The ‘ism’ elixir?

“Bad officials are elected by
good citizens who do not vote.”
George Jean Nathan
American drama critic and newspaper editor

I watched a 1948 cartoon produced by Harding College, “Make Mine Freedom,” which tells the story of Ism elixir. If you have already viewed this, my apologies. If not, let me share the tale of Ism.

The cartoon starts with a reminder of our good fortune to live in America with the freedom to work, freedom of speech, freedom to peacefully assemble, freedom to own property, protection from unlawful search or seizure, the right to a speedy and public trial, protections against cruel punishments, the right to vote and to worship God in our own way.

But the government grows powerful, promoting divisions, labor believing management is “lousing” up everything, management convinced labor is “ruining the country” and the politician telling each one they are correct.

Then Dr. Utopia arrives, offering his “sensational new discovery,” Ism elixir, a cure for everyone. Laborism elixir guarantees higher wages and shorter work hours. Managementism elixir grants enormous profits and no strikes. Politicalism elixir gives the government control and politicians the power to vote on their own salary.

Moreover, it’s free. All that’s needed is a signature on a “little scrap of paper.” All are ready to sign, no need to read it. The only naysayer? A questioning John Q. Public, who dares ask to read the agreement before signing – “I hereby turn over to Ism Inc. everything I have, including my freedom and the freedom of my children and my children’s children, in return for which said Ism promises to take care of me forever.”

He quizzes Dr. Utopia about the foolishness of signing away our freedom, then explains the many wonders that our less than perfect free enterprise system has given us.

He recalls the countless number of people our freedom allowed to “dream their dream and tinker,” dreamers who borrowed money from friends and neighbors, turning them into capitalists. He describes businesses expanding, hiring and training more skilled laborers, showing it was dreamers and laborers who helped create our great nation.

John Q. asks everyone to think before throwing away our freedom for “fancy double talk.” He suggests they taste the Ism elixir before signing, getting a glimpse of what they would get in exchange for their freedom. Labor tastes and sees a worker threatening to strike, but the government forbids strikes. He sees a worker threaten union action, but the unions collaborate with, and are controlled by, the government.

Management tastes and sees the government giving money to private business, then taking control of it with new and ever-changing rules. Management then threatens to go to the Supreme Court, but is rebuffed, told the government’s decisions are final and without appeal.

On tasting the Ism elixir, the hapless politician sees himself quickly “educated” to regurgitate the party line, “Everything is fine. Everything is fine. Everything is fine.”

Seeing the future, they fearfully and intelligently pour out the Ism elixir as John Q. tells them that “anybody who preaches disunity or tries to pit one of us against the other through class warfare, race hatred, or religious intolerance, you know that person seeks to rob us of our freedom and destroy our very lives.”

With pride he adds, “Working together to produce an ever greater abundance of material and spiritual values for all. That is the secret to American prosperity.”

I was stunned; a 1948 cartoon becoming a prophesy come true in 2010.

The Ism elixir? Promise everything, don’t read anything, give money to private business, then control them, pit unions against management, ignore the people, let politicians set their own salaries, speak only the party line and most important – ignore the United States Constitution.

President Lincoln reminded us that a “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth.” We have a government of the government, by the government, for the government, the people’s freedom rapidly perishing.

We can remain the United States of America or we can become the United Socialist States of America, first cousin of the United Soviet Socialist Republic.

Ism elixir – it’s free?

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