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Adlai Stevenson: “Let us not © ‘ome the prisoners of our... prop’ nda." Premier Macmillan; “Don't let _s add to mankind's burden by becon.ae the victims of _ own propaganda." A GOSPEL FOR LATE 1959 As one who criticized John Foster Dulles while he was Secretary of State; I was agree- ably surprised the other day when I delved into his War, Peace and Change, published 20 years ago, to find that it is filled with simon-pure wisdom, according to my opinion, and that its ideas could be very useful now that there are new possibilities for reorienting our foreign policy. In this book he writes that total war is made possible by our emotionalism, especially as masses. are more emotional than individuals. Upon this foundation of emotionalism "is built that form of patriotism which personifies the nation as a living being endowed with heroic qualities, who lives bravely and dangerously in a world of inferior and even villain- ous, other nation personalities." To build up the desired personification "history, in each nation, is written and taught in the manner of a dime novel.... This background built up by history as commonly taught is kept up to date by the current utterances of political leaders and by the press." Mr. Dulles points out that officials can count upon reinforcement from private agencies which are engaged in catering to the emotional cravings of the masses and which profit fi- nancially from purveying shock and excitement. "By printed word or by pictures selected to produce an emtional reaction, they magnify incidents out of all relation to their actual importance and they induce unreliable generalizations." quickest cure of internal dissension is to portray danger from abroad." method is constantly used to get huge "defense" appropriations, too.) And he adds, "The easiest and (Of course this There are many possible types of the nation-hero, but Mr. Dulles says that two of them are the most conducive to war: "One is the crusading hero, who champions the cause of jus- tice and succors the oppressed... and the nation-hero who is sensitive of his personal honor and who is quick to strike out in case of actual or seeming affronts." Alas, that Mr. Dulles did so much to build up these nation-hero and nation-villain concepts while he was Secretary of Statc! ; Among his recommendations: Check the tendency to identify one's personified state with deity; check the tendency to identify the other-nation personality with evil; increase elas- ticity -- human action should not be dictated by emotion to the virtual exclusion of reason; mass effort and sacrifice should not depend upon the ideology of conflict. After progress is made in these respects we should attack the "problem of eliminating force as the solvent of conflicting desires." A book to read... Whe ts Mrs. YUcetioms of Our Oun Prapagaucda? and wry to your friends ’ Bryant? ARLY in 1957 Val Peterson, about three-fourths of us would st toe ww; lee ed — een then Civil Defense Admin- survive @ nuclear attack on 7 ++ OU L : aN = istrator, estimated that a sur- 224 target areas. arm n vi i iat rm OS prise enemy attack would kill Never did Eleanor Roosevelt RELIGION FOR THE HARDREABED \ Ve about 5066 of the American sperk more truly than when toe a en oo le, regardléss: of whether he wasned that people would Senctor Ralph E. Flanders: "Religion for the Hard- 6 peop 5 peop headid’ has been read by me with increasing interest ~ S y they had bomb shelters. be cursed by war as long as verging on mild excitement. It is far and away the eee Since then war potentials they endure the idea of it, By pest explanation ine Christian relirton for the times ; a sted have increased, and in August Making us believe we coud Chin ee ‘¢ i repens " eax “ is intel r \ ts of Jast year the Hoase Mili- survive a major war, “civil cugo i moune: “Fer that friend of yours whe fs intel. a tg tary Operations Subcommittee defense” increases our tolor- ligent and well informed about everything excent Chris- — ais Be released a study of the probe ance of the idea of it and 5 Uanity, maybe Mrs. Bryant has turned the trick. . Auth able offects of a nuclear at increases the probabilivy of its , | on; 4 © Author effects welear at- t t The Mirror (New Zealand): “A tonic for the practicing » ectarer tack which estimated that outbreak. On’-r now from books! from Price © World most Americans, nearly 160 Ut we could cooperate with Dedd, Mead and Com ery $969 Traveller million persons, would be Russia to defeat Hitler we A peny kitled by @ nuclear attack on ¢an cooperate with her to roi 432 Fourty Avenue, New York 16 1% of our cities. Now comes a civil defense Official and estimates that back the threat of global bolo cast, Alice Franksin Wegant to Denver Post July 16, ay