The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1945-03-29

What is this war all about? If we
take the average movie hokum, we
could easily wonder whether there is
a reason sufficiently strong for adult
consumption.
We are told we are at war so that
Johnny can walk down the same kind
of main street he left behind; so that
we can keep on dunking doughnuts;
so that we can have hot dogs; so that
we can still go to the little white
church on Elm street; SO that we can
tell the umpire he's bum; and lot
of equally trivial and childish things.
Does it ever occur to the moguls
| that one reason we are at war is that
we were attacked and darned near
shot into helplessness while most of
our people didn't even think it was
possible for us to get into the war?
When you are attacked you can
either fight back, or take licking,
with the losses that go with getting
| licked.
Pearl Harbor was a very real
thing. Had the Japs followed up their
sneak victory, they might have gone
clear to California before we got
them stopped. WE were attacked at
Pearl Harbor And when the Japs
rained hell on Pearl Harbor they
didn't intend to stop there. They in
tended to keep going until the United
States was licked, making peace in
Washington that would have robbed
us Of our freedom and darned near
everything else. They weren't merely
after Pearl Harbor.
But there are lot of boobs who
have forgotten how this war started
and WHY it was started.
Japan, Germany and Italy then
were in a tight alliance. The attack
by the Japs was according to Axis
plan. If we fought back, we had to
fight the whole brood. So, we did.
How could we have done otherwise?
But now to interpret this war in
terms of silly little home town
homilies is just so much horse radish
and it doesn't help us to understand
how to help make decent and last
ing peace.
AS a matter of fact, putting the
war in terms of the right to stroll
down main street and whistle at a
pretty girl or two, muddes the peace
planning. How are you going to get
Dumbarton Oaks understood by peo-
pie who are fed glamorously, but
idotically, on yarns about war
fought for the right to heave bottle
at the umpire?
Let's talk about this war in grown
up terms. We had better get over the
idea that most people are IL years
old mentally, because it simply isn't
true.
Most people know enough to under
stand big issues if they are given the
facts about the issues.
But, on the other hand, if they get
)nly hokum, then, quite likely, they
will fall for hokum. 1t has happened.
Woodrow Wilson was hamstrung
,y hokum, because the people had no
proper facilities for getting the truth.
That must not happen again.
This war involves the must funda-
mental issues mankind has ever
aced, and unless there is proper
,eace we shall have another war, for
he issues involved are the kind that
lever are settled until they are set
led right
So, we had better do some proper
ettling. For that we need full and
omplete understanding. We dare not
e foolish; we dare not be fooled.
Public prints, motion pictures, and
he whole drivel brigade had better
,et wise to an understanding of re-
This is war to save and preserve
uman freedom, the rights of man,
he dignity of man and the freedom
t peoples. 1t is to abolish tyranny
tterly.
1t is not war to guarantee Mrs.
ones the right to make mince pie
II Johnny's birthday, nor for any
ther equally ridiculous and trivial
eason.
Let us try to act as if we were
dults, possessed of adult reasoning
linds, capable of understanding
reat and basic truths.
If we cannot do that, we, quite
robably, are sunk-CMW.
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