Part-Time Propaganda

After subjecting patient listeners to a winter-long barrage of sickly sweet patriotic songs, the radio networks have hit upon the happy idea of pressing announcers and band leaders into service, and a new silly season seems imminent. Their whimsy seems to be that a cute patriotic epigram or a snappy call to arms by your favorite band leader will jack up, sagging morale. This must prove most interesting reading when Axis propagandists describe it to the people back home.

The usual procedure in this pepping-up process is for an announcer to begin a short news broadcast by relieving himself of such sentiments as "our boys out there in the East are standing up for you--why don't you stand up for them at home?" No retorts have yet been heard, so the announcers go on coining inspirational tidbits to their hearts content.

Meanwhile, the band leaders, their partners in this patriotic game, are interrupting broadcasts from jammed nightclubs to sandwich in gems like "I know that while you're out there enjoying the music you're still thinking of our gallant boys who are overseas giving their all. I don't have to tell you what you ought to do, folks--I guess you all know." Whereupon he stumbles through something about defense bonds and retires, abashed, having succeeded only in sounding completely mechanical and uneasy.

Presumably, a nation-wide resurgence of patriotism greets these remarks and the "soft spots" in national morale which are causing so much worry are hardened up a bit. Axis propagandists maintain nightly over the short wave radio that America is a nation of happy, deluded children, and all they need do to back up their claim is to rebroadcast programs like these.