| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Pivot of Civilization by Margaret Sanger: chances of procreating another generation of imbeciles. We read
further that some of our doctors believe that ``in our social scale,
there is a place for the good feeble-minded.''
In such a reckless and thoughtless differentiation between the ``bad''
and the ``good'' feeble-minded, we find new evidence of the
conventional middle-class bias that also finds expression among some
of the eugenists. We do not object to feeble-mindedness simply
because it leads to immorality and criminality; nor can we approve of
it when it expresses itself in docility, submissiveness and obedience.
We object because both are burdens and dangers to the intelligence of
the community. As a matter of fact, there is sufficient evidence to
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Astoria by Washington Irving: slowly down along its banks, being much delayed by the straying
of the horses, and the attempts made by the Indians to steal
them. They frequently passed lodges, where they obtained fish and
dogs. At one place the natives had just returned from hunting,
and had brought back a large quantity of elk and deer meat, but
asked so high a price for it as to be beyond the funds of the
travellers, so they had to content themselves with dog's flesh.
They had by this time, however, come to consider it very choice
food, superior to horse flesh, and the minutes of the expedition
speak rather exultingly now and then, of their having made a
famous "repast," where this viand happened to be unusually
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The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Gobseck by Honore de Balzac: on me. Listen to this,' he went on, 'I will tell you the history of my
morning, and you will divine my pleasures.'
"He got up, pushed the bolt of the door, drew a tapestry curtain
across it with a sharp grating sound of the rings on the rod, then he
sat down again.
" 'This morning,' he said, 'I had only two amounts to collect; the
rest of the bills that were due I gave away instead of cash to my
customers yesterday. So much saved, you see, for when I discount a
bill I always deduct two francs for a hired brougham--expenses of
collection. A pretty thing it would be, would it not, if my clients
were to set ME trudging all over Paris for half-a-dozen francs of
Gobseck |
