The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1943-07-26
PROPAGANDA, TRUE AND FALSE

Key WeSterS exclaim. ''Aw. that's prOpa-
ganda," a. though the sole connotation oc
the word is falSity.
Criticisms may be Just or unjust. 50
propaganda may be true or false For many
was used exclusively in religious matters.
chiefly in maintaining the terets of a doc
trne. ~ in efforts TO establish a dogma.
Though we seldom are aware of its use
in religion, today, yet it is employed more
extensively in hundred and one different
sects team is the propaganda of belligerents
in this war.
When the prepayment OF one sect talks
about his belief. he is propagandizing. a j.
also the prepayment of another sect. and one
may he aS sincere a the other in believing
that the principles he adhereS To are the
right ones. and the CneS the other fellow eS-
pouSeS are wrong Yet both cannot be right
but both can be wrong. yet each * actual
Cd by = fervor that he believes To be of di-
vine origin.
Propaganda Is not only true or false.
il MAJ be exceedingly ridiculous at times
For instance: Propaganda Minister Paul
Joseph GoebbelS of Germany. on Friday.
blame Fhe reverSeS OF the Axis powers on
acts 81 God
Canaan military leaders have utterly
failed m this war. a. they failed in the first
World War. To understand the American
psychology. They succeeded in lulling 10
sleep millions Of their own people and pre-
Sumably some of the people of lower men,
tality N the Balkan states. and possibly 4
few Italians but their tenuou> propaganda
falls flat or British ears and evokes chuckles
among Americans.
GoebbelS believes that if he makes a
lie big enough and repeats il often enough,
the world. or bag part of the world. will
believe II Italian leaders. if we are 10 judge
by reports that come out of Rome. have mag
nified GoebbelS' practice of telling tall
ones" AS was pointed out 10y the British
Ministry of Information about SIN months
ago. the Italian navy had destroyed four and
one-u;Iarter times a. many British war>hipS
a. Britain had al the beginning of the war
and has buli since he war started Brit
ish airrlahe carrier. according 10 the ltai-
ians. hal been torpedoed and sunk by them
as many a three times. A. the ministry re
marked the Italians We're not apt IN keen
ing track of the names OF British ships.
And Radio Rome blared. OF the day
that Sicily was invaded. that the Italian fleet
was steamng into the Mediterranean TO IN
tercept and sink American and British war
ships that were covering the invasion Of
Sicily. A few days later news leaked out Of
Italy into Sweden and Switzerland that what
was LETT OF the Italian navy had Sneaked IN
TO the Adratic and was in hiding some
where IT. that sea.
w are aware that all the propaganda
thai the Americans and the British issue Is
nor gospel truth. Il can not be. for the
simple reason that It would disclose mill
tary secrets that would benefit the Axis
powers. The object Is 10 keep them in the
dark. lat otherwise particularly in the
realm of losses i'm battle. American and
British propaganda seldom deviateS from
the truth
nome Washington may say some
things hat cyerstep the bounds of truth.
bat the aim is 10 try 10 make Americans
realize ye are al war for even now countless
thouSardS of Americans do not entertain
that realization. Many of Us have beer ur-
able 10 sense something that i 50 far
away from rs. and big majority of.u~ be-
lieve We are safe from attack.