MYDEARBURROUGHS，——AsyoudescribemeIcanpicturemyselfasIwas20
yearsago。Theportraitiscorrect。YouthinkIhavegrownsome；uponmywordtherewasroomforit。Youhavedescribedacallowfool，aself-
sufficientass，amerehumantumble-bug……imaginingthatheisremodelingtheworldandisentirelycapableofdoingitright。
Ignorance，intolerance，egotism，self-assertion，opaqueperception，denseandpitifulchuckle-headedness——andanalmostpatheticunconsciousnessofitall。ThatiswhatIwasat19and20；andthatiswhattheaverageSouthernerisat60today。Northerners，too，ofacertaingrade。Itisofchildrenlikethisthatvotersaremade。Andsuchistheprimalsourceofourgovernment！Amanhardlyknowswhethertoswearorcryoverit。
IthinkIcomprehendthepositionthere——perfectfreedomtovotejustasyouchoose，providedyouchoosetovoteasotherpeoplethink——socialostracism，otherwise。Thesamethingexistshere，amongtheIrish。