CHAPTER 32 — A Nation in a Hurry

Chap­ter 32 of “The Ways of Men” titled “A Nation in a Hur­ry” reveals the author’s obser­va­tions on the fre­net­ic pace of Amer­i­can life, con­trast­ing it with the more leisure­ly rhythms observed in Europe and his­tor­i­cal Amer­i­ca. The anec­dote of steam­boat cap­tains seat­ing some­one on the safe­ty valve to increase speed epit­o­mizes the relent­less Amer­i­can rush. This urgency is imme­di­ate­ly noticed upon return­ing to the U.S. from abroad, where the ten­den­cy to speed through life man­i­fests in every aspect, from cus­toms at the dock to din­ing habits and busi­ness trans­ac­tions.

The author crit­i­cizes the soci­etal pres­sure for quick­ness which pre­vails over qual­i­ty and tran­quil­i­ty, seen in busi­ness prac­tices that favor speed over accu­ra­cy, and in per­son­al habits like the rapid con­sump­tion of meals. This obses­sion with sav­ing time has infil­trat­ed all lay­ers of soci­ety, includ­ing the leisure class which, para­dox­i­cal­ly, suf­fers from a per­pet­u­al lack of time. The Amer­i­can dri­ve for effi­cien­cy and rapid­i­ty also extends to social engage­ments and enter­tain­ment, with din­ner par­ties and the­ater out­ings rushed through as if endurance tests.

Iron­i­cal­ly, despite this com­pul­sive rush, the text sug­gests that Amer­i­cans do not nec­es­sar­i­ly accom­plish more but are trapped in a cycle of haste that neg­a­tive­ly impacts soci­etal aes­thet­ics, health, and calm­ness. This soci­etal hur­ry is seen as a curse or an “influ­ence” that Amer­i­cans both bemoan and per­pet­u­ate. The clos­ing anal­o­gy recalls the steam nav­i­ga­tion sto­ry, mus­ing that Amer­i­cans are deter­mined to “run under full head of steam,” risk­ing explo­sion rather than slow­ing down.

In con­clu­sion, this chap­ter cri­tiques the Amer­i­can pen­chant for haste at the expense of depth and enjoy­ment, high­light­ing a cul­tur­al shift that val­ues speed over qual­i­ty, result­ing in a fre­net­ic lifestyle that con­trasts sharply with the more mea­sured pace of life advo­cat­ed in his­tor­i­cal and some con­tem­po­rary for­eign con­texts.