The American journal; American spokesman, part 2

By the way I feel about my kids sometimes and hate myself after what might have been like what could be but probably won't. It's law is that the gap between what years I couldn't live without them and neither could you. What was it you said. I said The trouble is someone around here is a liar. We all are. People always have been. Ever since they first thought of ought and should and learned about time in the past. Time in the present and time the future. You couldn't live without lies to bridge the gap. It's not lies like that that make trouble so long as you know the truth. When you look in the mirror and see the truth it's all right. It's when you look in a mirror and see a lie and believe it that's when there's trouble when the image lies. There's trouble it's the way we see ourselves that makes the difference. Love shall not kill except in time of war or when other

circumstances require it. Love shall keep the Sabbath holy. Except when circumstances require you to work on Sunday. Honor the parents except in circumstances in which your parents are mean irresponsible or neurotic or unless they suffer from maternal rejection. Love shall not give way to lust. Accepted conventions when valid must be a regular fellow. Or when entertaining an out of town buyer business his business. Shalt Not Steal. Except hotel towels and loose articles from railroads. Not Bear False Witness. Except in dealing with the tax collector. And except in all cases involving liability claims or Except when making application for a job. Shall not covet my neighbor's goods.

Unless the neighbor's name is Jones. If thou does not keep up with Jones that will surely wreck the economy. Principle is bent to circumstance. Morality is adjusted to the times. Poison gas is an immoral weapon of war. Poison gas is good for executing criminals. Jellied gasoline is an efficient weapon of war. It would be immoral to execute criminals with a flame thrower. Dignity of honest labor is a first principle of organized labor. If the workers stay in many a factory there must not work if at best but at the level of the slowest the most aid in protecting the slower producers by curbing by self. Competition is the first principle of the free enterprise system that all must come together at times with competitors. This competition by price slay of many

that must aid in protecting the less efficient by common agreement. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

The tender salad days time of the turtle. And joyous and carefree uproarious daring to dream romantic daring to. Improve patient a headstrong headlong war hot flaming Dauntless. You said you dearie don't tell me you never had it.

You. Well of course I've had it. Now there's a word with which to plumb a grown man's psyche or a grown woman. Youth. What does it bring to mind. Fountain of oh where for art thou fountain of my friend the Swami says I'm no older than I think I am. Then I think I fertilized chicken eggs. You say monkey glands no fertilized chicken eggs. That's what that sort of doctor out in Frisco is using claimed where two young girls do the same thing without the fuss and feathers. Diane the Swami says youth is not a condition of the body it is a condition of the my. I am know that I well I think a person should act is a. Don't you think so Herbie. But don't hold back Daddy oh come on let's do it. What then of those among us who are in fact young in heart

young in thought in appearance young in years. What about them young punks. Little slips when they don't bore me they scare me. Crazy kids with let's say a can of kerosene just a can of kerosene. Yeah I didn't die I tell you he's one of those fire bugs are a teenage boy with a car. You don't suppose he stole it. He'll kill someone with it. You wait and see if he doesn't rape somebody in it. Or a teenage boy with a book. What book. Who wrote it. What's it about. Is he speaking off to his room to read it. These teenagers may have the biggest minds with an idea of all the half baked what kind of alien class Tranmere they feeding you kids down at the high school with a classmate. I know all about desegregation you don't have to tell me this wasn't on a bus and it wasn't school and it

was. At a lunch counter either this happened to be right next door. Now how do you like that. With an adult male friend. Well if you were a normal adult male he'd be married wouldn't he. I'm kind of a man takes a boy to an art gallery. What kind of a boy goes or an adult female friend to you if that's what comes of allowing plays like that sympathy thing I always say if you let them do it on the stage they'll soon be doing it on Main Street. Well now dear I didn't say they were doing it on Main Street but they certainly were. With the girlfriend and all of her with young punks around with these gang my gang and I used to get together to sing on the street like these kids they're going to have a rumble That's one big rumble all financing round. Nature with talent. I guess we all know what's really carries around.

