- •1. “It is high time men ceased to regard women as second-class
- •2 ‘World governments should conduct serious campaigns against
- •3 ‘Television is doing irreparable harm’
- •4 ‘Any form of education other than co-education is simply
- •5 ‘Camping is the ideal way of spending a holiday’
- •6 ‘New fashions in clothing are created solely for the commercial exploitation of women’
- •7 ‘We should all grow fat and be happy’
- •8 ‘The younger generation knows best’
- •9 ‘Only stricter traffic laws can prevent accidents’
- •10 ‘Parents are too permissive with their children nowadays’
- •11 ‘Advertisers perform a useful service to the community’
- •12 ‘Pop stars certainly earn their money’
- •13 ‘Vicious and dangerous sports should be banned by law’
- •14 ‘Transistor radios should be prohibited in public places’
- •15 ‘The only thing people are interested in today is earning more money’
- •16 ‘Compulsory military service should be abolished in all
- •17 ’Childhood is certainly not the happiest time of your life’
- •18 ‘Untidy people are not nice to know’
- •19 ‘The only way to travel is on foot’
- •20 ‘Examinations exert a pernicious influence on education’
- •21 ‘Books, plays and films should be censored’
- •22 ‘People should be rewarded according to ability, not according to age and experience’
- •23 ‘The tourist trade contributes absolutely nothing to
- •Increasing understanding between nations’
- •24 ‘Only a madman would choose to live in a large modern city’
- •25 ‘Equality of opportunity in the twentieth century has not
- •26 ‘No one wants to live to be a hundred’
- •27 ‘Capital punishment is the only way to deter criminals’
- •28 ‘The space race is the world’s biggest money waster’
- •29 ‘Violence can do nothing to diminish race prejudice’
- •30 ‘The most important of all human qualities is a sense of humour’
11 ‘Advertisers perform a useful service to the community’
If advertising didn’t create mass markets for products consumer would have to pay a great deal more. It is precisely because of the heavy advertising that consumer goods are so cheap. But we get the wrong idea if we think the only purpose of advertising is to sell goods. Another equally important function is to inform. Advertisements introduce us to new products or remind us of the existence of ones we already know about.
Lots of people pretend that they never read advertisements, but this claim may be seriously doubted. It is hardly possible not to read advertisements these days. Just think what a railway station or a newspaper would be like without advertisements. A cheerful, witty advertisement makes such a difference to a drab wall or a newspaper full of the daily ration of calamities.
12 ‘Pop stars certainly earn their money’
If pop stars enjoy many of the privileges of Royalty, such as fame, wealth, public recognition, they certainly share many of the inconveniences as well. It is dangerous for them to make unscheduled appearances in public. They must be constantly shielded from the adoring crowds which idolize them. They are no longer private individuals, but public property. The financial rewards they receive for this sacrifice cannot be calculated, for their rates of pay are astronomical.
It’s all very well for people in humdrum jobs to moan about the successes and rewards of others. People who make envious remarks should remember that the most famous stars represent only the tip of the iceberg. For every famous star, there are hundreds of others struggling to earn a living.
13 ‘Vicious and dangerous sports should be banned by law’
Human beings remain as bloodthirsty as ever they were. The only difference between ourselves and the Romans lived 2000 years ago is that while they were honest enough to admit that they enjoyed watching hungry lions tearing people apart and eating them alive, we find all sorts of sophisticated arguments to defend sports which should have been banned long ago; sports which are quite as barbarous as public hangings or bearbaiting.
Any talk of ‘the sporting spirit’ is sheer hypocrisy. People take part in violent sports because of the high rewards they bring. Spectators are willing to pay vast sums of money to see violence.
If we banned dangerous and violent sports, we would be moving one step further to improving mankind. We would recognise that violence is degrading and unworthy of human beings.
14 ‘Transistor radios should be prohibited in public places’
The transistor radio must surely be the most hideous and diabolic of all human inventions.
Noise is one of the most unpleasant features of modern life. Who knows what it invisibly contributes to irritability and stress? It is impossible to adjust to the transistor radio because the noise it produces is never the same: it can be anything from a brass band to a news commentary. Being inconsiderate is not a crime. But interfering with other people’s pleasure certainly should be. It is ridiculous that the law should go on allowing this indecent assault on our ears.