NY Shelled on Movie Screen

The Shelled Scatters Doves of Peace section walks through the making of "The Battle Cry for Peace." The meeting takes place at a hotel, a flock of Dove is released when the alarm sounds then a shell crashes through the wall. During the film people such as Charles Richman, and Norma Talmadge is on set helping along with 25,000 National Guard Troops and 500 G.A.R veterans.
Now that it is done, it is not a big hit in the motion picture. I think the process in making the film was a little dramatic with so many supporters concdering it didnt do so well.

Crystallizing Public Opion

In Crystallizing Public Opion by, Edward Bernays the section that stood out the most is selecting a media. Bernays made this prosess seem simple: the sales manager calls in the advertising manager and then decides on selling areas of newspapers and magazing and compare them as well. They then make up an advertising schedule.
They have to reach out to every part of the media, such as the platform, motion pictures, radio, magazine, mail, mass meeting, and even word of mouth. I think this is a great strategie because it is like networking in order to get out there you have to reach out to everyone in every way possible.

The Growth of Expansion of Public Opinion

In this article, it talks on the issue of the newspaper. It states that newspapers are made to sell and a huge way of making this profit is by a war. " The important thing is that in war every moment may bring important and exciting news- news that does not need to be accuurate or bear sifting". For instance, today the war in Iraq has hands on news coverage almost everyday on something thats going on over there. Now a days we have news coverge twenty four hours a day on either Cnn,msnbc,cnbc, and fox news five. We hear news all day long and we can even get the news from the internet as well. The news is a huge effect in our daily lives especically right now with the war. We saw this in Godkin's article where he stated that the newspaper was a huge effect and a big way to make money. "War means daily sensation and excitment". This showed that war is important, money making, and a big seller and the biggest way for them to tell the story is to write about it in the paper. I know that I get the newpaper delivered everyday and see something on the war in Iraq at least talked about once.

Bloody War

In the "Blood, blood, blood" May 17th 1896 article from the New York World, there seems to be much protest against the war. There is a picture of a poster in the article that talks about brutal murders in Cuba done by the guerillas during the Spanish American war. There is an out right attack on the war in the article. We can easily see that the author is obviously against the war, this is evident by how the coverage was shaped. How the war is summed up or covered in this article is by portraying the war as costly, bloody, and needless. People are being butchered, "Blood in the fields blood on the doorsteps, blood, blood, blood" the author is using the travesties of war to state his view on the war. By pointing out the many horrors of the war the author can be very successful in swaying people against the war.

Conquest of the U.S. by Spain

In this handout William Graham Sumner state, "It is easy to have equality where land is abundant and where the population is small. It is easy to have prosperity where a few men have a great continent to exploit. It is easy to have liberty when you have no dangerous neighbors and the struggle for existence is easy. Democracy is not then a thing to be nursed and defended.... It's rooted and founded in the economic circumstances of the country". He futher goes on to talk about war and how it will be considered a plutocracy. He gives four reasons, "In the first place, war and expansion will favor jobbery, both in the dependencies and at home. Second place, they will take the attention of the people away from what the plutocrats are doing. Third, they will cause large expenditures of the people's money, the return of which will not go into the treasury, but into the hands of a few schemers. Fourth, they will call for a large public debt and taxes and these things, especially tend to make men unequal because any social burden bears more heavily on the weak than on the strong, and so make the weak weaker and the strong, stronger".

Sumner, I believe, is telling us that it is the rich that will survive and the poor that will suffer due to the greed of the rich. To an extent, a survival of the fittest. Not only do I think he is talking about the people of the country but the country as a whole, comparing it to other countries. The country has to survive against other countries and will do and take the actions needed to be victorious.

i have mingled freely

i found this to be very interesting because it describes the African-American experience overseas in the military. Americans treated the Filipinos as they would Black people in America. i think the point he was trying to make was that imperialism was something that meant racial segregation and degradation wherever the U.S. trodded. this makes Americans no better than the Europeans who did the same thing to millions of other countries centuries before. i think this article showed the correlation between the treatment of colored people all around the world, thus mentioning the use of the curse, "nigger" to refer to the Filipino natives.

