The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-05-24
THE THINGS THAT ARE SERIOUS.

Without examining into the causes it must
be admitted that the people of the United
States are becoming frivolous to a degree that
threatens the national character for dignity
and sobriety. One of Matthew Arnold's criti-
cisms upon us as people was that we did not
think soberly of serious things. The tenden-
oy is in favor of levity and laughter. 1t has
come to be boast that no other people under
the sun are so quick to appreciate witticism;
to make and to interpret puns; to see the gro
tesque and absurd side of things. But in
paying a compliment to American acuteness
and magnifying its importance, it follows by
implication that we are deficient in those more
dignifed and nobler qualities that go to make
up the fun stature of manhood. Our Ffunny"
papers sell best our ''funny" writers are more
widely known and more generally read.
Bob Burdett is known to a thousand to where
score know anything of an Emerson beyond
his name. The more than questionable say
ings and doings of Peck's bad boy are pat on
ten thousand tongues. The national appetite
has been taught to enjoy the syllabub Of hu-
NOR AS dessert or extra to garnish more
solid food. wit or humor is an excellent thing;
the danger lies in making it a regular diet, to
the exclusion of that mental pabulum that
goes to make the bone and sinew of character
The American people are too much given
over to comedy in all things. No Office is too
sacred, no ceremony too serious to escape the
satire of the day. The very sanctity of the
church is invaded and outraged to crafty this
universal demand for funny" literature
Courts are Knocked and statutes travestied to
furnish amusement for the rabble, while the
utterances of the wisest men are ignored or
crooked into cheap humor to satisfy the GRAY
ing for mental jellies and ices Like children,
we have become, by natures kindly law
pleased with rattle and tickled with a
straw. Naturally enough, our fanil-
iarity and vandalism have bred
contempt Reverence for religion is fading
out of the minds and hearts Of men. In seek
ing to avoid puritanism we have become roys-
terels. The idle laugh is on the lip of every
man, and the mind is alert to find even the
Lenderest excuse for its outburst The
young American offers as an apology for not
going to church that it is too dull, too dry,
and he doesn't care to be bothered about re-
ligious affairs just now. He makes no study
of his country's institutions because there is
no Gun" in such study. The tendency of
the age is to the comedy and the minstrel
show. Life is short and serious enough, is
the cry; LET US eat, drink and be merry
But we cannot shake off our obligations as
lightly as we could wish. We owe solemn
duty to the church, whether as individuals we
be members of the church in any of its
branches. We owe high duty to the state,
(which is but society organized. We owe much
to the oncoming generations in the way of
honorable example and lofty endeavor For
ages the generations Of men have been busy
laying course on course in the great temple
Of civilization. Its walls are rising before our
eyes. 1t is ours to SO lay another course in
this symmetrical structure as to add 10 it's
stability and conform to the ultimate purpose.