Listen I don't care if it is kewl business to look at it when I see one tree like oh my God he's going to be one of those junkies are a teenage boy with a dream glittery time running around staring at the ceiling. OH MY GOD HE. Is the boogeyman under the bed is a teenager. More than one expert observer has said it's that American culture is afraid of you just plain scared of its teenagers. You just don't know John you simply don't understand. I know she's only 16 years old. Numbers have it much to do with true age. She's never been a real teenager she's different you know that the difference is she's our daughter. The difference is she said danced she always has been. Don't you remember. I remember that's what you said when you bought her a Brazilian at a time when she needed it. Less than I

did and you said the same thing about high heel shoes and lipstick and beauty parlor hairdos all of the needs when when pigtails and sneakers were her proper style. Maybe you also remember that our daughter never did go through that silly body sucks or stage swooning over some dis gusting male performer schoolie And that's right at 14 she was swimming over a steady boyfriend. But let me tell you what I remember best. I remember that teen age doll she had when she was about 11 you remember that. Of course I do I gave it to what I remember about that doll is that it had three wedding gowns three wedding gowns. It bothered me then and it bothers me a whole lot more not well what has that got to do with this John. The girl is ready. Don't you know what I mean she's right. She's fairly bursting. I can't stand the worrying the anxiety of it you know how it is when you're young and ripe. Don't you know oh John can't you see it will be better to have her say I don't get it I thought a mother didn't like to think of losing her little girl.

But I won't be. That's right. How does it go. I won't be losing a little girl I'll be gaining a little boy all but we won't be losing her don't you see. We'll be saving her. That's all I want. I want to save her. The ignorant of old ate the lion's heart as an antidote to cowardice. It may be that we gobble up the youth as an antidote to aging. It may also be that fearing youths propensity for individual ization we gobble up youth as an antidote to freedom. Father Why does that lead you so gently

though I don't know son. It's quite meaningless. Don't worry about it. She snuggled against her breast like a little kid. I just never was careful. She Ever eyes half shut. Well the world doesn't mean you do doesn't mean a thing knew my son I think. Where's our daughter to day my dear. Down to her underwear. And what does she there in her underwear. She's a tiger do you think that she's big why proper. But I couldn't quite stop and. You can't. You know and you just need to go. But it must mean something I suppose to try to understand. Let's go into the living room and watch TV. Bring my glasses and my

toilet paper. I keep it all the time now it's. Really quite comforting. Haven't you seen the ads on TV. Yeah but you. Know I haven't seen that in the ads at all. I wonder why no. I say was he wore his watch before watching and when it stopped he just he saw a strange boy. Perhaps it's a brand of breakfast who would believe a word of the Dodos equally badly and just to turn it on. Yes good morning madam Good morning. Yes it was a magnificent set of chimes you have and so patriotic too. And such a charming living room. What I can see of it so charming. Stop pushing on that door please. So sorry.

It is a lovely living room and I just wanted to see more of it. So right now what I've come to see you about is a demonstration. But. Now. You've brought my pant leg and you're sorry. Well look my pants are torn. However I won't bring any complaint after all I said I was sorry but the truth is that the last time a man into this. Demonstrate how he sold me a lace joint machine for two hundred and forty eight dollars and I thought out later they had been for sale in the stores for forty eight dollars all terribly terribly dreadful about it and I don't even feel a store and yes. I offered was a. Hero you know. I let my dad once trying and so do I madam. I'm not here to do a demonstration. You didn't let me finish my sentence. Oh no I'm here to do a survey a demonstration service so sorry for the

boy. I don't but you are a liar and oh oh I will not report it. No I will not. You probably fractured my mit those apparel barracks but I will not report it I am sorry very sorry but do you see that encyclopedia over there before I get to man in here to interview me for a survey for the Board of Education and I added. Finding an encyclopedia and this party had. Never. Even heard all of them oh I'll just declare some people get to please me let me finish my sentence this time. I am here to do a demonstration survey of contest winners. You have just won all no holds you're squeezing my for get that thought out of my door when you let me finish. I tell you Madam I am going to get firm. You can't throw a federal inspector out of your house like this and I am a federal inspector. Oh thank you.

Now tell me what the federal government has to do with demonstration survey contest winners who had just won. And you'd better make the explanation good or I'll call the police. I regret to inform you that if you slam the door on me again I will call the police. Now madam if you will just say Oh what have I just. While on that sentence you have just won the furnace haven't you madam. The federal government does not give prizes. I am here to Checco you are not. I am also an undercover agent doing a survey designed to gather information on unscrupulous salesman. Why madam do you think the federal government selected your phone is for all the millions of fairness in this great land. It was because you are a representative a victim of the Encyclopedia caper and now that you forced me to betray a secret lead me to your furnace. There are at least two sides to every question. There are two sides to every sales counter.

