Most of us can remember how, not so many years ago, when we wished to throw away our vote, we cast it for the Prohibition ticket. Some unknown “crank” was running for office on a dry platform. “What a joke,” we said, “to give him the weight of our affirmation, to enlarge his pitiful handful of white ballots4! It will be a good way to get even with the arrogant5 Mr. So-and-So.”
2 And into the box we laughingly dropped the bit of paper which might cause a mention to be made of the crank in the next morning’s news columns. Delightful6, insincere flattery, which could not possibly do any harm. How well, how thoroughly7, how consistently we gave it, never dreaming that the solemn hour would strike when our gesture would no longer be a joke.
The morning came when the headlines in our newspapers proclaimed the fact that State after State was following the road of Kansas, Washington, Maine and Oregon, to mention only a few States which for some time had elected to make laws that were almost blue. Local option—yes, we had heard of it in the effete8 East. There were districts, we knew, which chose the path of so-called virtue9; and they were welcome to their sanctimoniousness10. In our hearts we rather approved of them for the stand which they had taken—particularly when we learned, on an occasional visit, that it was mighty11 easy to give a dinner-party with plenty of liquid refreshment12. All one had to do, it seemed, was to lift the telephone receiver in Bangor, and ask that Boston send over a supply of whatever one desired. There were no restrictions13 against the transportation of liquor over the State line, though it was impossible to purchase wines and spirits in the holy community itself.
Our national insincerity began right there. The hiding of the ostrich’s head in the sands—that is3 what it amounted to; and we all smiled and laughed, and went on having a perfectly15 good time, and we told one another, if we discussed the matter at all, that of course the worst could never, never occur. What rot even to think of it; what idiocy16 to take seriously a state of affairs so nebulous and remote. It was like predicting a world war—which eventually came about; it was like dreaming of the inconvenience of a personal income tax—which also came about; it was like imagining that man would be so uncivilized as to break all international law—which, only a few years later, he did. Who foresaw the use of poisonous gas in the most frightful17 conflict of history? Who had vision enough to tell us that noncombatants would be killed, as they were in Belgium, though treaties had been signed which forbade such wanton cruelty? Who could foretell18 the bombing of cities far beyond the firing line? Yet these atrocities19 occurred with singular regularity20 once the world entered upon that stupendous struggle which began in August, 1914. We came to take such happenings for granted. We grew accustomed to terror, as one grows used to pain; and all that we had built and dreamed went crashing to dust and ashes.
Prohibition, I venture to say, was the last thing in the world the American people expected to have come upon them. Though temperance advocates were thick through the country, the brilliant bar-rooms held their own; and we came to look upon4 them as an essential part of the pageant21 of life, especially in cosmopolitan22 cities, with Salvation23 Army lassies entering them to pass the tambourine24. Men in their cups gave generously; and I often wonder if the revenue of pious25 organizations has not seriously diminished, now that there are no haunts of vice26 for holy workers to penetrate27. Surely they must miss this casual liberality—the coin or the bill cast with a grand and forgotten gesture into the extended hand.
But do not imagine I am holding a brief for the corner saloon. The sins of an enforced Prohibition are many, as I shall seek to prove; but the passing of the common drinking-place cannot be deprecated. No sane28, thinking citizen wishes to see a return of promiscuous29 debauchery. A glimpse now of the London “pubs” in the poorer districts of the English capital is enough to convince any American that he should thank his stars—if not his three-stars—that one phase of our social consciousness has vanished forever. If we could have sensibly rid ourselves of these rum-hells, without punishing a vast multitude of us who knew how to drink wisely, much good would have been accomplished30. But, American-like, we had to go the whole gamut31; we had to make ourselves ridiculous before the rest of the world, in order to bring about a check upon the gross appetites of a scattered32 few.
