Our comic weeklies and newspaper supplements continue to print Prohibition jokes, much to the delight of their readers. One fearless periodical, Judge, has come out openly for light wines and beer—and lost a valued contributor thereby10. Another paper, on the contrary, solemnly prints this editorial, headed “There Are Jokes and Jokes”:
139 “A great concern operating vaudeville theaters in most of the large cities has issued an order that all performers must cut out their jokes about Prohibition. This is progress. It should be followed by orders to eliminate Prohibition jokes from our legislatures, courts, police stations, city halls, and all other places where men supposed to be serious and doing serious work are to be found. The outstanding fact about Prohibition seems to be that people forget that it came about through an amendment to the United States Constitution.”
Meanwhile, the mother-in-law joke is tolerated, and roared at. It is perfectly11 all right for a man to make fun of his wife’s mother, since there is no formal statute12 against such jests; but it is unthinkable that he should laugh at himself because he can’t get a simple glass of beer. The country he fought for, and was willing to die for, denies him an ancient form of enjoyment13. He could make fun openly of negroes, though the Fifteenth Amendment tells him that they are his peers.
The reformer, you see, never counted upon the chaffing which the Volstead Act would have to stand. Ridicule14 can kill anything, and they know it now. Therefore, they must stop ridicule by mandate15. Heaven knows there is little to smile at these days—except Prohibition. Are we to have that luxury taken from us too?
It looks that way. Yet no law can control people’s innermost feelings. No request—amounting to140 an order—can coerce16 a nation to do something it is not impelled17 to do, of itself. One remembers a sad time, not so long ago, when we were begged to remain neutral in thought, word and deed; and notices were printed in theater programs, urging us to make no demonstration18 when the troops of the Allies crossed the screen; to give no sign when the German army did likewise. Yet there was a burst of applause or a burst of hisses19, just the same. The minds of a people cannot be controlled. It is nonsense to try to control them.
Now the fanatics would seek to rob us of the joy of laughter. For of course they despise and detest20 laughter. Laughter—ridicule—is a sword that can be used against them. We can make this whole business of Prohibition so ludicrous that we can laugh it out of the statutes21. Guffaws22 have disturbed many a solemn meeting; and a single cartoon has broken many a promising23 politician. One may be able to stand up against a serious argument; but lampooning24 has destroyed even men of genius.
All was to be well the moment the Eighteenth Amendment became a fact. Everyone was going to sit still and take it very seriously, just as the Prohibitionists had planned. The lid was on, and on it would remain—forever and ever. Puritans have no sense of humor, or they would not be Puritans. They had not dreamed that someone would overturn the can on which the lid was placed, and, through sheer joy of living, shout and sing as of old.141 The habits of generations cannot be changed in a moment. We who had been accustomed to decent drinking did not intend to stop at once. We would “taper off,” as the topers put it. We had laid aside a little supply of jollity, and the word would go about that So-and-so had a large enough and deep enough cellar to permit him to entertain for at least three or four years.
One of the strange things about Prohibition was the fact that, with its coming, everyone imagined that everyone else would turn miser25 concerning treating. But here again the human element was forgotten. Everyone seems more anxious than ever to prove that his bootlegger has an exhaustless supply; and a certain pride is taken in handing out innumerable drinks. An aristocracy has arisen that even serves liqueurs after coffee—as though a plethora26 of crême de menthe and yellow and green chartreuse were in the land. The proverbial generosity27 of the American was never more in evidence. Where one was niggardly28, perhaps, in the old days, one can scarcely afford to be so now; and those who accept drinks without returning them are frowned upon as unworthy. They are the outcasts of a new society, the lowest form of hanger-on. Of course they are not nearly so numerous as of old; therefore they are more conspicuous29.
And so the laughter goes on; but even when the reformers do not hear it, they writhe30, knowing of its existence. Once in a great while some echo reaches142 them, no doubt. Things have not “straightened out” as they had anticipated; and so they squirm, and rage, and puff31 up, and devise ways and means to call a complete halt on all merriment, whether it is directed at them or not.
