The Little Review, March 1915 (Vol. 2, No. 1)Various
General
The Little Review, March 1915 (Vol. 2, No. 1)
Various
Literature, Modern -- 20th century -- Periodicals
Who, for instance, could have imagined that _The New York Times_, mental
yokel though it is, could come out with a two-column editorial article
against suffrage on the ground that women are not fitted to vote because
they do not share men’s economic burdens? It must have been six months
ago at least that _The Times_ published a census report on its back page
showing that 30.6 per cent of all the females in New York over ten years
of age are engaged in gainful occupations. You would think census
statistics would be just the thing to attract the eye of that editorial
writer. But here the editorial is, like an unbelievable fossil come to
life. If it represented merely a Tory minority we could afford to laugh
and wait for its partisans to die. It represents, however, the astute
judgment of _The Times_ as to what several hundred thousand people in
New York city really think. The big newspaper cannot afford to try
leading public opinion. It must agree with as many people of buying
capacity as possible. And here we are again, face to face with a blind,
stupid majority.
One begins to speculate on what possibility there is for a democracy
except running about in circles. Everything is apparently arranged so
that the majority can enforce its immediate will, and its immediate will
is always several generations behind the wisdom of its best citizens. An
enthroned tyrant can be dynamited, but a hydra-headed tyrant in the
election booth must be educated. What a wearisome, unromantic task that
is! Many a man who would exultingly give his life in the adventure of
assassination retires to his study before the labor of training a mob.
He has neither the strength of imagination nor the strength of heart
necessary to fight his way inch by inch. Here is a real sacrifice to be
made for the future. Here is a chance for modern heroes with stuff in
them. Here is an opportunity to substitute soul-testing labor for
amateur theatricals. To leaven stupidity, to work with raw and shouting
enthusiasts, to be humble enough to accept each partial victory, each
compromise, and still to fight for the next one—this is the challenge of
faith which proves to us there is still iron in mankind. There is
satisfaction in the thought that victories have not become easier. Many
a Launcelot would go insane in the trenches.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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