Morale and the News Author(s): Robert E. Park Source: The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 47, No.

3 (Nov., 1941), pp. 360-377 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2769286 Accessed: 18/10/2010 10:26
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MORALE AND THE NEWS

ROBERT E. PARK ABSTRACT With the appearance of total warfare in the modernworld,moralehas assumed a new importance.The object of so-called "psychic warfare" is to destroy morale, particularly the morale of the civil population. The effect has been, when successful, to paralyze the national will, makingcollectiveaction impossible.Nations exist only whenand in so faras theyare able to act. The methodsof creating nationalsolidarity and ofdestroying it are abundantlyillustrated in recenteventsin Europe. Propaganda is ordinarily the weapon withwhichcivilianmoraleis destroyed, if not created. With the moreextensiveuse of the arts and devices of psychicwarfare, war has tended to assume the characterof a dialecticprocess,in whichit appears not as a struggleof physicalforces merely but ideas and ideologies. News makespublicopinion;but public ifnot always,inimicalto morale. It is inimicalto moralewhenit opinionis sometimes, tends to intensify and magnify differences of attitude and opinion. But discussion, upon whichpublic opinionis based, in so faras it bringsinto the open sentiments and attitudesthat would otherwise be suppressed, tendsto bringabout understanding and unity. By so doingit improves morale. War and conflict may be said to function when theybringabout an understanding upon whicha securepeace may be based. I. PROPAGANDA

therealm Sincewarhas invaded ofthespirit, morale has assumed in a newimportance bothwarandpeace. Totalwaris nowan enterpriseso colossal thatbelligerent nations find it necessary notonlyto mobilize all their andmoral, material buttomakepresent resources, peace littlemorethan a preparation forfuture war. Underthese so-called can be carried on in the conditions which psychic warfare, statesof actual belligerency, has assumedan importance between ifit has notchanged and achieved a technical the efficiency which, of essentialnatureof war, has profoundly alteredthe character it muchharder to bear. peace,making is morale, The objectofattackin psychic warfare and lessthatof themenin armsthanofthecivilpopulation back ofthelines. For is directed ofterror" rather moreat noncombatants the "strategy and against those whomust waitand endure thanagainst those who back.' Incidentally, thisis one way in have someway of striking inso faras itis a warofnerves, failsto achieve which totalwarfare to do; someits ends. It failsbecauseit giveseveryone something if alsowhich, sinceitinvolves thing participation,onlysymbolically,
I

Co., 1940). of Terror (Boston: HoughtonMifflin Edmond Taylor,Strategy

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in a greatcollective is af oncea source ofinspiration enterprise, and release. It tendsthusfiyally to increase thesolidarity and improve as well. but ofthearmy themorale notonlyofthecivilpopulation inEngland, It seems at anyratetohavedonethisandmore where it has, apparently, created a nationalspirit and a national solidarity suchas has notexisted there sincethedate oftheSpanish Armada. The willto join withothers in collective actionis one oftheelementary motives thatmovemankind.The consciousness and the of participation in greateventsconstitutes excitement one of the most In thereverandsatisfying ofhuman exhilarating experiences. beration suchparticipation in other which arouses minds invariably theaction ofevery and individual participant acquires a newdignity a newglory as wellas an addedmoralsupport. It is in and through these vast collective revoenterprises-wars, lutions orsocialmovements, likethelabormovement-that newinstitutions comeintoexistence and oldonesaresometimes rejuvenated. No oneseems to haveunderstood thisbetter thanJoseOrtega y ofInvertebrate Gasset,theauthor Spain. No one,at thetimethat thisvolume in I937, had morereasonto understand was published it, fortheseessaysare devotedto an analysisof theprocesses by theintegration which and thedisintegration oftheSpanishempire and the Spanishnationalunitycame about. What he says about in therestofthe Spain is peculiarly pertinent todayto conditions worldand to thesubjectofthispaper. The first oftheseessaysis entitled "How To Make and Breaka Nation." "It is notyesterday, tradition, thepast," he says,"which is the thedetermining in a nation. Nationsare made and decisive, force a program for goonliving byhaving thefuture."It is neither importantnornecessary to unity and solidarity, he adds,"thatthecomintheir ponent partsofa society coincide ideasand their desires; the important, the essentialthingis thateach shouldknowand to a certain extent intohisownlifetheideasand thedesires incorporate oftheothers."2 Thereis probably no other socialprocess, no form ofinteraction, theindividual bywhich ofa society components areso effectively or
2 Jos6 Ortega y Gasset, Invertebrate Spain (NewYork: Norton, I937),

pp.

