelve pounds of pressure and a twisting motion to open it reduced the incidence of accidental poisoning. A University of Utah associate professor of pediatrics found that strip packs for tablets make it more difficult and time-consuming for children to open and get at the dangerous contents. This gives parents a greater chance to discover what their children are up to before they can eat a toxic dose.

However, up to the present time, no completely satisfactory device is available for capsules and tablets. As for potentially dangerous liquids, there is an even greater need for safe containers. In view of all this, parents must be ever alert to their children’s whereabouts in the home and what they may be playing with. They should also see to it that potentially hazardous substances, drugs and household agents, are kept well out of the reach of little fingers and hands that are so eager to explore and taste.

Heat from Peat

By “Awake!” correspondent in Uruguay

“HEAT from what?” “From PEAT!” “What is that? Where does it come from? How is it used?” you may ask.

Peat means heat to residents of the Falkland Islands, parts of Scotland and Ireland, and a few other places. In many cases it is their only fuel.

Peat is a decomposed vegetable compound containing a great variety of combustible materials. For hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, decaying grasses, reeds, mosses or aquatic plants along with bird and animal wastes, or any combination of these, have accumulated under ideal conditions of moisture and an annual mean temperature of about 45° F. to decompose and form peat banks or bogs.

The quality of peat is affected mainly by the kinds of decayed plants, their aging or time of decomposition, and the amount of pressure from the material on top. While a peat bog is usually wet, soggy and spongy, it is firm enough to hold a truck or lorry. Really, the bog looks like any ordinary field or meadow. However, after the peat has been dried it is combustible like coal.

Bacteria and other living organisms help to decompose the plant matter on the surface. Deeper down, however, no form of life appears. Peat from the surface resembles ordinary sod. It is porous, full of roots and other vegetation, and burns rapidly. As one digs deeper, fewer roots appear and the peat is of better quality.

Peat may vary from a pale yellow or brown fibrous spongy tuff at the top of the bog to a dark brown or nearly black brittle solid at the bottom. This better quality, nearly black peat, when dried, will shatter like coal. It is formed in layers that can be separated into rather thin sheets. Like its close relative, coal, it can be banked in a stove to hold a fire throughout a long cold winter night. However, peat produces about half as much heat as the same amount of coal by weight. Its caloric value is roughly between wood and coal.

Peat banks or bogs vary greatly in depth. Near Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, they rarely reach twelve feet deep, and usually average about three feet. On other islands they are said to go down nearly forty feet. Peat deposits on South Georgia island are estimated to be thousands of years old and measure some thirteen feet deep.

Easily Accessible Fuel

On many of the Falkland Islands people can just step out of their homes and help themselves to any amount of peat. In the city of Port Stanley, however, the use of peat is administered by the government, and it is apportioned to each home free of charge by an official called the “Peat Officer” or “Fuel Officer.” When a home is bought or sold, the corresponding section of the peat bog automatically goes with the sale or purchase. New homes built receive an assignment in the peat bank or bog; and when a section is exhausted, another one is assigned. One may use as much peat as he wishes.

The city’s supply begins at the edge of town and extends for miles. Although the government maintains control of the peat bogs, each family is responsible for cutting, hauling, and storing its own allotment for private use. An average family will require 150 to 200 or more cubic yards per year.

Preparing Peat for Use

Peat is measured and cut out of the bog by cubic yards. After the first cutting, another layer three feet deep is worked, and this is repeated until the workers run out of peat or reach bedrock. These layers are called “First Cut,” “Second Cut,” and so forth. The better grade of peat comes from the deeper cuts.

Cutting or digging must be done so as to allow for proper drainage of the bog. While some attempts have been made to dig or cut peat by machine, the reliable hand spade still remains the most effective method used in this area. The spade is sharp and is used to cut the sods into uniform sizes, usually averaging nine inches by nine inches by six inches. Next, these wet soggy sods are spread out to dry a little. Then they are stacked up in little piles, with the bottom sides turned up to dry them out well.

After drying for about a month, the peat is taken home and neatly stored in a “peat shed,” where it is ready for use. It is still sufficiently moist so that it holds its original form without crumbling. If the sods of peat get too dry and crumble, they are harder to handle and must be shoveled like dirt. This fine dirt burns fiercely in a stove and forms big clinkers, instead of the usual fine reddish-gray ash.