In all seriousness a woman’s temperance society sent a mandate to every editor in the United States not long ago, bidding them cease satirizing32 Prohibition. It would not do, they contended, to continue to smile at the sacred Eighteenth Amendment. Mr. Volstead, also, was sacrosanct33; and it was outrageous34 the way piety35 was pooh-poohed, and what did the editors mean by such conduct, and why didn’t they stop it and obey teacher and be good?
And every government official, when he gets up at a banquet to make a speech, begs his hearers to heed36 the law—though he knows full well that down the street another banquet may be going on, attended by officials equally high, where the law is never thought of. It is a sad commentary on our government when it is necessary thus to address the people. “We must be one people, one union—and that the American union,” shouted one representative of the government speaking in Chicago before a business men’s convention. And he went on to say, “Whenever a newspaper ridicules37 a law, plays up a policy of contempt for law and its enforcement and in its news and editorial columns fosters law-breaking, that newspaper is doing more to destroy American institutions than a Federal Judge can do to maintain143 them.... No man in public life who is possessed38 of vision and realizes his responsibility to Government would favor regulation of the public press by law, but it is obvious that the power of the press must not be used to foster disrespect for our Government and disobedience to its laws.”
Free speech will not be tolerated, if the fanatics have their way. Yet the first article in the Amendments40 to the Constitution says:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging41 the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress42 of grievances43.”
In order that the Eighteenth Amendment may be upheld, the First may be forgotten.
But to get back for a moment to the ladies of the something-or-other temperance society. A brilliant writer, Mr. Edward S. Martin, answered them delightfully44 in Harper’s Magazine; and with the kind permission of the editors of that periodical, I am privileged to make extracts from his article. Mr. Martin never loses his temper, as the ladies certainly did. He remains45, as ever, the tactful, urbane46, pitying occupant of the editor’s easy-chair. He does not even frown. He speaks from a long experience, gently but to the point:
“The enforcement of Prohibition meets with some obstacles and furnishes food for thought to144 two large groups in the community—the people who want it enforced and the people who occasionally want something to drink. Just at the moment it seems as if the people who want a drink are somewhat ahead of the other group in the competition; at any rate, the group that wants enforcement seems to think it necessary to make extra effort. To Harper’s Magazine, as doubtless to hundreds of other periodicals, has come a communication from the Committee for Prohibition Enforcement of a much-respected and powerful organization of women, which announces that the committee has adopted a program, the items of which it communicates. The fifth item is to the effect that all the ministers be urged to preach and teach the necessity for respect for and observance of the law. The sixth item runs, ‘That every theatrical47 manager, movie manager, and editor, whether of a daily, weekly or monthly publication, be requested to see that all jokes ridiculing48 Prohibition and its enforcement are eliminated from any production, film, or article coming under his jurisdiction49, and that the matter be treated with that seriousness that the subject merits; and that this resolution be thrown on the screen and printed in the different papers and magazines throughout the country.’
“The demand for protection from jokes is often made and always implies that there is something that needs to be joked about. There is a sin called ‘sacrilege.’ If we joke about things that are sacred145 to enough people, it gives a kind of offense50 which, even if the law does not punish it, it is not safe to excite. There is a sin of blasphemy51, which we suppose the law will still punish if it is gross enough. It will be agreed that the considerate people do not jest about sacred things, nor even about things which, though not sacred to themselves, are sacred to the people they are talking to. Well, then, is Prohibition one of these sacred things we must not talk about? Are amendments of the Constitution and the Volstead law to rank with the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount as not being safely subject to derisive52 comment?
“Something like that seems to be in the minds of the women whose communication we have received, who include item six in their program, but if so, their attitude is wrong. A constitutional amendment is not sacred, much less a Volstead Act. It is the Volstead law that the jokes on Prohibition are aimed at more than the amendment. If we cannot joke about an act of Congress, then indeed things have come to a restricted pass. If a law is bad, one of the ways to beat it is to laugh it out of court. If that is being done about the Volstead law, the ladies who want that law enforced would do well to examine it and see why it is not enforced, rather than try to stop jokers from laughing at it.
