Show I II I I I ii iiI I Ii I i Elections Will Bring Out Those Cave Man instincts 1 By BAUKHAGE News Neus Analyst and an Commentator I WASHINGTON I know you may find it hard to believe I but but I was no greatly stirred up over the election campaign j and its outcome I have a job and its it's as tough under one party as another I have no vote and between you and me I am not agitating for a civil rights bill which will get me one Like all of the citizens of the District of Columbia I share the delightful delight ful hil irresponsibility with minors idiots and criminals who dont don't have a vote either cither Thus I am without political a affiliation af- af O af-O obligation or prejudice I Well sometimes r r ji I do have one prejudice prejudice-a a race prejudice Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Some Some- times I get awfully awfully awful awful- I 4 ly Iy prejudiced 1 against the human humana a race t Another reason that I am not politically politically politically po po- po- po excited this year is that I have been watching watching watch watch- i ing the Washington Washing Washing- t ton vaudeville show from a good Baukhage seat in hi the gallery I press and radio gallery most gallery most of the time for the past three decades and although I the performers have changed there hasn't been to much alteration of the script A Republican or a Democratic Democratic Dem Dem- politician to a reporter smells no sweeter by any name It Is my business to report 1 what they do and say and of course from my standpoint the more they do and say the better let better let the brickbats fall where they may I 1 have observed a good many acts on the Washington scene that got top billing billing and and deserved it I 1 have also listened to a lot of pretty pretty pretty pret pret- ty sad comedians and seen a lot lotof lotof lotof of hams But on the whole I believe that regardless of who happens to be inthe in inthe j the cast taking it all in all its it's a aI I pretty high class drama In fact I 1 think as we compare the Washington Washington Wash Wash- ington program with most of those that are offered by the other capitals capitals capitals capi capi- of the world Its It's really the ther r greatest show on earth However during campaign time I 1 must admit I would rather be right where I am than President On any ticket Now dont don't think I am obJectIng objecting objectIng object obJect- ing to our good old knock down out drag-out method of electing I Presidents or any other officials I J not only think its it's a wonderful I thing that we have this freer free- free r for all every four years but I think both parties would wither witheron on the vine If U we j it In fact I think the abandonment of our method would probably bring 1 crashing to the ground the palladium palladium palla palla- of our republic would deI destroy detroy de de- de- de I stroy troy our opportunity to pursue life lile liberty and happiness happiness and and the i weekly pay envelope envelope and and would reduce these United States to such sucha a condition that the Indians wouldn't take the property back i if I we offered it to them I base this statement not upon mere nere guess but bu upon sound scientific tine studies of the question of why whyTe we Te behave like human beings I Ij j when we do I 1 Now I dont don't know how far you will go 10 along with the psychiatrists I II I who claim your athletes athlete's foot is due I Ito to a complex created when you I were two years yean old by having your I II big brother drop a baseball bat on I your toe Nevertheless I think one thing has been established by psychiatry a a truism confirmed by writers and poets of all ages and which you can con confirm m yourself by byI I going over some of your own inner I thoughts Especially when you I I think what you'd like to do to the theman theman man who crumpled your fender i while you were attending prayer I I meeting n I 1 refer reler to LO 1116 accepted truism I that even the most benign and mild mannered Mr Milquetoast has a caveman deep within him One has only to observe ones one's own child angel who on his way home from Sunday School and in cooperation with the children angel of ones one's neighbors will tie a can canI canto I to a dogs dog's tail taiJ or engage in a dozen other humane activities that I would give a visiting cannibal from the South Seas something to write home about We DO have a caveman within us we DO have primitive aggressive aggressive sive instincts We have the instinct I to give pain to destroy to t taste laie e advantage of our fellow fellowman The I earl early period of our lives tS s spent inI in being taught to turn these instincts I to good purpose The psychologists call it sublimating them The I 4 I sadistic inclination of a medical i student can be transmuted under I the influence of civilized society to make him the finest nest surgeon I The desire tf to plunder and rob robI I L and destroy common to even evenI I the most angelic little ones can be channeled teto to the ingenuity nulty nul- nul ty by which the engineer moves mountains and captains of Industry Industry industry in In- push railways through the forest and thus benefit Instead Instead In In- stead of harm mankind Do you suppose we could put on oni ont i that greatest of all exhibitions a a T U World Series game game if if f it weren't for the old man cave I have heard it said that baseball baseball base base- ball has become the monarch of sports because it brings s into play so many of the primitive emotions First we have pursuit without which primitive man could not get the food necessary to sustain himself him him- self sell and his family or even a wife wile to raise the family Then Then another another primitive pastime used in baseball pity baseball pity the poor man cave who couldn't accurately heave a rock It only requires plenty of practice in a summer camp plus what was learned in the thc I sandlot to turn that basic desire I into the ability to pitch a hit no-hit norun norun norun no- no run game Take one more example As the man cave progressed he learned to use a club So there it is base is-base base runner pitcher batsman I Primitive Urges Basic in Democracy Just as the sublimation of primitive primitive primi prim tive instinct has formed the great sport of the greatest democracy inthe in inthe inthe the world world world-so so the sublimation of some of these instincts behind ancient ancient an an- dent tribal customs has made our democracy itself itsel possible In a 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 himsel into a clan it was the papa who ran things He was the chief because he had the one quality most essential in those days for tor self sel and group protection pro pro- strength His term of office was not riot limited limited limited lim lim- lim- lim by statute Some of the chiefs even ran for a fourth term But as the papa grew older older- if not wiser wiser wiser-he he also grew weaker But his sons were growing stronger Finally they felt it was time to hold holdan an election They had had their primaries of course and had picked a candidate Then the campaign began It was usually quite short short but but very snappy Both candidates were armed with good- good sized clubs The debate took place at some point where the nonvoting non vot ing Lag 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 took place immediately attended attend attend- ed by all of the tribe except a 0 couple who were delegated to bury the defeated candidate Then the younger brothers and the females settled down to to maintain peace prosperity and the pursuit of happiness Let me quote one or two paragraphs paragraphs paragraphs para para- graphs from the work of that very fascinating book by Dr Gregory Mind Medicine and Man find function function function It is difficult to any tion of our democratic society which surpasses or even approximates an electoral campaign in intensity and blatancy of aggression Acrimony anger hate slander venality appear appear appear ap ap- ap- ap pear everything except actual homicide The proverbial lid is literally literally literally lit lit- of off the reservoir of patricidal drives and society hurls itself on I its symbolic victim with all the energy energy energy en en- enI I ergy of a primitive cannibal It Is primitive cannibalism whether it expresses itself in campaign slander slander slander der whispering campaigns political maneuvering or flattery of the in indolent indolent indolent in- in dolent who do not care A father is isto isto isto 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 a healthy fight in November and got it out of our systems The man cave-man within us was satis satis- fied fled Weve We've got ourselves a President and nobody has committed committed com corn murder And there in we have an advantage advantage advantage tage not shared by some other coun coun- tries For here even between elections elections elections elec elec- we allow the man cave to roar 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 derives derives derives de de- de- de rives not from the atomic bomb but from a power that can and does penetrate peacefully even through an iron curtain |