The family peat shed is built of boards spaced a couple of inches apart to allow for plenty of ventilation. These sheds will hold enough peat for a year or two. Now the peat is ready to make heat in either the cookstove, heating stove or open fireplace.

Getting the peat in is a daily family chore. When it is taken from the peat shed it is chopped to the desired size. To get a hot fire in a hurry the peat is chopped into smaller pieces so it will burn quickly. Larger pieces burn slower and give off a steady heat.

How fascinating it is to sit before a fireplace at night with only the light from burning peat, and watch the brilliant flames of green, blue, orange and yellow flickering their shadows about the room! Yes, there is something enjoyable and cozy about a comfortable home that derives its heat from peat.

[Picture on page 26]

Piles of dried peat in the field waiting to be hauled by truck to the peat sheds

Supersensitive Cells

Certain cells in the retina of the human eye are so sensitive that they can detect visible light as feeble as 1/100,000,000,000,000 of a watt.

“Your Word Is Truth”

‘The Wilderness Will Exult’

THE land that God gave to the nation of Israel was no wilderness. Moses described it as “a good land, a land of torrent valleys of water, springs and watery deeps issuing forth in the valley plain and in the mountainous region, a land of wheat and barley and vines and figs and pomegranates, a land of oil olives and honey.”​—Deut. 8:7, 8.

However, only if the Israelites continued to serve their God Jehovah in faithfulness would the land remain a virtual paradise. Disobedience on their part was foretold to result in the complete desolation of their God-given land, transforming it from a beautiful region into an unkept wilderness. Did that prophetic warning prove to be true?​—Lev. 26:33-35.

In fulfillment of the prophetic word, some nine hundred years after Moses recorded it, the year 607 B.C.E. saw the Babylonians conquer Judah and Jerusalem. The surviving Jews, with the exception of the poorest, were taken into Babylonian exile. Over those that were left behind, Nebuchadnezzar appointed Gedaliah as governor. After the murder of Gedaliah the Jews yet remaining in the land, fearing punishment at the hands of the Chaldeans on account of the assassination, fled to Egypt. The foretold desolation was then complete.​—Jer. 39:8-10; 40:5; 41:2; 43:2-7.

But it was not Jehovah’s purpose for the land to remain an uninhabited wilderness. More than a century before Jerusalem’s destruction the prophet Isaiah wrote: “The wilderness and the waterless region will exult.” (Isa. 35:1; see also Isaiah 51:3.) The fulfillment of that prophecy called for the release of the exiled Jews so that they could return to their desolated homeland. As the land had gone into mourning at its desolation, so it was to exult on ceasing to be an uninhabited wilderness.​—Isa. 24:1, 3, 4; 33:8, 9.

From a human standpoint, however, the transformation of the wilderness into an Edenic paradise may have appeared unlikely. Release from exile was impossible as long as Babylon continued to exist as a world power. Yet even after almost seven decades of the foretold seventy-year desolation of the land had passed, the capital city of Babylon remained seemingly impregnable. (Jer. 29:10) Therefore, many of the Jews probably gave way to doubts concerning a future restoration. But any with weak hands, wobbling knees and anxious heart could draw comfort from Isaiah’s further words: “Be strong. Do not be afraid. Look! Your own God will come with vengeance itself, God even with a repayment. He himself will come and save you people.”​—Isa. 35:3, 4.

True to his Word, in 539 B.C.E. Jehovah God did come with vengeance itself against Babylon by means of a number of nations, including the Medes and Persians. Leading the armies was Cyrus, the very man whom Jehovah, through Isaiah, announced by name as the conqueror of Babylon nearly two centuries earlier. Also in fulfillment of prophecy Cyrus diverted the Euphrates from coursing through Babylon, drying it up, as it were, and thus enabled the conquering armies to march through the riverbed and enter the city gates that had strangely been left open.​—Isa. 13:17; 21:2; 44:27​—45:6.

Shortly thereafter, in 537 B.C.E., Cyrus’ decree permitting the Jewish exiles to return to their homeland and rebuild the temple at Jerusalem went into effect. A faithful remnant immediately responded. No longer were they spiritually blind, deaf, lame and dumb. (Isa. 35:5, 6) With their eyes they were quick to recognize their God Jehovah and the deliverance he had wrought for them. (Isa. 52:6) Their ears listened to and heeded his prophetic command to forsake Babylon. (Isa. 52:11; Jer. 50:8; 51:6) By walking in accord with Jehovah’s will they were no more afflicted by the lameness due to their deviating from the path of righteousness. (Isa. 42:24; Heb. 12:13) Though once speechless, they began to relate what Jehovah had done for them.​—Isa. 43:20, 21; 48:20.

