Flawed Ideals
Man spends his energies on irrational phobias. How many lives are wasted because they are misdirected? No real ethical fulfilment is possible without a balanced set of humane ideals.
Philip John Bayer, the founder of Quaker State Refining Co., was one of America’s business magnates. The only son born to him was succeeded by one daughter, Eleanor Ritchey.
Being a single child, she inherited an enormous sum of money. However, she hated human beings and chose to remain single. She died on October 14, 1968, at the age of 58.
Having no human beings as her companions, she developed curious habits to pursue pleasure. For example, she would buy numerous pairs of shoes since she never wore any pair of shoes more than once. Similarly, she would buy stationery boxes with astonishing frequency. These were a few of her idiosyncrasies. She left 1707 pairs of shoes and 1224 stationery boxes to posterity.
Stranger still was her interest in dogs. Whenever she went out in her car, she would pick up stray dogs on the street, bring them home and look after them with special care. In this manner, she collected about 150 dogs. When her home could no longer accommodate such a massive pack of dogs, she initially bought a 12-acre piece of land to ensure their comfort.
She mentioned that all her wealth would go to her pet dogs in her will. Only after all her pet dogs had died would her wealth be transferred to the Alabama School of Veterinary Science. In the end, only one dog, Musketeer, had survived. At that time, this 13-year-old dog had become so weak when it walked; its legs trembled and fell to the ground while coughing. After Muskteteer died, the School of Veterinary Science received its magnificent inheritance.
Even the bequeathing of her wealth, although, to her, it was altruistic in purpose, was marked by eccentricity and was the offshoot of flawed idealism. It would have been better if her efforts had been directed toward human ends. Without a sound set of ideals, humanity had become less than nothing for her, and her energies were frittered away in irrational phobias. How many lives are thus wasted because they are misdirected? No real ethical fulfilment is possible without a balanced set of humane ideals.
