All public spending to avoid vices has the same effect. Vice is its own curse. If we leave nature alone, it cures vices with the most terrible punishments. It may shock you to hear me say this, but when you get over the shock, it will do you good to remember: a drunk in the gutter is exactly where he should be. Nature works on it to get it out of the way, just as it sets up its dissolution processes to eliminate everything that is a failure in its lineage. Gambling and less remarkable vices are all cured by the ruin and dissolution of their victims. Nine-tenths of our measures to prevent vice are really protective because they keep punishment away. “Resist,” I said, and that is the usual way of looking at things; But will the punishment really be destroyed? On no account. It is converted into police and legal costs and distributed among those who have resisted the vice.
It is still the forgotten man who was subjected to punishment while our minds were full of drunks, spendthrifts, gamblers and other victims of debauchery. Who is the forgotten man? She is the clean, quiet and virtuous cleaning lady who pays her debts and taxes and is never heard outside her little circle. But who is there in the society of a civilized State that deserves to be recalled and considered by the legislator and the statesman before this man? The term quickly appeared in popular culture, supplanting Sumner`s concept of the forgotten man. In the film I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932), an editorial about the fate of an untreated escapee from prison who disappeared asks, “What happened to James Allen? – Is it him too, just another forgotten man? Joan Blondell and Etta Moten Barnett sing the song “Remember My Forgotten Man” in the culminating sequence of the 1933 film Gold Diggers with scenes of mass unemployment. [7] In the film My Man Godfrey (1936), a Boston Brahmin is mistaken for a vagabond when frivolous celebrities search for a “forgotten man” during a scavenger hunt. It is quite clear that the forgotten man and woman are the very life and substance of society. They are the ones to remember first and always. They are always forgotten by sentimentalists, philanthropists, reformers, enthusiasts and any description of speculators in sociology, political economy or political science. If a student of any of these sciences ever understands the position of the forgotten man and appreciates his true worth, you will find that this student is an uncompromising defender of the strictest scientific thought on all social issues and a cold and harsh skeptic of all artificial plans for social improvement.
In 2017, President Trump again referred to the forgotten man in his inaugural address. The president promised that during his presidency, the “forgotten men and women of this country” would be treated fairly: he seemed so troubled by what he was going to do, as if he knew it was a mistake, but felt compelled to do. The way I read the pained expression on his face, I thought he was almost apologizing; Maybe look for some kind of absolution. As soon as A observes something that seems wrong to him, from which X suffers, A tells B, and A and B propose to pass a law to repair the evil and help X. Your law always suggests determining what C should do for X, or, better yet, what A, B and C should do for X. What I want to do is look for C. I want to show you what kind of person he is. I call him the forgotten man. Maybe the name is not strictly correct. He`s the man you never think about. I call him the forgotten man. He works, he chooses, in general he prays – but he always pays.
But the variation is just as big as the average. Mr. Obama didn`t always give the markets what they wanted, but for the same reason, he was always clear about what he was going to do. He promised them something far more valuable: a low-risk economic recovery. He is the forgotten man. He works, he chooses, in general he prays – but he always pays – yes, above all he pays. He does not want a position; His name never appears in the newspaper unless he marries or dies. It keeps production running. It contributes to the strength of the parties. He feels flattered before the election.
He is strongly patriotic. He is sought after whenever there is work to be done or advice to give in his small circle. He may sometimes grumble at his wife and family, but he doesn`t go grocery shopping or talk politics at the tavern. Therefore, it is forgotten. He is an ordinary man. It does not give any problem. It does not arouse admiration. He is by no means a hero (like a popular speaker); or a problem (such as vagrants and outcasts); always notorious (such as criminals); yet another object of emotions (such as the poor and the weak); another burden (such as the poor and lazy); yet another object from which social capital can be made (such as beneficiaries of church and state charities); yet another object of charitable aid and protection (such as cruelly treated animals); nor the object of the work (such as the ignorant and illiterate); nor the one about which sentimental economists and statesmen can display their fine feelings (such as inefficient workers and immutable craftsmen).
That is why it is forgotten. All the burdens fall on him, because it is time to remember that the forgotten man is often a woman. Undeterred (what else could it be?), President Obama appointed Merrick Garland, a veteran judge who has been praised in the past by Republicans such as Senator Orrin Hatch. This was followed by a debate on historical facts, which, in retrospect, seems curiously polite. Since 1900, has the Senate ever refused to confirm a candidate in a presidential election year because of the upcoming election? The answer was no (although Mr. Cruz attempted to refute the fact that Justice Anthony Kennedy had not been confirmed in the 1988 election year). The Republicans` refusal to grant a hearing to Judge Garland or to schedule a vote was indeed unprecedented. A few hours after Mr. Trump was declared the winner, I received a message from a friend of mine, respected Christian writer Philip Yancey, who told me: “I am surprised and confused, but not afraid, because of the strength of American democracy. But I tremble when I think about what an unpredictable leader offers to a world in growing crisis.
He added: “Some say God is acting mysteriously. I say that God grants people the freedom to move in even more mysterious ways. Reforms that take advantage of the forced help of Person C may seem humane and compassionate. But it won`t be free. And so we come back to the forgotten one who pays the bill: he can be ignored for now, but he will not remain silent forever. The term was first popularized in 1932 by Franklin Roosevelt during his first presidential campaign. FDR gave a radio address in which he laid out his case against the Hoover administration. FDR called for an end to “illusions of economic magic,” instead pushing for policies that would rebuild the economy “from the bottom up” and focus on the real needs of ordinary Americans — “the forgotten man at the bottom of the economic pyramid,” as he put it. O.K., enough about you; Let`s talk about us.
In the Middle East, we cannot decipher exactly what your new president wants us to do. I don`t think he knows either.