Particularly after they were restored to their God-given land could the faithful Jews tell about Jehovah’s marvelous deliverance and his leading them back from Babylon. Although Jehovah had apparently brought them back by a direct desert route, the Jewish remnant did not suffer thirst. Miraculously Jehovah caused water to flow from the very rock. Along the way he also protected them from wild beasts. The route by which God led them had proved to be “the Way of Holiness,” because only his clean and repentant servants passed over it.​—Isa. 35:6-9; 43:19; 48:21.

What abundant cause for exultation and joyfulness God’s redeemed people therefore had! As a liberated people they no longer experienced grief and sighing as Babylon’s captives. Jehovah had proved true to his promise. He had indeed made the wilderness exult by causing it to come alive with joyful repatriated Israelites and their domestic animals.​—Isa. 35:10.

This grand transformation of the land of Judah from a wilderness state also meant that a “new earth” had come into existence. This is because in Biblical usage “earth” often denotes the section of the globe inhabited by the Israelites. (Isa. 24:1, 3-6, AS, AV, NW, 1958 ed. ftn.) So when Jehovah reestablished them in their land, he, in effect, ‘laid the foundation of the earth.’ Over this “earth” of repatriated Israelites a “new heavens” ruled, for Jehovah, through Governor Zerubbabel and High Priest Joshua, directed and supervised the subject people.​—Isa. 51:16; 65:17; 66:22; Hag. 1:1, 14.

What Jehovah God did for the Israelites back there in the sixth century B.C.E. is not merely dead history. There was yet to be a future fulfillment of these restoration prophecies. Wrote the apostle Peter: “There are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell.” (2 Pet. 3:13) Surely the earth today is no less a wilderness than was the desolated land of Judah. It is filled with persons who are wild and hurtful to their fellowman, and it abounds in bad fruitage. There is a real need for a righteous administration to take over earth’s affairs and completely eradicate all wickedness.

It is therefore comforting to note that it is God’s purpose to usher in “new heavens and a new earth.” This means that God’s righteous government, his kingdom, will as “new heavens” rule over the “new earth,” the society of loyal subjects of his administration. Then this planet, figuratively speaking, will no longer mourn because of having been reduced to a wilderness state by wicked men. Instead of being ruined, it will be transformed into a paradise. Tears and sorrow will give way to rejoicing and exultation. Filled with happy and loyal subjects of God’s kingdom, the former wilderness will exult.​—Rev. 11:18; 21:1, 4, 5.

Watching the World

“Organized Violence”

A leading U.S. political scientist, Professor Leslie Lipson of the University of California, said a world revolution is now taking place and he predicted the end of nation states and nationality as they exist today. “The evidence is in all the challenges to established authority,” he said. “Governments all over the world are in trouble, the pope is in trouble, university presidents are in trouble and tremble in their offices. Most serious of all is the evidence of unbridled, organized violence. This is a generalization, but I believe it to be true that this century is the most violent on record in human history.” The professor said the course of the world shows that nations are pursuing a “wanton and reckless destruction of the physical environment.”

Childbirth in Schools

Last year New York city’s elementary and secondary schools reported 2,487 pregnancies among unmarried girls in the 7th to 12th grades. This was nearly double the figure of eight years ago. Dr. Daniel Schreiber, Assistant Superintendent in charge of the Board of Education’s program for pregnant teen-agers, said that in the last two years the school system had dramatically revised its policy for pregnant students. In the past, he said, the girls were dismissed from school as soon as their pregnancy was detected. Now they are encouraged to attend virtually up to the time of childbirth. Since pregnant girls are encouraged to remain in school, the Department of Health has issued instructions to all these schools on what to do if a pregnant student goes into labor or gives birth while in school. Abraham H. Lass, principal of Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, said: “The implications of this do-it-yourself manual for the amateur, occasional school midwife are absolutely terrifying.” Terrifying to many also is the thought that immorality is accepted with such indifference, as a normal way of life, and little or nothing is being done to inculcate high moral standards in these youngsters.

