In 1920, the United States passed the eighteenth amendment, banning the sale of alcoholic beverages. Those who supported the amendment, known as drys, rejoiced as wets, those who opposed the amendment, were outraged. Over the next decade, the wets and the drys constantly quarreled against one another; the drys claimed that alcohol was harmful to society and therefore should be outlawed, and the wets argued that all Prohibition did was push alcohol into the black market, making it even less safe. Will Rogers, a humorist known for his popular radio program, did not understand why this debate was so important, and so he mocked both the wets and the drys instead of taking a side. In one of his radio broadcasts, Will Rogers uses balanced sentences, biblical allusions, and verbal irony in order to mock those who strongly support and strongly oppose Prohibition. …show more content…
He states, “The real wet is going to drink, I don’t care what your laws are, and a real dry is going to lecture him while he is drinking, no matter what your laws about it are.” This statement establishes that nothing can be done to end the conflict, and so the conflict is not worth having. Rogers phrases it in a balanced sentence in order to emphasize that people on both sides of the argument are unwilling to change, not just the wets or just the drys. He also emphasizes his tiredness of the Prohibition debate by claiming, “I have often said that I wish the wets would become so soused they would be speechless and couldn’t say anything, and that the drys would become so perfect that the Lord would come down and take them away from here…” Again, he uses a balanced sentence in order to show his contempt for both