There is no doubt in my mind that there will be a reaction. The pendulum33 has swung too far, as5 any observer must admit. The present conditions throughout the country are so disgraceful that something must be done to remedy them. Our personal habits became a matter for federal investigation34; our daily conduct is now given to the scrutiny35 of the authorities—to our everlasting36 discredit37. We are a nation of self-appointed law-breakers, rejoicing alike in our secret and open wrong-doing. We are the laughing-stock of Europe; we are the jest of Canada and Mexico, our neighbors, and decent Americans feel that a stigma38 has been put upon them. We stammer39 explanations to visiting foreigners, who, confused and confounded, ask us what it all means; we are confused ourselves at the muddle40 our Government is making of the whole wretched business; and yet, being Americans who tolerate all kinds of injustices41, we meekly42 submit, the while we complain, and are too lazy, most of us, to lift up our voices, to utter one word publicly in derision of this monstrous43 foolishness.
What is to happen to us? Are we to become a race of machines, supinely submitting to autocratic mandates44? We have always allowed ruffians to rule us in our civic45 politics; and though once in a while we bitterly cry out, the ruffians, knowing our weaknesses only too well, pay no attention. We are like the worm that turns; but who cares, since no change is evident when the worm shows its other side?
One of the great troubles with America is that6 only in rare instances will the finer type of young manhood enter politics. We leave the high business of running the Government to men of inferior caliber46, whereas in a land like England, a political career is a distinction, as much to be chosen and sought as the Church. Until we come to a realization47 of the peril48 that confronts us through our spirit of laissez-faire we shall deserve, as Plato says, exactly the kind of Government we get.
With all our recognized national gusto and verve, there can be no denial of the tragic49 fact that we are mentally indolent when a political cause is in the balance. I have known men of worth in the professions and in the world of business to neglect the polls on Election Day in order to indulge in a game of golf; yet these are the first to cry out when the low-brow politicians triumph. We permit our jury-boxes to be filled by incompetent50 German-American grocers and butchers, clerks with little imagination, played-out failures and cab drivers and chauffeurs51 who are morons52. Even the women, who were so anxious for equal suffrage53, find, in many cases, that civic duties are a burden, and avoid their obvious responsibilities. We let George do everything which we find in the least unpleasant.
Well, there is a price for such lethargy. It is terrifying to read over the names of the judges and magistrates54 on the American Bench, and see how many are of foreign origin. Listen to the roll-call in any court-room. The Poppelfingers and Morinos7 and Sauerkrautzers predominate. Where are our first American families? It might be well to ask, indeed, where they will be in another generation or two.
You and I walk along the streets and see a man suddenly stricken. A crowd quickly gathers about his pitiful form, stares into his countenance55. A policeman calls an ambulance. A gong rings, and he is carried off to a hospital. You and I go our way, with perhaps a momentary56 tug57 at our heart. But it never occurs to us that the man in the street might have been ourselves. Such things happen to others—no, they could never, never happen to us. The lightning may strike a neighbor’s house or barn—but not our own. Death or disaster may come to the other fellow—never to us.
“It never can happen” might be our national slogan. Thus has a stupid Pollyanna optimism penetrated58 our civic thought, our political consciousness, our spiritual being; and the false doctrine59 is screamed from every housetop from Manhattan to Gopher Prairie. Pretty little poems, printed in neat frames, greet us wherever we turn. They urge us to cheer up, that it is not raining rain, but only flowers, and that God’s in His heaven and all’s right with the world—forgetting that Browning, when he penned his immortal60 line, referred to a particular morning for a particular man of vision, and by no means intended to be quoted out of his context, as a basis for the silly “gladness” of hoards61 of people who8 think they think. Our music-halls are crammed62 with comedians63 who sing, in loud voices, something about what’s the use of worrying, it never was worth while, and bidding us smile, smile, smile. And we clap and giggle64 and stamp our easy-going feet, and go out into the night, and are shoved and pushed into an over-crowded subway train, and still fondly cherish the delusion65 that we should keep on smiling, though a brutal66 train-guard’s boot is jammed into our reluctant back, so that we may become one more sardine67 in the steel box he is so expert in packing.
