North Andover High School - Knight Yearbook (North Andover, MA)

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1 9 3 9 YEAR BOOK Social propaganda is often interwoven with political propaganda, but still it is a definite type. Whether the objective be good or bad, the propagandists appeal usually to the traits of generosity, consideration for others, and good will. Some propaganda is undoubtedly devoted to good ends. Most of us are in sympathy with the basic purposes of those who advocate social security, old age pensions, and unemployment insurance. But observe the methods by which each reformist attempts to convince us that his plan is the best. He gives a vague and general outline of his scheme, which he claims is the best and is necessary for ideal conditions, since he is fighting against everything that is evil. He gives a heart-re nding picture of the conditions that exist now among the less fortunate, but fails to give a detailed description of his solution to the problem. The readers are therefore led to believe that they must choose between two alternatives, the existing conditions or the reformist’s excellent plan that would solve everything. The papers and magazines are always flushed with propaganda when state and national politics come into the limelight. This was true back in 1916, when Wilson was running for reelection to the presidency. Those favoring him emphasized his success in keeping America out of war for the previous four years of his term. “Don’t change horses in the middle of the stream,” they cried. “Let us keep out of war for the next four years!” The propa¬ gandists used these slogans and catch-words so that the people would infer that, the administration would, and no other party could, keep us out of war. As is known, the people were led to restore the administration to a second term. Then, four months after the second inauguration, the administration had plunged us into the great European conflict. When the recent bill for a strict neutrality policy was introduced in Con¬ gress, we saw how the propagandists began their tactics of flooding the news¬ papers with their ideas for and against the bill. The advocates of the bill proclaimed their love of patriotism and references to Washington’s Farewell Address were repeated again and again. The opponents stressed the oppres¬ sion of certain European powers and the helplessness of the weaker nations. They stated it was necessary and reasonable to aid the oppressed and they expected the people to believe that it was only logical to make alliances and fatal to remain neutral. The propaganda which surely interests us most, but still is carefully con¬ cealed, is international propaganda. Look in the papers and try to find com¬ pliments and flattery pointed at Hitler. It cannot be done. Whatever Hitler does is wrong. Every advance he makes is a threat to the democracies. He was only a paperhanger from Austria, so naturally, he has no knowledge of managing the affairs of a country. Who is so cruel as this tyrant who is persecuting and slaughtering the Jews? Such assertions are so plentiful that the majority of Americans are led to despise and hate Hitler. If you stop and consider, you would realize no human being is so entirely bad as the propagandists claim Hitler is. These war-mongers and hate campaigners have brought to life the cry to save democracies, in these times, by fighting the dictatorships. The nations we are to fight are Germany, Italy and Japan. Germany and Italy, we admit, are dictatorships, but Japan is no more a dic¬ tators hip than England. Among the “democracies” we are supposed to fight for and save are really more dictatorships than the two dictatorships we are to oppose. For instance, to read descriptions of advances of Hitler and Mus¬ solini in central Europe, one would think Russia was one of the endangered democracies; in fact Russia has been included in that list of democracies who 19

