The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1940-01-17
A NEW FRONTIER


land your group? Perhaps, in a low
voice, but you are loud in insisting
tina your first interest is in the liberia
ton of mankind
II you are business man do you
proclaim in advertising that all your
energy is bent toward increasing the
flow of business and making yourself
more money? No, you reneat end
lessly that you live only to serve the
public and make your community
better place to live in. II you are a
politician do you explain in your.
speeches that the lure of power drives
you day and night? No, you insist
deliberately that you are servant,
may champion, of the common peo-
pie. And if you are laborer (as
God knows most of you are) do you
make common cause to promote an
identity of interest throughout the
world, to strike off superstition and
Irid yourselves of false values? No,
you split stuboornly into tiny groups
and insist that you are set upon by
wolves with slavering jaws.
1t is necessary to speak of all of us,
and where are any bonds that can
hold all of us, except those that we
have frightened upon ourselves? | say
that we are equally at fault for all
the wrongs and stupidities and ex-
cesses that beset our race: genus
homo, species sapiens.
We are free, except for the bonds
that exist in our minds. No jails, no
handouts, no concentration camps, no
police with hand grenades and tear
gas bombs can hold in check a people
that realizes it is free. But propa-
ganda can keep it from that realiza-
ton!
Do you see why we are talking
Iabout propaganda? Do you see why
am SO cautious in it's analysis?
When l say of an editor that he has
used glittering generalities, | do not
mean to insult him or tag him with
the devils talisman. He uses what
he has been taught to use Every
one uses them, in some degree. The
ability to spot and analyze propaganda
is likely to prove dangerous weapon,
because we shall be too likely to use
it to expose everyone's propaganda
except our own. / do not want to
encourage my readers to become fan
atics who will pounce gleefully on a
glittering generality or a piece of
name calling or a deck of stacked
cards and imagine they are heading
still another legion in the Army of
the Good. | am more interested first
in having them realize that every
of propaganda reflects
in some degree an incorrect notion
that mankind holds about itself
There will be time for them to swing
the sword of propaganda analysis
when they have learned what to swing
it at. And why.
Last week we were concerned with
I debate over communism. 1t is we'll
% devote some space to that particu-
ar propaganda, inasmuch as 1910 is
In election year and we are going to
De hearing even more of it than we
lave up to now. In last weeks article
We were discussing Butte paper that
las been editorializing against COM
nunism. l do not wish to leave the
mp OooioA IudL Was OUJoCIluS W lie
,aper's stand against communism AS
have said, 1 do not take the position
# being for or against these propa-
,anda armies To be placed in the
POSITION of believing in communism
would be to me as embarrassing as
icing placed in the position of be-
ieving in Santa Claus or capitalism
'ut neither do | wish to be placed
4 the position of objecting to any
ody's stand for or against any of
hese causes that are promoted by
Sc of propaganda. The philosophy
communism has, l think, little to
ontribute to the solution of American
r world problems l should suggest
lerely that we find the unacceptable
lements in communism (the incorrect
otions that communism shows we
old about ourselves) and attack
lem, rather than make the fight
gainst communism simply one more
seless crusade of the legions of light
5ainst the hordes of darkness
Next week let us discuss commun-
m.