I have mingled freely

In the letter "I have mingled freely" from a black soldier to the New York age written on August 11,1899 he talks about his feelings. He states in his letter that , "Aall this would never have occurred if the army of occupation had treated them as people. A Tennessean told me of how some fellows he knew had cut off a native woman's arm in order to get a fire inlaid bracelet. The government only pays us $13.00 per month; that's starvation wages. White men can't stand it. They talk with impunity of 'niggers' to our soldiers, never once thinking that they are talking to home "niggers" and should they be brought to remember that at home this is the same vile epithet they hurl at us".
Here we see the soldier in a difficult situation because first he is a United States soldier and must act and take orders as one. If he doesn't then he will have to face the possibilities of being considered a traitor, of having his fellow white officer criticize him for not being loyal and attribute that fact to him being black.
On the other side the soldier can also relate to the victims of this war because of the injust punishment which is being given to them. He realizes that they are not being treated as people but as objects and material there for the taking. The soldier realizes this because he too is fighting his own war at home, which is a race war.

I have mingled freely

This docoument is written by a black solider who is in the Phillippine islands in 1899. He speaks about the horrors of expansion. He writes about the American Soilders as opposed to spaniards. he says even though the the spanish have very harsh laws they treat the people better as opposed to Americans who treat them same as They would treat a black person in U.S. at that time. He hears testimony from american soliders who don't get paid enough and they make it up in other ways like grave robbing. He even speaks of a Soilder who cut off a womans hand to get a really nice bracelet. It seems the horrors of war happens no matter which country is fighting. He belives that we should not take the islands this way and that its "high way robbery and not expansion".

I have Mingled Freely

This letter talks about a young black man who speaks out on his issues with the Americans. This had occured becasue the army of occupation didnt treat them as people. The spaniards were polite and treated them with companionship. "As soon as they saw that the native troops were desirous of sharing in the glories as well as the hardship of the hard won battles with the Americans, began to apply home treatment for colered people" The Americans were mean to the black people, they would steal from them, rob them on the street of their small change. They would do whatever they could to bother them and would kick the poor if he would dare complain. Lastly, he states that at the next election you should put the right politcal party in power. Not the people who rob, and steal..

"While we sit here tonight, enjoying a picture show, are you aware that thousands of people in Europe--people not unlike yourselves-- are languishing in slavery under Prussian masters?"
-Virgil Williams

The Four-Minute Men were a group of local opinion leaders who had been pulled together to maintain home-front support for the U.S. military involvement in the First World War. George Creel organized these men because he along with the CPI, which President Woodrow Wilson had established as a vast propaganda ministry were going to take over America's thoughts and ideas and make them their own. After all it was for the best of the country. I find it rather disturbing that these men had the capability and resources to be able to drown an entire country with one thought. Support the War. Wilson along with Creel and the help of the CPI were able to take over television, radio, magazines, advertisements, and everything else that reaches the public in order to change the minds of all Americans and make the support this war. It is rather disturbing to know that people with this kind of power actually have used it. It makes me wonder how much of what we as Americans think and do are because we want to or because it is what we are "told" to. The more I learn about propaganda, the more afraid of it I am.

Walter Lippmann's "Public Opinion" & "The Phantom Public"

In 1922 Walter Lippmann wrote "Public Opinion" and in 1925 he wrote "The Phantom Public" talks about how things change when people are in control of describing what is happening. A person's opinion will always be part of a report. If a person is reporting a scene he will use what he knows first before something he doesn't know. He will take something fairly familiar and make it very familiar and something he doesn't understand to something completely alien. This all changes when the art of photography came out. We did not need to rely on someone's descriptions and they can see what really is going on.

To relate this to something today is a car accident. If someone is in a car accident, the person that is hit might say that the accident was terrible and he hit me so hard. On the other hand, the person who hits the other might say that he barely touch him and it's nothing serious. If you take a picture of the car and the people involved you can tell how bad the accident was and make you own opinion rather then rely on the people telling the event.

With pictures becoming ideal way to show points, symbols started to become a way to promote things. Leaders have been using symbols since the poles and flags. Just like our Army uses symbols on there uniforms to show level and the amount of power. We also use symbols to show what they have achieved, goals they have met, actions they have completely, and acts of bravery.

In "The Phantom Public" Lippmann tells us opinions are broken down and shown to the public in one way. When they tells us how it is it takes out different ideas of the public and makes it a uniform idea instead of many different ideas.

Several Tactics in "Yellow Journalism"

In this article, I would like to list several tactics frequently used in the "yellow journalism" that was prevalent in the Spanish American War. No matter what form it takes, i mean, like article, cartoon or advertising, these tactics, specifically rhetoric are still powerful.