I9-45.

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so completely integrated, ifnotfused, as they arebyparticipation in someform ofcollective action. In fact,as it is conceived by some and is "in being," writers, society exists to use a nautical term, only whenit is capableofconcerted and consistent action.3 The so-called "we" groupis typically thegroupthatacts. Paris thistrueifoneincludes ofsounder thisterm form ticularly every cietyin which ethnocentrism or groupself-consciousness ordinarily manifests itself.It is truethata crowd or a mobdoesnotthink of itself as "we"; notat leastuntilit comesin contact and in conflict withsomeothercrowdor mob. In thelattercase it presently assumesthecharacter ofa gang,givesitself a name,and perhaps assumessome vague sortof exclusive possession over the territory whichis its peculiarhabitat. This is characteristic of someof the inparticular. lower animals-birds If I venture tomention this very lowlytypeofsociety in thisconnection, it is to emphasize thefact thatnotonlyarmies and nations have needofsomesortofmorale butevery other as wellwhich mustact effectivetypeofsocialgroup in conflict ly in order to survive withother societies. The artsand devices by which a morale ofa peoplecan be raised as wellas themethods and a national revived ifnotcreated, spirit by of an be and national which solidarity enemy peoplecan undermined in the have beenconvincingly demonstrated eventually destroyed, in thecurofEuropeand are abundantly illustrated recent history rentnews. Thereis, in thefirsthand ofobservers and parreports of in for a the conflict material more realticipants present Europe, isticpoliticalscience,such as has been historically attributed to Machiavelli buthas beenmore and more exrecently systematically in thewritings oftheItaliansociologist, Pareto. For such emplified a realistic accounts ofpolitical like firsthand events political science, Shirer's book. His account William Berlin Diaryarea kindofsource ofoneoftheearlier oftheNazi party is Nuremberg "pep-meetings" a contribution notmerely to history buttosociology. "Pep-meeting" is nottheright for less word theNuremberg ceremonies. Something desecularand moresuggestive ofa religious revivalwouldbetter scribe it. Hereis an excerpt from thatdiary underthe date ofNuremberg, September 5, I934.
3 J.A. Thomson, (14th ed.),I, 97I. Encyclopaedia Britannica "Animal Sociology,"

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I'm beginning I think,some of the reasonsfor Hitler's to comprehend, a chapter he is restorastounding success. Borrowing from the Roman church, and colourand mysticism ingpageantry to thedrab livesof twentieth-century Germans.This morning's openingmeetingin the Luitpold Hall on the outwas morethana gorgeous of skirts of Nuremberg show; it also had something of an Easter or Christmas Mass in a great themysticism and religious fervour colouredflags.Even Hitler's Gothiccathedral.The hall was a sea ofbrightly arrivalwas made dramatic.The band stoppedplaying.Therewas a hushover the thirty thousandpeople packed in the hall. Then the band struckup the Badenweiler March,a verycatchytune,and used only,I'm told,whenHitler makeshis big entries.Hitlerappeared in the back of theauditorium, and foland theothers, he strode lowedby his aides, Goring, Goebbels, Hess, Himmler, thousandhands wereraisedin slowlydown the long centreaisle while thirty salute. It is a ritual,the old-timers say, whichis always followed.Then an immensesymphony orchestraplayed Beethoven's EgmontOverture. Great Klieg lightsplayed on the stage,whereHitler sat surrounded by a hundred and officers of the army and navy. Behind themthe "blood party officials ofMunichin theill-fated Putsch. Behind flag,"theohecarried downthestreets this,fouror fivehundredS.A. standards. When the music was over,Rudolf rose and slowlyread the names of the Nazi Hess, Hitler's closest confidant, "martyrs"-brown-shirts who had been killed in the struggle for power-a thousandseemedverymoved. roll-call of the dead, and the thirty In suchan atmosphere no wonder, then,thateveryworddroppedby Hitler seemedlikean inspired on high. Man's-or at least theGerman'sWordfrom and everylie pronounced is criticalfacultyis sweptaway at such moments, acceptedas hightruth itself.

