Arguments must therefore be crude, clear and forcible, and appeal to emotions and instincts, not the intellect. Hatred and contempt must be directed at particular individuals. Great Military Disasters . The brain must decipher the words of an editorial or a speech, and convert them into images. Shakespeare had a lasting influence on the English language because of his talent for painting a picture with words .
Political cartoons are among the most effective means of communication.
No one ever proved that Spain blew up the battleship Maine , but the press published a cartoon of a semihuman ape wearing a Spanish uniform and holding a bloody knife. Pro-English cartoonists used political cartoons to promote hatred of Germany, and to get the United States into the First World War. Germany failed to use similar methods to counteract this propaganda, which played a major role in losing the war. Hitler and Goebbels were, unfortunately, two Germans who took this lesson to heart. Goebbels was, unfortunately, right.