“A letter writer to a newspaper says, ‘If it is true that a community gets the kind of government it146 deserves, it is equally true that a law gets the kind of obedience39 it deserves.’ His assertion may be disputed, but still, if the Volstead law is not being respected, is it certain that it deserves respect? It is a law in the process of being tried out. If it is good we want it enforced. If it is bad we want it amended53, but we do not want to be choked off from discussing it or testing it. There is no power in Congress to say what is right or wrong. The most that Congress can do is to say what is lawful54 or unlawful. The distinction is important. The practical judge of whether a law is right or wrong is the general community to which the law applies. If that community will not back up the enforcement of the law, it will not be enforced. It is yet to be demonstrated how far the Volstead law, as it stands, is enforceable. If its fruits do not please a majority of the people who live under it, it may have to be modified so that it will stand for something that is near enough to be the popular judgment55 of what is right to win popular support. There is a great deal of good in the present Prohibition movement. It put the saloons out of business. It checked the brewers and distillers in their over-strenuous efforts to sell their products. It accomplished56 benefits which probably could not have been accomplished except by the kind of clean sweep that the amendment was. But it was necessarily a rough job—an experiment to be tried out in practice. If its rules need modification57, they may get it or they may not,147 but if not, they may be practically modified in enforcement.
“Who is boss in this country? Is it the President, the Senate, the House, the Supreme58 Court, the state authorities, the newspapers, the lawyers, the ministers, the doctors, or possibly the women?
“None of them! Public opinion is the boss. In the long run, what public opinion demands it gets. Laws to be of any worth have to have sanction. That is, there must be something to make people who violate them feel that they are doing wrong. The laws of nature have abundant sanction. If you fool with the law of gravitation, you get bumped. There is no trouble about the enforcement of the law of gravitation. Nobody goes around begging you not to ridicule it. It takes care of itself, and if you flout59 it you pay the consequences. The Ten Commandments have a sanction of long experience. Some of them are obsolete60, but the others are respected, and, though they are not directly enforced by the courts, laws based on them are so enforced. Public opinion hereabouts rests very considerably61 on the Ten Commandments. They have shaped the habits of thought and deportment of many millions of people, including most of those now living in this country.
“The trouble with the present enforcement of Prohibition is that it has not yet got moral sanction enough to make it effective. Public opinion will back up the law in closing the saloons and restricting and regulating the sale of intoxicants, but it does not148 follow it, for one thing, in defining a beverage62 with an alcoholic63 content of one half of one per cent as intoxicating64. When it comes to that, public opinion laughs, because that is contrary to its experience. Furthermore, public opinion shows as yet no particular fervor65 about achieving a total stoppage of alcoholic supplies from those who want them. No serious stigma66 attaches to violations67 of the Volstead law by private buyers. Fines and like embarrassments68 may result, but not disrepute. A good many fairly decent people seem to buy what they want, and do not conceal69 it. The people who thought before the law was adopted that it was wicked or inexpedient to drink intoxicants, still think so. The people who thought otherwise continue to think otherwise. Many people drink less than before the law began to operate, but a good many other people drink more, and buy much worse beverages70 at much higher prices. To some extent Prohibition seems to have made drinking popular by diminishing the individual discouragement of it and putting the responsibility for the maintenance of temperance on a law and the officers who enforce it. That may be only a temporary effect, but if it turns out that the Volstead law, as it is, cannot be enforced at the present time, there may possibly be an effort to tinker it—to put it into such shape that public opinion will stand back of it and give it a sanction. The alternative would be to wait and see what effect time will have on men and habits. There is no one to tell us149 that we shall be damned if we disobey the Volstead law, and so long as juries refuse to convict persons who violate it, it stands modified in practice....