Churches Under Attack

An insurance agent said: “A lot of people think God is dead and so they attack the church. Fires are the biggest problem.” He said that churches all around the United States had suffered losses. The cost of theft insurance is so prohibitive that some religious groups prefer to pay for the losses than try to pay the insurance rates. A New York insurance company representative said: “The church is one of the primary social institutions and it’s being attacked. We are continuing to write churches, but we are not happy with the situation.”

Solar Flares

Lt. Col. Joseph K. Lambert, a space environmental scientist, tells about solar flares. “A solar flare,” he says, “is a sudden and unpredictable eruption from a small section of the sun. There’s a tremendous increase in the intensity of light and heat that causes all sorts of crazy things to happen. It louses up communications on the sun-lit parts of the earth, brings on magnetic storms, multiplies X-rays in the radiation belt and discharges high-speed protons into interplanetary space.” This thirty-nine-year-old scientist still gasps when he sees the photographs of a solar flare. The whole earth could fit into one little flare. The energy from a big one is equal to the explosion of a thousand million hydrogen bombs. “It’s frightening,” Lambert said. “It’s also humbling. Everytime I see a big one I ask myself, ‘Who . . . do you think you are?’” That is a question that all men could beneficially ask themselves.

To Pledge or Not?

For almost twenty years New York high school students have had a patriotic ceremony each morning. The schoolchildren participated in the daily pledge of allegiance and salute to the flag. On January 26 the High School Principals Association urged the heads of the city’s sixty-three academic high schools to suspend the ceremony because of confusion over the legal status of the daily ceremony. The planned action resulted from a decision that was handed down in Federal Court, Brooklyn. In that case, Federal Judge Orrin G. Judd temporarily enjoined the city school system from telling students they must leave their classrooms if they do not want to stand and recite the pledge. Judge Judd said the students had a constitutional right to remain seated. On January 30, school administrators throughout New York State were instructed by the Department of Education to continue the daily salute to the flag by students and let the courts decide how to deal with dissenters.

Fear Commuters

Trainmen on the Long Island Rail Road recently said they were afraid of “physical assault by commuters” angered by the new fare increase and the poor service. Trainmen threatened to refuse to operate trains unless they were given police protection on every run. To avert threatened work stoppages by trainmen, management personnel agreed to ride the trains with them and special policemen were stationed at key spots. By the end of the first day no violence had been reported.

Switch to Metric System

The Canadian government has announced that it will eventually convert to the metric system. Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand are the only nations still dependent on the nonmetric system. Britain is working ward adoption of the metric system by 1975. The Canadian government believes that adoption of the metric system is ultimately inevitable and desirable.

The Right to Work

A prisoner confined to maximum security and its idleness appealed to the Federal Court for the right to work. The United States district judge stated that enforced idleness is an extreme form of punishment and ordered prison officials to produce a program of work, exercise and recreation for the prisoner. It was a defense contention that the prisoner’s mental powers have deteriorated as a result of his having been detained in solitary confinement with little to do but read and watch television.

The President’s Message

In his first State of the Union Message, the 37th president of the United States, Richard M. Nixon, placed “first priority” on world peace and a “just” settlement of the war in Vietnam. But his major preoccupation was the state of America. Commenting on his speech, the New York Times said: “His picture was of a nation robbed of its natural heritage by human and industrial carelessness, cheated of the dividends of economic growth by inflation, poorly served by a proliferating Federal apparatus, and threatened by crime and the growth in population.” Nixon’s theme was best expressed perhaps in a rhetorical question. “In the next ten years we shall increase our wealth by 50 percent,” he said. “The profound question is​—does this mean that we will be 50 percent richer in a real sense, 50 percent better off, 50 percent happier?” Does the record of the past ten years provide a sound basis for answering, Yes? The majority of the nation’s peoples who live in metropolitan areas choked by traffic, suffocated by smog, poisoned by water, deafened by noise and terrorized by crime see little reason for great optimism.

Sting of a Bee

Authorities warn that the sting of a bee, wasp or hornet could be fatal if not looked after immediately. The Greater New York Safety Council says persons who suffer a severe reaction to such a sting should seek quick aid. Reactions include continued pain, heat throughout the body, aching joints and the appearance of hives.

Bible Reading Barred

The Albert Gallatin school district, near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, had to end its practice of broadcasting prayers and Bible readings in school classrooms. Federal Judge Louis Rosenberg cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision of 1963 which held religious activities in public schools to be in violation of the constitutional separation of church and state. However, the judge said that he was offering no opinion on “any religious observances resulting from the free actions of children meeting on their own time and of their own volition, even on school premises.”