and moresubtleno doubtthananyanalysis has thusfardisclosed. ofpsychic But oneoftheweapons bothofoffense warfare, and ofdeis propaganda.4 HaroldLasswell, fense, whohas madepropaganda the subject of an extendedinvestigation and who writesmore aboutthesubjectthanmostothers shrewdly withwhosewritings I am familiar, has sought to distinguish between education andpropais based on the difference ganda. His distinction between two eleor twoaspectsofculture ments which he describes as "technique" and "value." He says: "The inculcation oftraditional value attitudesis generally callededucation, while theterm propaganda is re4 See Kimball Young and R. D. Lawrence,Bibliography on Censorship and Propaganda ("Universityof OregonJournalism Series," No. i [Eugene,Ore.: University of Oregon,1928]).

The arts and devices of spiritual warfareare many and various

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served for thespreading ofthesubversive, debatable ormerely novel attitudes."5 The distinction is substantially that between newsand propagandaor,better still, between newsandeditorial. The editorial page seeksto inculcate not merely attitudes but opinions; and editorial opinions may be either"subversive, debatable,or merely novel," and are,for intheUnited mostnewspaper readers States,sincethey do notreadthem, neither onenortheother. The difference between newsand editorial is onething thatevery newspaperman knows, when heneedsto,evenifheis notalwaysable to formulate a definition that makes the distinction clear forall orintrinsic cases. The essence, ofnewsis hardto comeat, quality, butnewsis notpropaganda, and it is noteditorial.In a general way onemaysaythatnewsstates thefact, editorial, thetruth.The facts fordeliberation, may call forreflection, and sometimes formore facts. The truth, however, has thecharacter offinality. Havingit, thewhole onestopsinvestigation, ceasesto reflect, i.e.,having truth, and is either likea plantor acts likea humanbeing. Propasilent gandais likely to be a little moreimperative thantheordinary ediit aimsto dispeldoubtand it pretends torial. Sinceit seeksaction, oftruth or a sometimes to thefinality evenifit is onlya half-truth downright lie. are suchas to serve Newsmaybe and often the is,whenthefacts ofthepropagandist, thebestkindofpropaganda, butnews purpose and and factsare alwayscapable ofmorethanone interpretation, is alwaysfatal-to propaganda. thatwouldbe fatal-reflection It is becauseeventsare capableofmorethanone interpretation thatpublicopindiscussions thatwe discussthem. It is outofthese Discussions notonlymakepublicopinion, ion emerges. theysomeever makewar. But as faras myobservation times goes,they rarely function. Whendiscusmakepeace. That doesnotseemto be their on in the orderly, whichSocrates academicfashion, sionis carried it is called first introduced andphilosophers havekeptup eversince, ifit also can be regarded as a ofdialectic, dialectic.The function seemsto be to testopinions.One testsopinions socialprocess, by
5 Harold D. Lasswell, "Propaganda," Encyclopedia ofthe SocialSciences, XII (New York, I934), 522.

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finding outiftheyare consistent in their different expressions. The outcome ofdiscussion is usually to lay barethesubmerged hypotheses,not to say submerged complexes, on whichdivergent opinions This are based. leads to an agreement, butit sometimes sometimes and revealsdifferences so profound and so charged withemotion sentiment thatfurther discussion appearsunprofitable, if not impossible. Whenthathappensto individuals thereseemsto be no onthecontroversy wayofcarrying except byfighting. Whenithapin thecase ofEngland pensto nations, as it has happened recently and Germany, it leads to war. Fromthis orpsychic, pointofviewwar, whether physical presents itselfas an instanceof the dialecticprocess. When a discussion ceasestobe academic, when ittakesfinally theform ofan armed conflict, it doesnotcease,to use thelanguage ofa recent writer, to be a "battleofminds where ideas,ideologies, propaganda, and emotions clashin ordered In thisbattleof ranks, likesoldiers."6 disciplined minds and wills, inwhich thepurpose ofeachbelligerent is to maintain,and ifpossibleenhance, its ownmoraleand at thesametime undermine and weakenthatoftheenemy, propaganda, whether it seeksmerely or to interpret to indoctrinate and defend the events assumptions and theideology in accordance withwhicheventsare interpreted, is a principal weaponofoffense and defense.
II. MORALE

Thereseemsto be someuncertainty as tojustwhatmorale is and where it is located. Is it intheindividual orin thegroup orin both? Whether its locus is in th'egroupor in the individual, thereis no doubtofits importance. It countsmuchin battlebut howmuch? It is oneofthose No oneknows with which precisely. imponderables onemustreckon butwhich one cannot weigh. Moralein an army is a "willto fight"; in thecivilpopulation it is the abilityto endurehardships at homeand bad newsfrom the front.This willto fight and to endure seemsto be a compound of severalotherimponderable components: courage, confidence, and theChristian virtues faith, hope,and charity, provided by"charity"
6 Taylor, op. cit.,p.
I.

