Editorial December 14, 1968 Issue

Compulsion or Impulsion?

William Milford Correll

One might well ask himself, "What motivates me in what I do? Do I do things from a sense of obligation, duty, the legal requirement, or do I do things because I desire to do them, because I love to do them?"

The comparison of these two trends of thought has long been a matter of religious discussion and today is again receiving attention from what is called the "love generation." The current rebellion is against the establishment, against what would formally obligate one to fulfill certain behavior, certain duties, certain traditional demands. There is a desire that each one do his "thing" in his own way and in his own time.

Underlying this desire may well be the urge to sustain individuality and break away from stereotypes. One perceives the refusal to become a cog in a wheel, a number on a chart, or a chart, or a pattern of holes punched in a card. Can we say this is wrong? Even if we cannot condone some of the ways the new generation is expressing this urge, we must admit that it is Christianly scientific to think individually and to act from new and unfolding standpoints.

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