It's the great general public out there son. You've got to learn to defend yourself. I said lady we don't permit customers to pry the control knobs off of our appliances she said but I need this control not mine broke. Well I said you cannot just walk in here and pry our knobs off we cannot permit it. But I am. Knob she went right on trying. I said lady quit prying our knobs off her all call a manager. I reached to push your hand away. She grabbed it and sank your teeth in it. Did she get the nod. I naturally looked at my hand when I looked up the knob was gone and so was she. I wonder if she's the one who wants to take the vacuum cleaner out on trial every Monday morning. No but she's the one who took the rug out on trial every Saturday. Same rug same rug till I got wise to the party stains that were on it when it came in every Monday. She tried to hit me when we sold it said her friends like the pattering. Where Ivy clings to gothic wall where novices go

contemplative along cloistered walks. There you have it is not a house of God. Something near to or so Americans tend to view it hallowed if not wholly. Sanctified. It's not sacred aligned with the good in opposition to the bad. And therefore in the autumn of the year comes a pilgrim with cargoes of matched luggage on portable TV to make faithful offerings of their precious young. What a state you 20000 students strong and not two dozen of them can tell the difference between a football and a what a bubble gum. These modern kids. You take my music. And my mother was a cop. Three of my maternal hands were his and I don't mind telling you it's my guess he doesn't go. I personally will come up here and take that house apart brick by brick. Not my son No sir I don't care if the Course is required my boy

will sit at that man's feet I heard him talking to rotary once and all I'm saying is that if that guy is an American man memo only really hurt your head and say so many times do I have to tell you she won't wear stretch pants to class. Oh well just what will she wear I got her some of those little wrap around skirts all the college girls are wearing you know the kind that come to about here. They come to a bar where they're good hard I don't know how it sounds but the fact is I am a broad minded woman I knew actually so I've always gone out of my way to make friends with all kinds of people. When I think of my little girl having one of them for a roommate doing each other they're exchanging confidences wear each other's clothes girls do that you know you do. And when I think of that it makes me sick. Just sick. What. They look like really.

Really. Like this water. Like where. It. Says the sun. In the sterile supermarket. The women stand in line. And speaking separate alone. The checkers or mechanical figures. The manager in his glass cage above sweats out an item that hasn't moved but must move or else. And should he take a kickback from the bakery for giving it more shelf space. Could it possibly hurt no one he knows. Television cameras and one way mirrors guard the aisles from theft by strangers. Hidden movie cameras record their hands and eyes as they shop. Hidden

microphones record there muttering. To themselves. A study of impulse buying is in progress. The supermarket is a mechanical organism for feeding strangers. It sees hears and feels mechanically. It speaks its salesmanship through a mechanical voice. The talking display at the end of the aisle and it knows its customers through scientific study is as a butcher knows collars. It knows its customers in terms of useful pieces without wisdom without compassion. Without acknowledgement of the whole living animal without personality or humanity. May I cash a check. Yes you may cash a check stand right here and sign it. That's right we want your picture. We'll keep it till the check clears so we'll know what you look like. Now give me your number. I mean the number on your driver's license. We have come a long way in 50 years from Indian ponies to jets and rockets.

We have come even farther from the Saturday night grocery stores that carry drunks home and carried their families sometimes on the books to the supermarket the supermarket reflects with reasonable accuracy. Similar changes in neighborhood factory farm and mill. As the pace increases men move apart. It's popular to call it alienation in some quarters today. Whatever the name we are moving apart. Read evaluating our humanity rejecting deep human involvement and. Relating ourselves out to a distance unknown in the past. Our technical economic political and social institutions have shown tremendous capacity for growth and adjustment. They have held up and well under the extreme stresses of Jane. Our failures have been moral and ethical. Are we worse than we used to be. That is not the question.

The question is are we good enough to match the time. The American Journal produced at the University of Wisconsin radio station WAGA contributing editors Jack Summerfield New York John campus San Francisco Jay Fitz Minneapolis and Studs Terkel who appears through the courtesy of WFAA MT Chicago original percussion pieces theme and interludes played by Don vaguely. Jay Collins and Tom vaguely script by George you can't like the sequence of matter of morals written by Mel and Elizabeth Carlson. The poem shining perishing Republic by Robinson Jeffers technical operation.

BOB Oh Dean your host is Carl Schmitt a grant from the National Home Library Foundation has made possible the production of this program for national educational radio. This is the national educational radio network.