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onemeans understanding-the kindofunderstanding oneexpects to find in smallfighting unitsor in a well-organized family.It is the understanding thatis thebasisofesprit decorps.The charity which notoriously begins at homedoesnotinclude theenemy, and charity in theabstract is nota qualification ofa fighting man. it is dependent Morale,though we callvirtues, uponthequalities is notto be identified with morals orwith mores.Moralsare habits, and,likeconscience, are rooted in tradition. Whentheyencounter newconditions theyare likely to be confused and involved in conflict, compromise, and casuistry. Thisis thecaseoftheconscientious objector.Morale,on theother hand,is prospective; it rests on such discipline and solidarity as anywhere exists, but its outlook is f orward. It is will,the tendencies of the organism to act, organized inthefuture abouta faith rather thanaboutan interest inora pious concern for thepast. Morale, inwarorinpeace,is will;the whether ina course willtoactandtopersevere ofacting until thehopes which it have been realized. Whilewe ordinarily limittheterm inspired "morale"to action, we also applyit to situations in which activity is routine and doesnotseemto be either controlled or directed. When President Rooseveltaddressedthe American people on March12, 1933, mostofthebanksin theUnited Stateswereclosed, and mostofthepeopleintheUnited in a stateofpanic. Stateswere In thecourse in ofhisremarks hesaid: "After all,there is an element thancurthereadjustment ofourfinancial moreimportant system ofthe thangold,and thatis theconfidence moreimportant rency, of thisaddresshas been described as magical. people." The effect IslandBronislaw Malinowski, whosestudies amongtheTrobriand on thesubjectofmagic, ershas madehiman authority wouldsay,I was magic. The effects suspect, thatthePresident's speech brought of andsymbols, as I understand aretheessence aboutbywords him, inprimitive ofthemagician he magic.7Oneofthefunctions society, inthepresence ofsomeunf oretellsus,is to restore morale when fear like from as seenorunprecedented the recent Mars invasion event, has shaken it.8 reported by Orson Welles,
7 Argonauts (London, 1932). Western ofthe Pacific

Univer N.J.: Princeton Mars(Princeton, from See Hadley Cantril,TheInvasion sityPress, 1940).
8

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been demonThis seemsto demonstrate again,whathas often strated before, thatwordsand symbols whichcreateand maintain themorale to maintain themorale ofan army are equallynecessary morale ofa civilsociety.It seems, therefore, thatwemust recognize as a factor inall ourcollective enterprises. It is a factor intheoperationofthestockexchange, quiteas muchas it is in theactivities of the Communist party. It is interesting to notethatuponthe same date thatPresident Roosevelt madehishistoric radioaddress to thepeopleoftheUnited or perStatesthe pressannounced oftheNazi party, thetriumph in Prushaps onemight better say oftheNazi sect,in theelections sia. Commenting on thiselection, theNew YorkTim-es correspondent said: "Through the election history of the NationalSocialists andtheNationalists, Germany for thefirst time since thedaysofthe Old Empire, has been unified."Incidentally, some two hundred in thecourse buttheNewYork persons were killed ofthecampaign, correspondent believed at thistimethat"violence was spent."9 Moralehasnotonly itsspiritual butitsphysical, morespecifically and itsphysiological, aspect. Fromthepoint ofviewofphysiology, perhaps ofsociology, morale seemsto be theability ofan individual orofa society on to maintain tension overa period oftime;to carry an actionoran enterprise to completion. The action, with interrupas is thecase ofonewho it seems, tions, maycontinue, indefinitely actsconsistently toachieve a career orto carry outa project towhich he has devoteda lifetime. What tension, in its mostelementary phase,involves, one maygather from watching a cat waiting fora mouse, oranypredatory animalstalking itsprey. Earlyin thepresent century sociological speculation and research weregivena new orientation mainly by the writings of twomen: inItalyand Gustavle Bon in France. Le Bon,whose ScipioSighele little treatise on TheCrowd (Le Foule)has donemuchto popularize thenewpointofview,discovered that,under certain specific condia casualgathering tions, ofindividuals, drawntogether by no commonpurposeand havingapparently no common interests, could, and ifthe necessary conditions werepresent would,in response to whathe called"themental unity ofcrowds" be suddenly, notto say
9 F.