It would all be very amusing were it not so serious. Sinclair Lewis, who is becoming the best photographer this country ever produced, has not given us a false picture of our towns and cities. He tells the brutal truth, bravely. But we read him, smile, and say that of course it’s all very well, and such localities may exist, but they are not those in which we dwell. And all the while, about us, are the very folk his deft68 pen has drawn69. Babbitt—what a stupid old fool he is, and we may have seen him in smoking-compartments; but we never will admit that he is our next-door neighbor.
The day may come when we will have to admit that he is our very self. We have the superiority complex. Which of course is nothing but a confession70 that we are inferior. And in allowing restriction14 after restriction to be put upon us, how, in the name of common sense and in the words of the man in the street, do we get that way? We are the9 most governed people in the world today. There are plenty of laws, but little order; and the millennium71 that the Prohibitionists promised with the adoption72 of the Eighteenth Amendment73 is farther away than ever.
Let us wake up, and face conditions as they are. Let us not try to delude74 ourselves into a state of false happiness, when, at heart, we are the most unhappy nation now breathing the celebrated75 air. It is high time we did some solemn thinking. The writing is on the wall. It is our business to read the words inscribed76 there in letters of fire.
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1
prohibition
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| n.禁止；禁令，禁律 | |
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manifestations
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| n.表示，显示（manifestation的复数形式） | |
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phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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ballots
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| n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 ) | |
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arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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7
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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effete
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| adj.无生产力的，虚弱的 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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sanctimoniousness
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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refreshment
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| n.恢复，精神爽快，提神之事物；（复数）refreshments:点心，茶点 | |
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restrictions
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| 约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则） | |
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restriction
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| n.限制，约束 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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idiocy
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| n.愚蠢 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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foretell
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| v.预言，预告，预示 | |
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atrocities
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| n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪 | |
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regularity
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| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
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pageant
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| n.壮观的游行；露天历史剧 | |
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cosmopolitan
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| adj.世界性的，全世界的，四海为家的，全球的 | |
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salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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tambourine
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| n.铃鼓，手鼓 | |
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pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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promiscuous
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| adj.杂乱的，随便的 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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gamut
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| n.全音阶，(一领域的)全部知识 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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pendulum
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| n.摆，钟摆 | |
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investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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scrutiny
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| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
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everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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discredit
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| vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑 | |
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stigma
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| n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头 | |
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stammer
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| n.结巴，口吃；v.结结巴巴地说 | |
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muddle
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| n.困惑，混浊状态；vt.使混乱，使糊涂，使惊呆；vi.胡乱应付，混乱 | |
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41
injustices
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| 不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉 | |
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meekly
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| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
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monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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44
mandates
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| 托管（mandate的第三人称单数形式） | |
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civic
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| adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的 | |
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46
caliber
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| n.能力；水准 | |
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47
realization
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| n.实现；认识到，深刻了解 | |
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48
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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49
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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50
incompetent
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| adj.无能力的，不能胜任的 | |
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51
chauffeurs
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| n.受雇于人的汽车司机( chauffeur的名词复数 ) | |
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52
morons
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| 傻子( moron的名词复数 )； 痴愚者（指心理年龄在8至12岁的成年人） | |
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53
suffrage
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| n.投票，选举权，参政权 | |
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54
magistrates
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| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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55
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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tug
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| v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船 | |
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penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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59
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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hoards
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| n.（钱财、食物或其他珍贵物品的）储藏，积存( hoard的名词复数 )v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的第三人称单数 ) | |
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crammed
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| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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comedians
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| n.喜剧演员，丑角( comedian的名词复数 ) | |
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giggle
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| n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说 | |
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delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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sardine
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| n.[C]沙丁鱼 | |
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deft
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| adj.灵巧的，熟练的（a deft hand 能手） | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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millennium
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| n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世 | |
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adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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amendment
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| n.改正，修正，改善，修正案 | |
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delude
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| vt.欺骗；哄骗 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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inscribed
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
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