I am not "Jew-conscious". Furthermore, I believe, that while genuine Jew-consciousness is a state of mind that is no more within human control than, let us say, using the vernacular of the day, "sex appeal," it is one of the greatest evils we have to contend with, and one of the greatest obstacles Jews must meet in working for human progress.

Let us carry our analogy a little further. Some people are so conscious of sex that they cannot forget it--day or night. That is their misfortune. To deny the importance of sex in human life is to deny life itself. One who is sexless misses a large and very important part of life. Sensible people, however, know that there is more to life than sex. And sensible people will endeavor to live in such a way as to relegate sex to its proper, subordinate place in life. Much in the same manner, sensible people, who know that they cannot live without food, and who enjoy food, nevertheless do not spend all their lives dreaming about eating because that would make men into gourmands 2and swine. Those who are obsessed with sex see life "crookedly;" and by constantly harping on sex they contribute to the maladjustment of other people. Those who are constantly reminding themselves and others about their racial origins are doing approximately the same thing in another sphere.

I am a Jew. Not only do I not deny it, but I also make no attempt to conceal the fact. I have never changed my name, not because of any chauvinistic pride in my race or in my ancestry, but because changing my name would have meant that I were trying to conceal my origin--a shameful and contemptible process so many Jews indulge in, and admit, by implication, that there is something wrong in being a Jew.

I have a friend named Brodsky. He goes by the name of Brady. "I have changed my name," he says, "and I have, long ago, given up my religion, for which I have no use, but I can never change my nose." Not only is it a degrading and disgusting thing to try to conceal one's origin, but in most cases it is impossible. Yet, while I am not ashamed of my nose or of my ancestry, and while I have never in all my life attempted to conceal the fact that I am a Jew, why 3should I take particular pride in that fact? It is not my fault. I am not responsible for it. To me it is as much a matter of indifference as the color of my hair. It is neither a discredit nor particularly a credit to me. It is just like my height.

As I say I am a Jew. I know it but I cannot become very much excited about it--one way or the other. Maybe my upbringing was wrong, or maybe there is a "taint" in my blood; but I can't seem to think about it all the time. You know, I live twenty-four hours a day; and while part of the time I think about Jewish things, most of the time I do not. I am a Jew; but I am also a man and a socialist. Similarly, to a lesser degree, I have other interests. Let us clear the ground [for our discussion] by considering several less important things.

There are certain racial publications--we Jews call them national--that gloat over every Jewish achievement, no matter how small. When a Jew has a play produced on Broadway their hosannas reach the skies--no matter how poor the play may be. When the play has a Jewish theme they make a Jewish issue out of it and seem to take credit for it. Such a play was the utterly worthless and 4even vicious play, "The Jazz Singer," written by a Jew about Jewish life--an utterly cheap and false portrayal of Jewish life, yet it was a big success because Jews went to see it. I saw a play last night which was written by a Jew and which was worse, if that is possible, than "Abie's Irish Rose". I shall not reveal the name of the author, and shall refrain from mentioning her name. Moreover, of the several Jewish actors and actresses that have appeared on the stages on Broadway all are vile except a genius like Rudolph Schildkraut, one of the world's greatest actors in any language. Yet consider how these plays and players are ballyhooed in the racial press! You would think that "The Jazz Singer" was another "Hamlet".

The audience last night was almost entirely Jewish and they acted like it. They cheered wildly at all the passages which were written for Jewish consumption. I nearly died of shame. They were not New Yorkers of Jewish descent at the theater; they were Jews acting as Jews--a totally different proposition. Do you suppose I would go hear that rhythmic rubbish of the Jewish boy, Irving Berlin, when I have an opportunity to hear the Philharmonic play something 5written by the notorious anti-Semite, Richard Wagner? And the general public is like that: it loves Elman, Heifetz, and Paderewski only because they are great musicians.

Zangwill was great because he had something to say, and he said it nobly and well--not because he was a Jew. Marx was great because he had something to say and something to do, and he said it and did it--not because he was a Jew. La Salle was great because he had something to do in the world, and he did it--not because he was a Jew. The author of My Country has nothing to say and he says it atrociously; therefore, he is nothing at all in the literary world--not because, or in spite of, the fact that he is a Jew, but because he has nothing to say. And I fear that I'll be ridiculed for saying this; just as I was "crucified" for giving my honest opinion about "The Jazz Singer" last year.

I am a socialist and am socialist-conscious. Anything that happens anywhere in the world that advances the cause of socialism fills me with joy. A setback for socialism anywhere depresses me. I consider men like Bernard Shaw, Ramsay MacDonald, Theodore Stauning, and the late Hjalmar Branting among the great men 6of the day because of what they have been able to do to advance my cause. I consider Gregory Zinoviev one of the most evil influences of the past decade because he has been able to render the progress of socialism difficult. Zinoviev is a Jew; the others are not. I certainly do not feel any more warmly toward the disrupter of the world socialist movement because he is a Jew. I am assuredly not Jew-conscious in this respect.

"But," I can hear people say, "you care for socialism and that's why you are socialist-conscious. Other people care for Judaism and, therefore, they are Jew-conscious. What's the difference?" I'd like to know!