1. Anaphora : the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses or lines. This rhetoric is extremely powerful in stimulating sensation among people. Like in the "March of the Flag", in the first paragraph, four sentences beginning with "people" are side by side with eight more starting with "history" which both portray the gloriousness and mightiness of the nation. it's already very strong, however, the author doesn't stop. In the following paragraph, dozens of question marks certainly push people to think: it's our duty, obligation, glory, heritage to go into the war. No wonder, this article grasps the heart and sensation of the readers from the right beginning.

2. Antithesis : opposition, or contrast of ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction. The usage of words with sharp contrast has the strong power for people to position themselves. Like in the " A War for Liberty and Humanity", in the first paragraph, " civilization against barbarism, freedom against oppression, education against ignorance, progress against retrogression" which i think definitely can stir the sensation among Americans who regard themselves as the civilized, free, educated and progressive population to save Cuban people against atrocious Spain.

3. Hyperbole : exaggeration for emphasis or for rhetorical effect. (this word is not quite appropriate here on a second thought, but i can't find another word which more precisely illustrates my point.) like both in "I Saw What Was Left"--the detailed description of those Cuban victims, and in the "Emancipators, not Masters"--the utopian portrayal about the new Cuba after the emancipator's glorious work.

4. Metaphor : implied comparison achieved through a figurative use of words; the word is used not in its literal sense, but in one analogous to it. As in the advertisement for "Schlitz" and several other articles, the image of undefeatable British Empire as the sun never sets and the use of "the White Man's Burden" are two examples here.

Due to my limited knowledge on this aspect, I only list four kinds of most obvious rhetoric that is used in some documents. However, in reality, there are much more that I can't name. Nevertheless, the flexible combination of different rhetoric certainly strengthens the power of the language.

The Ways in Which We Can Be Manipulated

The protagonist of good government, then, selects such appeals as will best serve to reach the groups he desires to influence. If he is engaged in a campaign for a better health department, there is always the desire of self preservation of the individual around which such a campaign can be based. If it is better milk, or a campaign for better schools, there is the love of children. If it is better streets and highways, the fear of an accident to the pedestrian or autoist.
Edward Bernays,Crystallizing Public Opinion for Good Government, 1925

I find this passage extremely interesting because it shows how the public can be so easily manipulated. By relating the cause to what matters to society, any campaign can be spun to appear in the people's best interest. With this, I pose a question. Were we, the American Public, targets of this tactic when being sold a war to fight a tyrannical dictator harboring weapons of mass destruction that could be connected to Osama Bin Laden and the 9/11 attacks? And in our society where the media is supposed to create transparency, shouldn't we be able to see the real intent (rather than the reason they are selling) and avoid falling victim to this method? And if we do buy into the version they are selling, is it because the media is really simulating transparency or that we are just not looking at all of the sources of information?

Schlitz and Coca-Cola

Schlitz and Coca-Cola
“It is too little to say that the sun never sets on Schlitz agencies, for it is literally true that it is always noonday at one of them.”
Schlitz is only a name now. It no longer carries any weight in the beer industry. We can only say it was an important brand name for beers and was an important part of American life.
Actually, the advertisement of Schlitz reminds me something lasting longer than that—Coke.
For the Coke Company, it is always good to make their product bond to the WASP civilization. If Schlitz claimed to be the advocate of the western civilization, Coke would like to be the speak person of the White Anglo Saxon Protestant Capitalist Civilization.
People always like to put themselves into different categories. Western or Oriental does not mean much today, instead, people are more than willing to describe them as People of the Free World or People under the Communist Totalitarian Control. This does not mean much for normal people, but it really means a lot for business people and politicians.

If everyone believes that no matter how free-market China or Russia can be, they are still by any means different from Americans and the formal Western civilization, it will be funny to look at the history of the East and West Germany.

I would like to recommend a movie here covering the changes happened in Berlin from 1989 to 1991. Hope you like it.
In the movie Good Bye-Lenin, Coke was taken as the symbol of the western capitalism civilization. When the Berlin Wall collapsed, it was not the massive immigrants surged into West Germany; it was the lines of Trucks full of Coca-Cola, which stood for the communication between the east and the west.
It is interesting to see the Movie, to have that kind of feeling that the society suddenly changed. In addition, all the political posters became the advertisements of Coca-Cola.

