Arizona sun., 1948-11-12

Take one more example. AS the
cave-man progressed, he learned
to use a club. So there it is-base
runner, pitcher, batsman.
Primitive Urges
Basic in Democracy
Just as the Sublimation of primi-
tive instinct has formed the great
sport of the greatest democracy in
the world-so the sublimation Of
some of these instincts behind an
cient tribal customs has made our
democracy itself possible.
In q successful democracy,
instincts are not repressed.
They are merely modified SO
that they fit into a human and
humane society.
AS you know, by the time man
had reached the point where he
had organized himself into clan,
it was the papa" who ran things.
He was the chief because he had
the one quality most essential in
those days for self and group pro-
tection-strength.
His term of Office was not linn
tied by statute. Some of the chiefs
even ran for a fourth term.
But as the papa" grew older
If not .wiser-he also grew weaker.
But his sons were growing stronger.
Finally they felt it was time to hold
an election. (They had had their
primaries of course, and had
picked a candidate). Then the
campaign began. It was usually
quite short-but very snappy. Both
candidates were armed with good
sized clubs. The debate took place
at some point where the non-vot-
ing but interested electorate (this
was before women's suffrage) could
watch with as little personal danger
as possible.
Of course the best man finally
won. Inauguration ceremonies
6UOh DAdCG I1u1uCuA0bCAyS 0OVCAA-
ed by all of the tribe except q
couple who were delegated to
bury the defeated candidate.
Then the younger brothers and
the females settled down to
maintain peace, prosperity, and
the pursuit of happiness.
Let me quote one or two para
graphs from the work of that very
fascinating book by DR.. Gregory
Zilboorg - Mind Medicine, and
Man."
''It is difficult to find any fI1nc-
ton of our democratic society which
surpasses or even approximates an
electoral campaign in intensity and
blatancy of aggression. Acrimony,
anger, hate, SANDER, venality ap-
pear - everything except actual
homicide. The proverbial lid is lit
orally off the reservoir of patricidal
drives, and society hurls itself on
it's symbolic victim with all the en-
ergy Of a primitive cannibal. It is
primitive cannibalism, whether it
expresses itself in campaign Sian.
der, whispering campaigns. political
maneuvering, or f1attery of the in
dolent who do not care. A father is
to be killed by way of democratic
ceremonial, and a new one will at
once be set up by way Of the same
ceremonial"
In other words, we had .
healthy fight in November and
got it out of our systems. The
cave-man within US was salts
fed. We've got ourselves a
President, and nobody has COM
mitted murder.
And there in we have an advan-
tage not shared by some other coun-
tries. For here, even between elec-
tions, we allow the cave-man to
roar unmuzzled in the press, over
the radio, and from the rostrum.
He can brandish his verbal club and
hurl his barbed epithets in the very
face Of the President, the congress.
and the town meeting.
And thereby, likewise, we prove
our strength, a strength which de.
rives not from the atomic bomb,
but from a power that can and
does penetrate peacefully even
through an iron curtain.