Askov American., 1942-01-29
1t is dangerous for two reasons.

It is dangerous for two reasons.
First of all, it is dangerous because
it tends to divide the American peo-
pie when we need to be united as
never before. We are in this war
whether we like it or not and we will
have to fight now until we either
conquer or get conquered.
There is no longer any choice for
loyal Americans and when we in
dulge in name calling or recrimina-
tions we are just dividing our forces
and weakening our cause!
There is another reason why this
sniping and smearing is dangerous.
After every great war there are
always tremendous repercussions. We
remember well the reactions after
the last war, socially, economically
and politically. The reactions and re-
percussions which will follow this
war may be even greater because
our actions and expenditures are
greater. Reaction always follows ac-
ton.
After great war victory there is a
great let-down. The people are tired
and emotionally spent. They want
70 forget the war and they naturally
turn from their war leaders and
heroes. They turn from a Woodrow
Wilson to a Warren Harding, from
a Lloyd George to Stanley Baldwin
or Ramsey Macdonald.
You may not like to think of it
and you may not think it is best for
this country but after the reaction
to the war sets in following our vic
tory it is very likely the people will
turn to other leaders. To whom
will they turn?
If we have succeeded in smearing
everyone who differed with the pres
ent administration previous to De-
cember 7th the people may turn to
radical leadership. Here in Mime
sofa we smeared many good men in
our war effort in the World War 7
and the people turned to men like A.
c. Townley.
Over in England where the people
are less emotional and more expert
enced in self-government the people
in the war reaction turned to sane
liberals like Ramsay Macdonald who
had opposed the first World War
from the beginning to the end. Over
in Germany they turned to that mad
man, Adolf Hitler In Russia they
turned to Lenin and Trotzky and in
Italy to the socialist dictator, Benito
Mussolini.
Life-Death Struggle.
Here in America we have a real
job on our hands. 1t is one of the
hardest and toughest jobs we have
ever undertaken While defending
ourselves in the Pacific and helping
to hold back the Japanese hordes at
Singapore, the Dutch Indies and Sa-
moa, we have to get enormous sup
plies of food, guns, tanks and planes
and probably men to aid the British
at Libya or on the continent and to aid
Russia.
1t is tremendous job which will
tax the capacity of the American
people to the utmost. 1t is going to
take the enthusiastic, united effort of
every American, big or small, to win
this fight. To argue now on how
we got into this war or begin to
blame people for what has happened
up until now is the same kind of
insanity as family would show if
their house was on fire with them
arguing on how it happened and who
was to blame for its origin.
This nation is fighting for its very
existence and any editor or individu-
al, no matter what his views were be-
fore December 7th, who now divides
the public by name-calling or at
tempts to assess the blame, is doing
his country no great service in this
time of national catastrophe and in
ternational crisis.