There is a free Trailer on-line. http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony/good_bye_lenin.html
Hope it can give you a general idea about the change.
(Personally, I believe it is a blessing to be innocent like the Mother in the movie )
Please see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0301357/ for more information about this movie.

Several Thoughts on the "Primary Documents"

It's not surprising to see that ever since Spanish American war, whenever America wants to wage a war on other nations, it always embellishes its whole behaviors with the slogan that this war is " civilization against barbarism, freedom against oppression, education against ignorance, progress against retrogression and democracy against totalitarian", which is a great disguise of its internal incentive of pursuing self-interest as well as covering up its domestic problems. just as in the promotion of the Spanish American war where America was portrayed as the humanitarian savior to free the cuban people from Spanish cruelty, the same philosophy applies to Iraq as well while America comes to end Saddam Hussein's totalitarian government and bring democracy and autonomy to the Iraqi people. no matter where Americans are, they are the incarnation of " democracy, freedom, humanitarian and equality".

We can't fail to see the power of media both in Spanish American war and WWI, to list the obvious two, where the media is penetrating almost every porn of ordinary people's life. Like CPI, it covers almost all daily aspects in shaping the public opinion. just as E.L. Godkin illustrated in " The Growth and Expansion of Public Opinion" that " Newspapers are made to sell; and for this there is nothing better than war. war means daily sensation and excitement...whether the war brings victory or defeat makes little defference." In this sense, the government and the media are just like two reciprocal friends where either part can take the initiative to be the propagandist. like in the Spanish American war, the media took the lead to change people's attitude from" pacifism" to "Jingoism", while in the Iraqi war, the government is the real bellwether and exerting a tremendous influence on the media. However, no matter who is the leader in the propaganda process, they can't live without each other and must react to each other as quickly as possible.

Manufacturing Consent (2nd filter)

According to Chomsky and Herman, News media rely heavily on advertising revenue because without the support of major advertising companies there would be no media. Papers that can attract advertisers would prosper, but papers that lack in advertising would face serious disadvantages. As stated in the propaganda model, working class papers and journals are
"poor vehicles" because their readers are not purchasers. "It is a affluent audiences that spark advertiser interest." (P16)

The power of advertisers are there fore great, and their choices greatly affect the welfare of the media. Media must serve advertiser needs. "Television networks learn over time that such programs will not sell and would have to be carried at a financial sacrifice, and that, in addition, they may offend powerful advertisers."(P17) Media will there fore "avoid programs with serious complexities and disturbing controversies that interfere with the "buying mood". They will run "programs that will lightly entertain and thus fit in with the spirit of the primary purpose of program purchases-dissemination of a selling messages."

Filtering the news

This interesting article, "Filtering the news" was adapted from Noam Chomsky and Ed Herman's "Propaganda Model" as stated in the article. I think everyone in the class will find it interesting to read. It is very brief and straight to the point.

"If I allowed my honest opinions to appear in one issue of my paper, before
24 hours my occupation would be gone. The business of a journalist is to
destroy the truth; to lie outright; to pervert; to fawn at the feet of mammon,
and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread. You know it and
I know it and what folly is this toasting and independent press.. Our
talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other
men. We are intellectual prostitutes."(Swinton, John, 1953)

http://www.newint.org/issue333/filtering.htm

"House of Hate"

In the reading "House of Truth", I found one thing glaringly similar to our current lives as US citizens. I do not know if it is as well organized because I have not heard of things like this happening (in this way) today, but I do see great evidence of it. I'm referring to the first few pages where it outlines the actions of a Banker in Portland, Mr. Williams, and those of his "opinion group" (The Four- Minute- Men) at their local theaters one night.

Those pages struck me the most because I felt that eerie connection. Is Anti-War -- Anti-"Democracy"? If I do not believe that the war in Iraq was justified, does that make me a terrorist? I am anti- THIS war and have been accused of things like "supporting the terrorists" and "just another liberal Bush basher." Oddly enough, while I think we've skewed the ideas our Founding Father's put forth, I'm the first to defend our government (in most cases (and excluding anything done by our current President.)) because I believe we have the potential to truly be a greater nation. To cease this tiny rant - So why am I labeled negatively because I do not believe we should have invaded Iraq under false pretenses?

