The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1940-01-17
BY RICHARD LAKE

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Perhaps nothing in all experience
more vexing to a partisan than t.
have his question, Are you for us o
against us?" answered, II am neither
For such an answer makes it Difficult
for the partisan to attack the an
swerer in the most devastating Ian
guage he knows. in terms of goo,
and evil. Indeed, many Of you upol
reflecting on this last statement ma,
ask, How else may one dispose O
ones opponents?"
| Here in its barest fundamentals Ii
the secret of all the propaganda bat
ties that have ever been waged. Every
progapandist seeks to array the forces
of light on his side; the forces Of
darkness on the side of his opponent
And remember that we are all at some
time propagandists. All through our
history we have been propagandists;
so that if we are now denied the use
OF that simple dogma of good and evil
we are at a loss for a means of ad.
vancing our interests.
graph. Are you for us or against
us?' he challenges. l answer 81 am
neither" The partisan is momentum
lily baffled. But only momentarily.
When he blasts again he has found a
way to burn the brand of evil on my
forehead. you are cowardly fence
straddler!" he cries triumphantIy.
You are an eyasive muddlehead
Don't you know that failure to take
sides is sheer dishonesty and whether
you realize it or not, lends strength
to the powers of darkness?"
And you, my reader, with a troubled
eye on paragraph two, are saying with
deep perturbation IN your soul, "Well,
you know we all have interests and
must fight for them. You can't tell
us just to give up and be neutral!"
And | turn back to my thoughts for
a moment, sobered and frightened at
the glimpse I have had of the terrible
strength and weight of the chains that
hold mankind. Invisible chains, too
light to be felt until too strong to be
broken. Chains that we have forged
ourselves out Of fear and shame and
hatred and other unexplored depths of
our abysmal souls
1t is necessary to speak of all of us,
for we are all equally at fault in this
matter; and it is necessary to say:
There is nothing holding mankind
back but his own ideas about him
self
| will answer Partisan, who wants
me to be either for him or against
him; and | will answer Reader, who
thinks l am abandoning him to quies-
cence.
Partisan, | am neither for you nor
against you because it is an unreal |
battle you are fighting. | don't mean |
hat your efforts to keep alive and |
your efforts to be somebody are I'M |
'eal | mean that your assumption |
hat you are part of, if not the |
eader of, the legions of light arrayed |
against the barbarous hordes of dark
less is an ironic dream. From where
stand l see mankind divided in al
most infinite multiplicity against it.
elf, and | see no considerable group
working for the benefit of ALL Who
would take sides in such an insane
ontest?
Reader, do you indeed have inter-
SITS? When you can tell me what
hey are, can tell you how to fight
or them. If you are financier do
GU admit that you are interested pri-
larily in greater profits, greater priv
eyes, greater luxury for yourself and
our class? No, you insist that your
ndeavor is toward building up a
lightly nation. If you are a radical .
o you admit that you want prestige
nd honor and acclaim for yourself