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JOHNSON HIGH SCHOOL Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt— great names certainly. Lincoln studied by the open lire in a log hut; raised himself by sheer force of character, energy, and will-power to his position of high honor. All are examples that show our motto is indeed true. Most of us shall never have our names engraved in the Hall of Fame, nor have our deeds expounded in the annals of time, but all of us in our own way are capable of truly great things. And do you know, a person does not have to be famous to be just and generous and to be blessed with the virtues of Christian charity and kindness? It is not necessary to be rich to be great. I like to think of it in that way. I like to think that greatness is a quality of every common person which only needs to be cultivated in order to manifest itself. But if we of the graduating class are to do the great things of life, if we can be good neighbors, if we can be fair in our relations with other people, happy in our work, considerate of others, we must remember that these things will not be easy to do. Some of us will succeed. Others will fall or stop to rest by the dusty roadside, because it is hard to be just in the midst of preju¬ dice, to be generous when we have little ourselves; it is difficult to be cheerful and friendly when we are worried or weary. But if we do succeed, if we can look back up the hill of life and be happy and satisfied in work well done, if we can say, “I have done my best,” and say it with a clear conscience, we have accomplished one of the greatest things possible in life. And since it will not be at all easy, remember— “Nothing Great is Lightly Won.” CHARLES H. FOSTER, Jr. CLASS ESSAY Propaganda HAT is propaganda? Although this word is uttered frequently in these times, many people do not know the real meaning of it. Some always connect “propaganda” with war and anything bad. But this is not always true, for propaganda can be good as well as evil. Originally it meant spreading the faith, and was then used only by the church. In recent years, however, since the World War, it has acquired another meaning. It is now defined as the mere advocation of special interests, or as an attempt to gain credence for statements partially or wholly untrue, and thus to influence opinion and conduct. Propaganda is of the greatest interest to us especially in these times when we are besieged by it on all sides. There are several types of propaganda by which we are influenced. We find commercial propaganda on practically every billboard, in magazines and in newspapers. We are all familiar with the method used by Hollywood in drawing crowds to the theatres. “Screen Gossip” columns appear daily in the newspapers, describing the lives and personal traits of the favorite movie stars. Marriages and divorces of the actors and actresses are probably men¬ tioned most frequently. The public then is attracted to the films, influenced by such articles, which are not related at all to the stars’ acting, but empha¬ size the interesting trivialities of his or her daily life. Obviously, the fact that an actress is divorced, and feeds her pet canary six times a day has no relation whatever to her acting in the films; yet that is the method of adver¬ tising their products. 18

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JOHNSON HI GH SCHOOL are to unite to stop the menace of dictatorships. China, with whom we are led to sympathize, is the second severest dictatorship existing today. V hen the dictator Kemal Ataturk of Turkey, a much worse dictator than Hitler or Mussolini, died recently, those editors who pretended to despise dictatorships lauded him to the skies. This illustrates the deception and falsity of the prop¬ agandists. This propaganda is evidently an evil which, if successful in creat¬ ing war, would throw our country into great turmoil and disturbance, the undesirable and underlying element of communism rising up into prominence. Be critical of everything you read and hear. Check up on editors by com¬ paring their facts, if possible, with authoritative facts from the departments of war and commerce. Don’t be influenced by the appearance of good. As soon as the emotions are played upon, stop and consider with skepticism. Intelligent doubting is to the mind as a blink is to the eyes. All foreign mat¬ ter is removed, clearness results. Keep your eyes on the stars, but keep your feet firmly on the ground! HELEN GREENLER VALEDICTORY X T is my privilege tonight to speak on the life of a man who, through his gift of melody and his devotion to his art, placed himself among the immortals of our world. He did not excel in statesmanship or in the science of warfare, but in music, an art common to all nations, all races, and all civilizations. This man was Franz Schubert. Franz Schubert was a paradox. Although during his life he suffered more from lack of recognition than any other great composer, he appears as one of the happiest of all. In his short life—- he only lived to be thirty-one— he produced more great music than many musicians who lived their allotted three-score years and ten. He was born in 1797 in a suburb of gay Vienna. His father was the parish schoolmaster. It is not surprising that Franz was musical, for his father and elder brothers were musicians, and when he was very young they taught him the rudiments of piano and violin. It was not long before he outgrew their instructions and was sent to Herr Holzer, the choirmaster of the parish, who apparently had never had such a brilliant pupil, for he later said of him, “Whenever I wished to teach him anything new, I found that he had already mastered it.” Yet perhaps the good man was blinded by admiration, for one authority states that Schubert gained more from one of his friends, a joiner’s appentice, for he took him to a neighborhood pianoforte warehouse to practice on the new pianos before they were packed. When he was nine the shy Franz, a chubby, plainly dressed little boy, went with many others to a big bare room presided over by several awesome and dignified men, whose duty it was to choose the best singer as choirboy in the Imperial Chapel, a post which carried with it a free education in the Stadt-Convict, the chief music-school of Vienna. After all had sung, the gentlemen retired for a short discussion and returned with the announcement, “Franz Schubert is the winner.” At the music school Franz not only gained much practical musical know¬ ledge, but also made many of the friends who were so loyal to him in later life. Franz was always the merriest of the group. Often he played his own 20