World War II US Propaganda - Useful Tool or Evil Manipulation - Essay Example

WWII US Propaganda: Useful Tool or Evil Manipulation? 18 April WWII US Propaganda: Useful Tool or Evil Manipulation? Much has been written about American participation in World War II (WWII) over the years. There is much evidence to conclude that the country has attracted an avalanche of criticism for her active involvement in WWII owing to propaganda used to amass support for the war from people. This propaganda during the war period has always remained a subject of hot debate because it is a critically important part of US’s history. There are two sides to this subject. On one side, people argue that America used propaganda for good reasons to raise awareness among people and commit them to an Allied victory. On the other hand, a vast majority of people question American involvement in the war claiming that the country heavily abused the power of media to advance personal interests and manipulate people. Honest evaluation of American propaganda illustrates that when the interests of a country are threatened, her government and military forces can often go to extreme lengths to remove the looming prospect of catastrophe. America acted in exactly same manner during the war by taking insane steps to increase support for the Allied powers and eliminate growing danger. This research paper will present both sides of the argument by drawing evidence from both old and contemporary research to evaluate the complex mechanisms underlying propaganda which was instigated in the US during WWII. Following discussion aims to prove the reality of this claim that “WWII gave birth to a large number of propagandists in the US who in the name of noble reasons actually operated with evil intentions in mind to lure people into committing to the war.” WWII is known as the deadliest war in the history of the world. It continued for six years and consumed millions of lives. It created such deadly havoc that the whole world got affected by it in the worst way imaginable. The Allied powers threw all their resources behind the war to defeat the Axis powers. It was this waste of highly valuable and limited resources that many people in the US began to question the validity of the war and condemned it heavily. In a situation when already so much had gone to waste, the US government still showed no signs of stopping and continued a relentless struggle against the Axis. It is because horrid vengeance instead of rational motives inspired the government to actively participate in the war. The official authorities were so blinded by vengeance that it stopped them from registering their own people’s concerns. Encouraged by the government, several propagandists came into action in the country. Their only objective was to sustain pandemonium spawned by the war. They accomplished this objective by polluting the minds of masses of people and brainwashing them. Many people were emotionally blackmailed in the name of patriotism by propagandists to donate their material resources for the war purposes. American involvement in the war is characterized by a high degree of notoriety today because of the way propagandists backed up by the government tricked and deluded people into defending the war. Despite so much chaos brought upon the country by the war which resulted in a severe economic contraction, American propaganda still managed many people to jump into the fire by transforming criticism into collaboration. The war was fought for completely irrational reasons and people knew it, so propagandists using their criminalized minds began evil work by turning around the minds of people. Irrational reasons laid foundation for American participation in WWII because the war lacked ideological content. Such is said by Paul Fussell himself who participated in the war as an infantryman. Sharing his war experience, he bitterly characterized the war as “’indescribably cruel and insane’” (Fussell cited in Rose 68). He also went on to claim that the war was so detached from ideological content that “little could be said about its positive purposes that made political or intellectual sense” (Fussell cited in Rose 68). The men sent to fight the war themselves saw little reason in continuing the combat. According to John F. Kennedy who personally served with other warriors in the Pacific on behalf of America, not one man had any interest to play the role of pawns in political games played by the US government. Kennedy sharing his memories about other men engaged in the war wrote, “they just want to get home-morning, noon and night” (cited in Rose 68). This suggests that Americans were dragged toward the ugly war against their will by the US government. This serves to augment the argument of this research paper that the US propaganda relying on the façade of patriotism forced people into the war. Media has always played a very influential role in structuring the culture in America. Radio was the main source of news in America back then (Norton et al. 728), so propagandists in America while upholding the theme of patriotism frenetically used this mode to bring out blinding hatred in people for the enemies. They also used radio to make people highly interested in war participation glorifying it as a very noble act. This is why it is safe to assume that the US propaganda during WWII synonymizes with evil manipulation of common public. The ideological affinity between America and other Allied powers was unquestionable when the war started and remained as such till the end, but large swathes of the US public were adherent of the ideology of isolationism. Many such people in America who were isolationist at heart became increasingly infuriated with the government during the course of the war. They did not want America to participate in the war because of many bloodcurdling and traumatic experiences they had already went through during the World War I. Such experiences had invoked a burning desire in American public to avoid all possible kinds of entanglements with external agencies. There were also so many domestic issues which needed attention and public tremendously emphasized on those issues, but the government preferred to remain oblivious to the public sentiment. A large percentage of Americans supported the government’s affinity for Britain and France, but it also desperately struggled to stay at peace by protesting against the spine-chilling consequences of war. In the days of the Great Depression and WWII, the US president was Franklin D. Roosevelt. The president’s support for the Allies sat well with Americans only as long as it meant to keep America out of the war. Polls also revealed Americans’ great support for the Allies, but “the great majority emphatically wanted the United States to remain at peace” (Norton et al. 728). It was this situation of conflict to handle which the government created an army of propagandists within the country. Research also claims that the US president without creating any uproar very strategically and sneakily “moved the nation from neutrality to undeclared war against Germany and then, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, to full-scale war” (Norton et al. 728). There is no denying this fact that the US played a role of phenomenal significance in WWII. Some say that American citizens were motivated, but actually they were manipulated by the government to support the war efforts by means of purchasing bonds among various other things. Propaganda was used to align Americans’ interests with the government’s activities which involved brutal violation of many moral and ethical codes during the war. For example, nuclear bombing on Hiroshima in 1945 and later on Nagasaki just three days after the first attack is just one example of brutality of the US participation in WWII which killed millions of people in Japan while leaving many paralyzed and disfigured for life. Integrating Eugene Sledge’s war memoir in this argument of American propaganda is very important because this memoir offers a wealth of information about combat experiences during WWII. With the Old Breed is a critically acclaimed book written by Sledge. It provides a definitive history because the horrors of the war are skillfully portrayed in the book. However, Sledge’s memoir presents a different story which stands in conflict from the popular argument that the US used deceitful means like propaganda to steer people toward direction of the war. Sledge’s opinion is that people willfully participated in the war and passionately defended their country not under the influence of some propaganda. His ideas suggest that public awareness caused by media served to increase people’s knowledge and enrich their minds. This awareness is wrongly given the name of propaganda to tarnish the image of the US government. Likewise, people who raised awareness about the war are unfairly labelled propagandists to make the image of America notorious. Sledge fought at Peleliu and Okinawa during WWII with the 1st Marine Division which is famously associated with the war. Evaluation of Sledge’s description of how he trained to participate in WWII on behalf of America illustrates that he personally was very enthusiastic to work as a soldier without involvement of any exterior factor like propaganda. Sledge writes how he and other men “were too excited to sleep” (19). These men were not brainwashed to become interested in the war. Rather, it was exuberance of youth perhaps which made them least concerned with the staggering number of casualties that occurred during the war. The only thing Sledge and other men were most concerned about was whether they would be able to perform their job to the fullest under fire or not. In contrast with Kennedy’s war account that all men were desperate to get back home because they saw the war as a hopeless and useless case, Sledge’s account emphasizes on excitement of men who participated in the war. Both Kennedy and Sledge personally remained involved in WWII, but offer conflicting views. Works cited: 6 (2 prim, 4 sec) Norton, Mary B., Sheriff, C., Blight, David W., and Chudacoff, Howard. A People and a Nation: A History of the United States, Volume II: Since 1865. Cengage Learning, 2011. Print. Sledge, Eugene B. With the Old Breed, at Peleliu and Okinawa. Oxford University Press, 1981. Print. Read More