Without their visions and their willingness to speak out for what they believed, air power might not have turned the skies of World War II into a medium for the enemy's destruction. At the very least, America's progress in air power would have been greatly delayed. Others are mute in anticipation of frustration and failure. But perhaps we have unknowingly allowed ourselves to bank slightly in the direction of unwarranted censorship. One reason for reluctance to examine ourselves critically and to suggest corrective approaches and innovative actions may be the impact that the media have on our psyche in the contemporary world.
Heated arguments can present untidy scenes to our public.
Such scenes might require both explanation and resolution, which require time, a commodity in short supply on senior staffs. This criticism is not meant to castigate the system but to serve simply as a reminder. Had controversial ideas, concepts, tactics, doctrine, and policies been swept under the carpet in the past, not only might we not now have a United States Air Force, we might not have a United States to serve. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Benjamin Franklin, and Samuel Adams were all classified as revolutionaries, radicals, and even traitors by one source or another. Restriction on informed public debate should never be exercised lightly or without genuine cause.