Oh! Raise Us Up, Return to Us Again

That a substantial part of this generation may be lost, at least in the sense that they will accomplish little, seems to Hoffer a real possibility. “If you raise a generation,” he says, “that is used to having their appetites instantly satisfied, you are going to have a south sea island civilization. And you can’t have a south sea island civilization on this sized continent. You won’t last five minutes.” He wonders whether a generation that has grown accustomed to having its desires immediately fulfilled can produce anything of lasting value. “Instantness,” he says, ” is a characteristic of animals. If the young adopt it they will submit to the tutelage of medicine men and they will not achieve anything of importance.” Hoffer considers it at least a possibility that an anti-Semite movement could emerge from the present racial tensions in the United States. “It would be very easy,” he says, “to make out the case that all the major problems of the country were started by Jews. All you…