Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1960-12-29
Author Raps Symbols
Of American Living

THE PACIFIERS, by Mack
Hanan. 1906 PIP. Little, BrotOm
6 Co. $50
Henry L. Mencken would
have loved this author. Like the
sage Of Baltimore, Mack Hanan
has used a trenchant pen TO pry
open the lid of our SNUG so
ciety which lives by the sopo-
rifle symbols Of sex, success,
security, sociability and sophis-
tication.
In this all-too-short volume,
Hanan tears off the cloak of
self-narcosis with which he
claims the vast majority of the
American people has been try
ing to conceal its failings and
lays bare the shivering bones
Of a civilization that he warns
Is fast decaying.
Hanan sounds clarion call
for non-conformity and individ-
ualism; for the courage to sup
port the unpopular and the
willingness to fight for differ
ence, and against sameness.
He sets forth a view Of the
American way Of life that
should make all Of US re-ex-
anime our motives, our attitudes
and our beliefs. For Hanan says
the symbols by which we live
are used by the advertising
agencies only because we init
ate them. It Is we, not the ad-
men, who are responsible for the
blandness, the hypocrisy and the
dissatisfaction which Hanan
charges are becoming so char
acteristic Of America and Amer
leans. And he cites chapter and
verse to back up his criticisms.
Az an example, he points to
the soft sell and the sociability
approach to life.
"Our symbols no longer In
Mgorate." says Hanan. They
eq1npensate. Serenity, itself sym
bolized by the tranquilizer. Is In
the air. All Is calm, all Is bright.
AS arthur Koestler has char
acterized us. we are a gener-
alton without profile, whose typ
ical gesture Is . great silent
shrug."
Distrust and suspicion of the
individual, particularly Of the
sccentric, the Toner" has be-
some the American standard Of
behavior, Hanan makes all too
clear.
mo geniuses here; just a
bunch of average Americans
working together" says the
sound track Of Z Monsanto
Chemical Company public rela-
lions film.
This Is typical, Hanan ex-
plains, of the "recoil from the
responsibilities Of Individual In
sight"
I'VE have stopped teething on
genius" he adds. Instead, we
are debasing our unusual oppor-
tunity as q people by admiring
not greater visions Of what We
might be-eccentric. dynamic,
original, imaginative. proud, yes,
even lonely and alone--in favor
Of admiration of what we are"
Taking up each Symbol"
Hanan Celebrates on this theme.
In sex, the woman to be admired
has lost her essential femininity,
he explains. In a typical soap
advertisement, the woman in
the cameo frame is described as
Slime" gentle" soft" "deli-
cate" good and natural" The
whole thing sounds like pap for
an infant. Can you imagine the
Trojan War being fought over
a gentle. soft and delicate"
woman?
The success symbol has be-
come the executive--but only in
title. The stockroom clerk is
now the inventory executive;"
the janitor has been renamed
the custodian executive" and
the management executive"
turns out to be trainee In a
large manufacturing company's
home office.
Executives can't really exc
cute, because then they would
antagonize people-and that con-
flicts with the socialbility SYM
boil. Everybody's got to be So
ciable. keep smiling" say the
ads. Drink Pepsi-Cola and be a
part of the crowd. And never
say anything controversial!
Everybody's also looking for
security, says Hanan. And he's
right. All you have to do is
prove his point Is to read the
ads. The most important factors
in a Job these days are not the
challenge, nor the opportunity,
not even your beginning salary.
No. indeed. Judging from the
ads. you're worried about where
49, u.q..k a. yA~mk~S s.~A~A Ia. 4