ACCURATE THINKING 673the news, and who judges others by what their enemies, competitors,
and contemporaries say about them.
From among your circle of acquaintances, pick out one of this
type as an example to keep in mind while we are on this subject.
Observe that this person usually begins conversations with phrases
such as "I see by the papers .. :' or "they say ... " The accurate thinker
knows that the newspapers are not always accurate in their reports,
and that what "they say" usually carries more falsehood than truth.
In searching for facts it is often necessary to gather them through
the knowledge and experience of others. It then becomes necessary to
carefully examine both the evidence submitted and the person from
whom the evidence comes. When the evidence is such that it affects
the interest of the witness who is giving it, scrutinize it all the more
carefully. Witnesses who have an interest in the evidence often yield
to the temptation to color and misuse it to protect that interest.
If one person slanders another, those remarks should be accepted
with some caution, for it is a common human tendency for people
to find nothing but evil in those they do not like. Anyone who has
reached the degree of Accurate Thinking that enables them to speak
of their enemy without exaggerating that person's faults and minimi-
zing their virtues is the exception and not the rule.
Before you can become an accurate thinker, you must understand
and make allowance for the fact that the moment a man or a woman
begins to assume Leadership in any walk of life, the slanderers begin
to circulate rumors and innuendos reflecting on his or her character.
No matter how fine one's character, or what service that person
may be rendering to the world, no one can escape the notice of those
misguided people who delight in destroying instead of building.
The moment anyone begins to make themself felt in the field of
industry or business, this chorus becomes active. If one makes a better
mousetrap than their neighbor, the world will beat a path to their door,
and in the gang that will trail along will be those who come not to
commend but to condemn and to destroy that person's reputation.