事业 · 创业者自述
P.T. 巴纳姆：奋斗与胜利·补录 630
P.T. 巴纳姆《奋斗与胜利》· Struggles and Triumphs · 领导
My neighbor, Mr. James D. Johnson, was also a Democrat, but I knew he would not spoil a good joke for the sake of politics, and I asked him to engage the attention of Mr. and Mrs. T., and to keep their faces turned towards Bridgeport and the approaching procession, the light of whose torches could already be seen in the distance, while another Democratic friend, Mr. George A. Wells, and I, ran over and illuminated Mr T.’s house. This we did with great success, completing our work five minutes before the procession arrived. As the Wide-Awakes turned into my grounds and saw that the house of Mr. T. was brilliantly illuminated, they concluded that he had become a sudden convert to Republicanism, and gave three rousing cheers for him. Hearing his name thus cheered and wondering at the cause, he happened to turn and see that his house was lighted up from basement to attic, and uttering a single profane ejaculation, he rushed for home. He was not able, however, to put out the lights till the Wide-Awakes had gone on their way rejoicing under the impression that one more Republican had been added to their ranks.
出处：
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50115
定位：Additional excerpt 630 · 核对日期：2026-10-19 · 核验：短摘录
白话
巴纳姆的邻居约翰逊也是民主党人，但巴纳姆知道他不会为政治扫兴，就请他拖住T夫妇，让他们面朝布里奇波特看游行火炬。同时巴纳姆和另一位民主党朋友韦尔斯跑去把T先生家从上到下点亮。游行队伍到达前五分钟完工。醒觉者看到T家灯火辉煌，以为他改投共和党，为他欢呼三声。T先生听到欢呼，回头一看自家灯火通明，骂了一声就往家跑，但灯灭不掉，游行队伍已欢天喜地走了。这玩笑说明：政治立场不必太僵硬，幽默能化解对立，但也要注意别让玩笑变成冒犯。
上下文
这是巴纳姆自传中1860年竞选期间的一个恶作剧，他联合朋友把民主党邻居家点亮，制造“倒戈”假象。
今日一问
你能否用一个小玩笑化解一次政治对立？前提是对方开得起玩笑。
公版传记；原文逐字取自 Project Gutenberg，仅摘录段落并附全书链接。
你的邮箱
只用于发送原典。不发广告，不卖名单。
本文本为公版；底本与原文链接见上。 版权