The answer to that question and the theme *I* got from those first few pages of "House of Truth" is something I noticed and researched in old posters of propaganda. I found that war propaganda that even got a rise out of me was that which was based on a common hatred. We hate terrorists - Therefore, if you criticize us - you are a terrorist. Perhaps this is just a post which stated what you already knew and I am just a few steps behind - but it would seem that the most effective propaganda is that which sparks and thrives off of hate - a pure unbridled level of anger.

I'll end this post with an image I found most disturbing from WWII propaganda. As you see here, the attack on religion is aimed to enrage us all against this enemy. It seems in my fledgling understanding of propaganda that pure emotions - like hate - are the best catalysts for propaganda.

- R. O'Dell

George Creel

Creel a newspaperman and prominent muckraker said that for homefront morale on American holidays he sometimes fabricated Allied victories. He said, "If we had gained all that ground, the Allies would have been in Berlin and back many times over" (www.pbs.org). WWI was a deadlock war with high casualties from battles fought in trenches in France. Fighting on the German side was a corporal named Adolph Hitler. Creel, as head of CPI, urged the press not to print anything about the war that would undermine the U.S. effort or put the U.S. in a bad light. Although many reporters resented this suggestion of self-imposed censorship, they complied out of fear of the government .

March of the Flag by Albert j Beveridge

We should continue this "March of the flag", as Albert j Beveridge states because it seems we really have no other choice because our ways of governing have decreased drastically. He really feels that our land shouldnt be taken for granted and is well worth fighting for becuse he states alot os positive aspects about it in his speech. He even opens with a powerful attention grabing statement "It isa noble land that god has given usa land that can feed and cloth the world, a land whose coast lines would enclose half the countries of Europe", he gives the audience all these positive images of our land and America. Albert Beveridge really gets his audience attention by contrasting America to England and Germany as well. He raises the question if they can govern diff land why cant America well.

Methods used in the MARCH OF THE FLAG

March of the Flag
"Albert Beveridge was US Senator from Indiana (1899-1911), and, as is evident here, a fervent supporter of American imperialism. He gave this speech as a campaign speech on September 16, 1898. " (Can not remember the resource )
As a US Senator from Indiana from 1899 to 1911, Albert Beveridge may not know much about the theory of Jacques Ellul. However, when we compare his work with the theory of Ellul, it is not hard for us to see that all propagandists follows some instinctive routine, even if they don’t really know that themselves.
When Ellul analyze the internal and external characteristics of propaganda, “myth” is a word frequently used by him. When we look at the work of Beveridge today, it is more than obvious that he was using some mythical idea to persuade his “fellow citizens” that Americans need an American Empire.
The myth he used in his work generally falls in three categories: religious Orthopraxy, the national proud and the belief in social progress and liberty.
Beveridge first tried to convince his audience Americans are the “Chosen People” of God. He describe the United States as “a land that can feed and clothe the world; a land whose coastlines would inclose half the countries of Europe; a land set like a sentinel between the two imperial oceans of the globe, a greater England with a nobler destiny.” Please pay attention to his arrangement of all his arguments: he first tell that this land is the best of the world, and this land is actually the biggest in the “civilized world”, and if you believe all he said is truth, you will not be able to deny what he wanted to say next—the destiny of the Americans.
United States defeated the Britons. Why? Because we are a better nation, we should have heavier responsibility than the Britons had. If the Britons have a big Empire covering all over the world, why not Americans?
Something similar still happens today, when President Bush want to convince American people, he is more than willing to use “God Bless America” or “the land of the free” which means “ We are the chosen people of God, so we are free.” However, what is the definite connection between a free country and a war? –Pagans do not have freedom so they hate us. Therefore, they want to deprive us of our freedom. Therefore, we should fight them and kill them and then we will continue to be free.
Religion is always good to use when one ethnic group want to go to war with some other people of different religious opinion.
The proud to be an American is always to use when those propagandists want to have a war. As long as we are so good a group of people, we should use our ability to change the world! We have “a history of soldiers who carried the flag across blazing deserts and through the ranks of hostile mountains, even to the gates of sunset,” we are a nation that should deserve something more. If anybody who is not as good as us want to take something supposed to be ours, we should go and fight them without doubt.
Ellul believe that THE MORE INTENSE THE LIFE OF A GOURP TO WHICH AN INDIVIUAL BELONGS, THE MORE ACTIVE AND EFFECTIVE PROPAGANDA IS. When Beveridge told his fellow Americans they are the best group of people on earth, he actually wanted all his audience have the strong feelings of belongs.
When everybody had accepted the feeling of belong that the belong to the Great American People, they were actually really for Beveridge’s second step, using the myth of American tradition.
“It is larger than a party question. It is an American question.” Therefore, it is the problem of all people who dare to call themselves “Americans”. If you believe “the Almighty Father endowed us with gifts beyond our deserts and marked us as the people of His peculiar favor.” You should have the feeling of belonging that you are an American.
If you take yourself as an American, you should accept the tradition of all true Americans and the destiny of all the true Americans. That is to continue the policy that “Jefferson began, Monroe continued, Seward advanced Grant promoted, Harrison championed, and the growth of the Republic has demanded.” We should use our war machine to find more and bigger market for our strong economy.
The last one he used is the trust people had on the social advancement. Beveridge believed if our social system is better than that of Philippines and, we did not need to wait for them to invite us to reform their social system, we should go ahead and deliver our system to them. “We govern the Indians without their consent, we govern our territories without their consent, we govern our children without their consent.” In this way, if we are offering something better so those Philippines, there should not be any problem.

