Letters: October 19, 1951

    I wonder sometimes just how one individual manages to find the world so fascinating, and at the same time so complex. At least some of the minor problems. For instance your two latest ones. One, the misunderstanding with the colored boy. First of all I don’t know all the circumstances other than what you told me. But from what you told me I would gather that it was a bit of subconscious leading on due mostly to a conscious desire for withdrawing the ever present color line. It’s happened many, many times before and will happen many times again. I don’t think the fault is entirely yours but mostly the colored “entity” because he is surmising that friendship means too many things. I believe he is one of the minority of the colored people who most of the intelligent negroes look down on solely for what he tried or would. Equality for the negro people does not mean inter-racial love or marriage and they, the negroes, would be the first to say so. All they want are the same freedoms the white people have, which should be evident to you, but apparently not to your colored admirer!
    Your educational troubles are kind of funny seeing as you say you are sort of at a status quo as far as learning goes. I felt the same until I realized one important point, that learning is entirely up to the student, not the instructor. During the stage of education you are now in, the instructor shouldn’t even present a background. That is up to you to look for and find out for yourself. The instructor serves merely as a guide. The shortcuts you find yourself. Your ideas on education should be your own, based on a study of many ideas and perhaps consolidated to the extent of utilizing them to whatever end you desire. Never lean on the instructor but find out for yourself. The process of learning is done by assimilation and then application of said assimilation to the desired level.
    Now that I have magnificently summarized two earth shattering problems, how about that picture of you in a nightgown. In fact, how about some more mail too? Your letters are too infrequent and you were doing a real swell job for a while.
    I still have the same setup here at 8th Army Hq in Seoul. It gets better all the time. But I think I’ll soon be going to Japan. Hope so anyway.
    Bye for now hon. All those trips I’ve talked about sound better when you talk about them. We’ll make them. So all for now. Beaucoup Love.