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Show mm AHEAD vLBY GEORGE S. BENSON tvi . P'"'","'l-H"li"l ColUge i, '' Searcy. Arkansas FACTS OUR PRICELESS WEAPON . When a certain early 17th Century church indoctrinated its clergymen for mission assignments, as-signments, the process was called "propagandism." In the hands of the Nazis, Fascists and Communists 300 years later, propaganda became something unwholesome only because it practiced distortion of the truth and, quite often, outright lying. Our American "counter propaganda," propa-ganda," set up to meet and conquer con-quer the flood of untruths from Moscow, can be of no real value unless it is kept absolutely truthful. Uncle Sam's efforts to counteract coun-teract the Moscow manufactured manufac-tured propaganda is largely the job of federal government agencies. But there is another battle for men's minds close at home. On one side are the politico-social planners, and their befuddled camp followers, follow-ers, who wish to make citizens subservient to the State. Naturally, Nat-urally, they never admit it. On the other side are those who have recognized that the vari- ous phases of the Socialists' planned economy would require giving up our personal freedom. ON THE JOB Until recent years the Socialists So-cialists had the field almost to themselves and were making steady headway persuading our people we should adopt legislative legisla-tive proposals making the citizens citi-zens more and more the financial finan-cial ward of the government. Increasing millions of Americans Amer-icans now are getting wise to the fatal dangers ' of such a course. The best job I've observed ob-served in American ''propagandism" ''propa-gandism" in a particular field is being done today in a large section of industry. Our industrial workers have been the No. 1 target of both 'he Communist and Socialist propagandists. For years nobody no-body called attention to the half-truths or challenged the outright misrepresentations. No wonder a great many workers became confused. In fact, an age-old strategy of the Socialist schemers is to spread confusion. The decisive weapon against them is truth--facts. Facts in-Ojriate in-Ojriate the Socialist fanatics. Facts convict them. They hate facts. PROOF WANTED Many companies now have welf-organized in-plant educational educa-tional programs on the American Amer-ican way of life and free enterprise enter-prise economics. It is encouraging encour-aging that most programs are conducted with the approval and frequenlty the active help of Union shop stewards and other union officers. The secret se-cret of their success is that the facts used are selected with the most painstaking care; thus they withstand the fiercest attack at-tack of. the wounded Socialists and their duped followers. An official of one big industry indus-try which now has a well established es-tablished Americanism program told me that early in his company's com-pany's program a few workers spoke up with the attitude, "Oh yeah? Can you prove that?" or "Oh. yeah? . So, what's behind be-hind all this?" He said that at first he and his associates had to scramble around to get the proof, but that when they'd produced it, and had explained the mutually beneficial motive behind the program, the "skeptics" "skep-tics" became enthusiastic "students." "stu-dents." A CHALLENGE It's a healthy thing in these i times for open-minded people to be a little suspicious of just anybody's information, and to want to examine motives. There is so much misinformation misinforma-tion being distributed, even peddled, and certainly in some quarters motives are suspect. We might all take our cue from Missouri's brash challenge, "Show me!" Yes, in these days of ideological ideo-logical and political debating I should say, Go ahead: Challenge any information, declaration or statement not backed by facts or readily acceptable logic. On that basis our American freedom free-dom system cannot lose; for in all recorded history no other system has done so much for so many, in any span of time. Do you know any Socialists who can effectively challenge this fact? |