Marijuana and Lung Cancer

The addiction Research Foundation of Ontario, Canada, reported that prolonged heavy smoking of marijuana ‘generates’ lung cancer. Studies in India have established that heavy marijuana smokers “suffered a greatly increased incidence of chronic lung disease.”

A Factor in Suicide?

The newspapers may be a causal factor in suicide, asserted Professor Jerome A. Motto of the University of California School of Medicine at San Francisco. It was noticed that the suicide rate in the Detroit area dropped 20 percent below normal between November 1967 and August 1968, during which time no newspapers appeared in Detroit, as the result of a strike. The suicide rate for women in particular dropped by 50 percent, to three per 100,000, during the newspaper blackout. Science News stated that professor Motto blamed newspapers for their “constant emphasis on violence, aggression, sexuality, power and notoriety.”

Maxi-Problems

Today’s woman, according to the Greater New York Safety Council, does not know how to wear maxicoats. Of course, the last time the long coats were worn was when people rode the horse and buggy, and since then things have changed. A number of department stores have found that the maxicoats and escalators do not make a good combination. In many stores signs are now posted in front of the escalators, saying, “Ladies, lift your maxis.” Subways and buses, with their high steps and automatic doors, pose still another problem for maxi wearers.

Children and Television

A mother from Shreveport, Louisiana, recently wrote the following: “My five-year-old used to have nightmares every night, awakening crying and screaming; he would wet the bed every night. Doctors had said there was nothing organically wrong with him. Then after learning about the importance of being discriminating in choosing television shows to watch, I realized that my children were watching too many monster pictures on television. Now there are no more monster pictures nor shows that include violence and there’s no more bed-wetting.” Perhaps other mothers may profit similarly by regulating what their children are viewing on television.

Catholics and Voodoo

A published account says that “more than 67 percent of Brazil’s Catholics attend macumba or voodoo sessions, 75 percent believe in amulets and 62 percent believe in sacrificial offerings, usually made to spirits. And yet 98.5 percent have their children baptized in the church.” Auxiliary Bishop De Castro Pinto of Rio de Janeiro confirmed these statistics and blamed the “superficiality of Catholic instruction in Brazil” for the facts they reveal.

Facing “Educational Suicide”

Episcopal minister Almus M. Thorp, Sr., executive director of the Board for Theological Education, revealed on January 25 that the Episcopal Church is having its enrollment and money problems. The crux of the matter, he emphasized, is a lack of money. Without a cutback and without substantial financial help from the man in the pew, Thorp said, the church’s ministerial training program would face “educational suicide.” Therefore, the Episcopal Church has decided to reduce the number of its seminaries from the present eleven to five or fewer.

Would You Like to Know

Would you like to know the “inner” meaning of the Bible? Especially the portion commonly called the “New Testament“? Since our English versions are only translations, sometimes the finer shades of meaning of the original language can be lost. Now you can read the “Christian Greek Scriptures” in one of the finest modern English translations, but you can, in addition, follow the original Greek with the exact word-for-word translation written between the lines. Now you can know the exact meaning of the original language of the Bible and make your own comparison with any other translation. An invaluable aid to the Bible scholar.

The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures Send today, only $2

I am enclosing $2. Please send me The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures.

Millions Are Going! Are You?

If you love freedom you will!

In 1969 2,719,860 were there!

On March 22, 1970, everything indicates, even more will attend. That is because each year more and more lovers of freedom are beginning to realize where only true freedom is to be found. The greatest Liberator of all times was Jesus Christ, who said: “If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31, 32.

Free from what? From fear of man, from bondage to superstition, ignorance and false religion, from selfish ambition and corrupt practices and from the great enslaver, Satan the Devil.

But, why March 22, 1970? And go where?

This year, March 22 is the anniversary of the day that the great Liberator, Jesus Christ, established the festival memorializing his death. How fitting it is that Jesus’ disciples should come together annually in their Kingdom Halls to consider all he did for them and to commemorate his death, because it is through his death that all honest-hearted persons of the world can and will become a free people.​—1 Cor. 11:23-25.

All readers of Awake! are invited to meet with the Christian witnesses of Jehovah as they gather in their Kingdom Halls on the evening of March 22 to celebrate this feast of liberation. Seats are free and no collection will be taken.

[Picture on page 32]

Come to the Festival of a FREE PEOPLE!