Life, 1919-07-24 · page 16 of 40
Life — July 24, 1919 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes American social attitudes and government policy, circa early 20th century. **"The Laughing Mirror"** argues that humans' fear of appearing absurd stifles joy. The piece mocks excessive dignity and solemnity, suggesting that playful absurdity—a child knocking off a parson's hat, a father doing somersaults—connects us to our humanity and the gods. **"Here We Have It in a Nutshell"** quotes Woodrow Wilson criticizing government overreach: a populace dependent on government becomes permanently dependent. This is a jab at expanding federal paternalism. **"Man's Seven Ages of Happiness"** is a humorous life trajectory, culminating in the punchline that true happiness at eighty comes only from tobacco—mocking how priorities shift with age. **"The Abandoned Prohibitionist"** cartoon (bottom right) depicts someone who swore off water after Prohibition, likely mocking the absurdity of the Prohibition movement and those who supported such government restrictions on personal choice. The page consistently satirizes government intrusion into private life and celebrates human absurdity over rigid propriety.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Laughing Mirror HERE is an absurd fear among humans of being absurd The dignity, the solemnity, the Sunday-smug atti- tude of man is the cause of that inextinguishable laughter among the gods that you can hear in their thunders and earthquakes. The bravest people are those who dare to be al» surd as often as the topsy-turvy whim hits them The little absurdities of love are half of its depth Papa turning a somersault in public for the kids puts him very near the gods, although he may not know it. To knock off the parson’s high hat with a snow- ball puts that mummy in genus homo and makes the boy that did it fellow of Puck: Genius knows how slyly to satirize stupidity and sonorous solemnity with its pranks and antics. Let us all be boys and geniuses once in a while The great safety-valve is absurdity. For that reason good-natured hibbers are a joy forever to mankind. The absurd is a kind of laughing Utopia Here We Have It in a Nutshell A people that is taken care of by its xovernment is a people that its government will always have to take ~ Woodrow care of. Wilson, ino speech in Brussels ESPECTFULLY to the Anti-Saloon League, the Anti- Tobacco League and the Cabinet. Also the Senate and the House. Washington papers, please copy referred Lower SAY, TONY! HOW DID YE WIN YER D. S. € ? At sixty philosophy suggests the road to happiness. At seventy he learns that grandchil- dren hold the key to happiness, Man's Seven Ages of Happiness T twenty years of age he is cer- tain happiness is to be found in marrying the girl he is in love with. At thirty he discovers that work is the real source of happiness. At forty he finds that children offer the means of happiness. At fifty charity and devotion to the community seem to point the way to happiness. At eighty he realizes at last that true happiness is to be found only in tobacco. HEN some people hate themselves they go and turn on the phono- graph. Masten boo The Abandoned Prohibitionist: EVER I OUT OF THIS I NEVER WANT TO SEE ANOTHER DROP OF WATER AS LONG AS LL comicbooks.c@nul