House of Truth

In the House of Truth the reading is mainly about yellow journalism. On the first page a man Virgil Williams is trying to talk the members of his audience to back and support the Great War. He wanted to explain to the people that the Great War was worth backing. He tried to get through to the audience that we don't want to become slaves to the Prussians. After the war was declared the President, Woodrow Wilson put propaganda as his top priority. To have the public support the war in Europe. Like Williams no American wanted to become a slave to the Prussians. Wilson created the CPI on April 14, 1917. He basically did this so his propagada agenda wouldn't get overlooked and undermined and too American morale. Mainly through monitoring foreign press and tracking down those who would put forth lies and rumors. In my mind the CPI was a great organization. And it had a great head in George Creel. During the war the CPI put out posters that would ultimately appeal to public emotions. The CPI did a great job in dishing out liberal sounding rhetoric. The CPI was broken up twenty four hours after the armistice with Germany. Creel reputation faced a decline after the war so did Progressivism. Mainly because of the side of promoting the war to the public to gain it's favor. Even after this negativity towards Progressivism and George Creel, the CPI did gain some postive notes during its run like good lessons that were learned and it affected cultural life for the decades ahead.

The Better Part, Booker T. Washington

This was a great speech that was givin at the Peace jubilee, Chicago Oct. 16. 1898. What i found to be the most powerful par of the speech was wen he said
"We have succeeded in every conflict except in the effort to conquer ourselves in the blotting out of racial prejudice. We can celebrate the era of peace in more more effectual way than by a firm resolve in the part of Northern men and Southern men, black men and white men, that the trenches we together dug around Santiago shall be the eternal burial-place of all that separates us in our businessand civil relations. Let us be as generous in peace as we have been brave in battle. Until we thus conquer ourselves... we shall have a cancer gnawing at the heart of this Republic that one day shall prove as dangerous as an attack from an army from without or within." This is really interesting because its true in the past we have been able to overcome everybattle in the past with eachother, but we cant seem to but our differences to the side and try to get along. This battle that thier fighting is harder than any other as well. So its seems where basically fighting a battle with ourselves that is as dangerous as any other attack that occurred in the past. Even to this day we havent been ale to win this battle because even with all that has occurred racim still exists.

The Better Part...Booker T. Washington

Throughout history America has given slaves many choices. Choice of slavery or extinction, British oppression or American Independence, etc. Whether these choices be in their best interest or even in their interes at all, they made choices. Booker T. Washington speaks of these choices and all that these "colored" men have sacrificed for America with nothing at all in return.

"We have succeeded in every conflict except in the effort to conquer ourselves in the blotting out of racial prejudice."

This is rather interesting to me because even in today's society we have yet to eliminate this monster called racism. We no longer have just one time of racism anymore. We have black vs. white, catholic vs. jewish, rich vs. poor, and many many more. So in all of the wars we have conquered and the countries we have claimed, we have still not been able to fix the problems that occur on our home land. I feel as though it is time to focus on what is happening on our own soil instead of worrying about what is happening overseas. If we can dissolve racism at "home", we may be able to form a stronger more united country here.

"In your efforts to "rise on stepping-stones of your dead selves," we of the black race shall not leave you unaided".