Revised Version:

Thurman Arnold contends that many American institutions contain ceremonial practices which, however emotionally appealing they are to our sense of security, are not functional. He writes, when men choose to act in conjunction, they develop organizations, and organizations are held together by traditions and an institutional creed. This creed can only be effective, however, if it undertakes to reconcile the conflicting ideals that are held by the members of the organization. Conflicting ideals and contradictions are befuddling to the traditionalist craving security and so they must be concealed by the ceremony, "the little pictures," which dramatize reality, painting an illusory scheme in which everything seems harmonious. Ceremonies prevent us from criticizing our political institutions, they