THE STORY: Joe and Jill go along their quiet way until the day a badly needed school bond, which they worked so hard on, is voted down by an overwhelming majority. Bitterly concerned about what this means for their children’s education, they begin to question the attitudes of the people and a way of life that would allow such a thing to happen. Their search for answers runs into the cynicism of today’s youth, the hard “mole-eye-view” of one man’s realism, the blind optimism of another. They find hope in the person of the philosophical town librarian, who sees the secret of freedom as “each man’s courage to believe. To believe in himself, his town…the future of the country.” Back at his home, Joe thinks he finally has the secret: “Courage…to dream your dream and do your duty.” Strengthened by this, he and Jill set out in earnest to work for another school bond vote, and this time they are going to win.
Included in the collection
Three Short Plays by Archibald MacLeish.
