Sentence:  This is the twentieth century, for what it's worth. It's not the age of reason, or even the nineteenth century, it's the era of <WSD>flummery</WSD>, and the day of the devious approach. Reason's gone into the backrooms where it works to devise means by which people can be induced to emote in the desired direction. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Deceptive or blustering speech.