Life — March 28, 1930 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Political Satire on Prohibition's Repeal This *Life* magazine page uses an allegorical figure—a winged cherub labeled "Life" wearing a military cap—to advocate for ending Prohibition (the constitutional ban on alcohol, 1920-1933). The satire personifies Prohibition as an enemy requiring military action. The text declares "war" on Prohibition itself, calling readers to "join army and see the repeal"—inverting typical military recruitment rhetoric to promote alcohol legalization. The accompanying article criticizes Prohibition's failures, calling it a "nightmare of national prohibition" that produced "dry aristocrats," "wasps," and "high-wheeled bicycles." The piece argues Prohibition has become unenforceable and proposes using newspaper advertising campaigns to mobilize public opinion for repeal—essentially weaponizing media against the law itself.