“The organizations, political, commercial, religious, that seek to shape public opinion all use propaganda. We all know what that means because we have all had such a surfeit71 of it. During the War we were flooded with it and everyone learned what it was and how to use it. It is put out by speakers, on the movie screens and in print wherever possible. Organization secured Prohibition, but organization is not public opinion and may for a time override72 it. Organization works on the run with noise and big headlines and meetings and even with threats. Public opinion slowly takes form in the minds of individuals. There comes in Lincoln’s saying about the impossibility of fooling all the people all the time. Propaganda may overwhelm private judgment for a time, but private judgment keeps on working after propaganda ceases. It digests what has been offered to it. The common facts of life continue to appeal to it and impress it. It views what propaganda has accomplished and slowly and deliberately73 considers whether it is good, and if it concludes that it is not good it ceases to back it and then there has to be something different, something that looks like improvement....”
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1
prohibition
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| n.禁止；禁令，禁律 | |
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disparagingly
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| adv.以贬抑的口吻，以轻视的态度 | |
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amendment
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| n.改正，修正，改善，修正案 | |
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fanatics
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| 狂热者，入迷者( fanatic的名词复数 ) | |
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vaudeville
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| n.歌舞杂耍表演 | |
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incensed
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| 盛怒的 | |
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shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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wheezes
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| n.喘息声( wheeze的名词复数 )v.喘息，发出呼哧呼哧的喘息声( wheeze的第三人称单数 ) | |
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flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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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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statute
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| n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例 | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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mandate
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| n.托管地；命令，指示 | |
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coerce
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| v.强迫，压制 | |
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impelled
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| v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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hisses
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| 嘶嘶声( hiss的名词复数 ) | |
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detest
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| vt.痛恨，憎恶 | |
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statutes
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| 成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程 | |
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guffaws
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| n.大笑，狂笑( guffaw的名词复数 )v.大笑，狂笑( guffaw的第三人称单数 ) | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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lampooning
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| v.冷嘲热讽，奚落( lampoon的现在分词 ) | |
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miser
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| n.守财奴，吝啬鬼 (adj.miserly) | |
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plethora
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| n.过量，过剩 | |
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generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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niggardly
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| adj.吝啬的，很少的 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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writhe
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| vt.挣扎，痛苦地扭曲；vi.扭曲，翻腾，受苦；n.翻腾，苦恼 | |
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puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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satirizing
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| v.讽刺，讥讽( satirize的现在分词 ) | |
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sacrosanct
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| adj.神圣不可侵犯的 | |
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outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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ridicules
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| n.嘲笑( ridicule的名词复数 )；奚落；嘲弄；戏弄v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的第三人称单数 ) | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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amendments
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| （法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案 | |
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abridging
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| 节略( abridge的现在分词 )； 减少； 缩短； 剥夺（某人的）权利（或特权等） | |
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redress
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| n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除 | |
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grievances
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| n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚 | |
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delightfully
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| 大喜，欣然 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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urbane
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| adj.温文尔雅的，懂礼的 | |
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theatrical
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| adj.剧场的，演戏的；做戏似的，做作的 | |
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ridiculing
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| v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的现在分词 ) | |
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jurisdiction
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| n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权 | |
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offense
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| n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪 | |
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blasphemy
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| n.亵渎，渎神 | |
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derisive
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| adj.嘲弄的 | |
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53
Amended
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| adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词 | |
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lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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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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modification
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| n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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flout
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| v./n.嘲弄，愚弄，轻视 | |
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obsolete
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| adj.已废弃的，过时的 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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beverage
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| n.(水，酒等之外的)饮料 | |
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alcoholic
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| adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者 | |
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intoxicating
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| a. 醉人的,使人兴奋的 | |
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fervor
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| n.热诚；热心；炽热 | |
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stigma
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| n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头 | |
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violations
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| 违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸 | |
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embarrassments
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| n.尴尬( embarrassment的名词复数 )；难堪；局促不安；令人难堪或耻辱的事 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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beverages
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| n.饮料( beverage的名词复数 ) | |
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surfeit
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| v.使饮食过度；n.(食物)过量，过度 | |
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override
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| vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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