T. Birchell, NewYork Times, MarchI2,

I933.

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as heexpressed it,nolonger miraculously, transformed, becoming, an being." agglomeration ofindividuals but "a single All this, portentous. Whathe is describing, as he statesit,sounds It is thefactthata crowd, when however, is a familiar experience. a mob and becomes, becomes whata mereagglomeration excited, forcarrying on veryelementary couldnot,a veryeffective agency forms of collective forexample. One may obaction-a lynching, servemuchthe samephenomenon in a herdof cattleor a flock of in herlittle volume entitled TheFlock, has desheep. MaryAustin, ofsomedistress orsudscribed thewayinwhich, under theinfluence millaboutin an evernardenterror, a flock ofsheepwillsometimes by suffocation."Io rowing circle"untiltheyperish is whathappensin a What happensundersuch circumstances individual is,by chance, focused crowd whentheattention ofevery objectorincident. By a psyuponsomemore thanusually exciting themilling oftheflock orherd, theinchological process, notunlike and theexcitement terest is intensified individual bythereofevery makesto themanifest interest of every sponseeach unconsciously individual. the The crowd assumes under other thesecircumstances to hisown character ofa closedcircuit, each individual responding as he seesit reflected and emotions ofhis in theattitudes excitement is toproduce reThe effect reaction steady neighbor. ofthiscircular inas wellas a corresponding stimulus instatement of the original in every and tension individinthesuggestibility, crease excitement, ual untilthe crowdis a collective unit,psychologically integrated and completely mobilized actionis expectedor by forwhatever ifit takes chancesuggests itself.In anycase theimpending action, and,unlessmanipulated by place at all, willbe sudden, impetuous, and unplanned. someoutsider, quiteunpremeditated andwithout areunpremeditated, Sinceitsactions unplanned, peris thatterm onewouldprobably not,in thesensein which spective, an acin thecrowd.When, however, usually used,speakofmorale readiness to act and plannedrequires tionas projected notmerely but the will to act consistently amid all the accidents, incidents, moraleacquiresthe of a long campaign, and changes of fortunes
10 Mary Austin,The Flock,quoted in Park and Burgess,Introduction to theScience of Chicago Press, I924), pp. 88i-82. (2d ed.; Chicago: University of Sociology

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nowadays, we speak, as wedo so frequently meaning wegiveitwhen and morale in thecivilian in thearmy population. Neverofmorale in the broader is sometimes emsensein whichthat term theless, to theprevailing stateofmindin France ployed, as whenonerefers speakof conquest, one may,it seems, before and sincethe German in which somesortofconthemorale orofanygroup ofany society In sucha society is maintained ofcommunication. cert by somesort in tension in response to changesin life-conthere willbe changes in orientation in response as theyoccur. to events ditions;changes comein In humansociety thereare alwaysfashions.As fashions riseandfall, and society, which inevitably andgo out,socialtensions thenewscomes, altersits attitude from which facesin thedirection in response in thepress. to thesechanges reported to itsworld andwillmanifest inwhich tension forms Oneofthemost pervasive inindividuals and insociety is inmoods.Everyoccasion, themselves has itscharacteristic atmosphere. Every be ita funeral ora wedding, is domion thestreet, gathering, evenifit is no morethana crowd One is morelikely to noticethismood, natedby somesentiment. it be a sad onecannot share it. In thatcase,whether when perhaps, and inevitably seeksmoreconone is repelled or a happyoccasion, genialcompany. Diary,withthe factthathe seemedto note everychangein the in a world himevery day a little less thatwas for spiritual weather seemsto be thantheday before.This moralatmosphere congenial a veryfaithful in a civilcomofmorale indexas wellas a condition in a smaller community like thatof the diplomatic munity-even in a foreign circle At anyrateit has beena constant concountry. and ofhispropaganda in Germany cern ofHitler bureautopreserve in the civilianpopulation an atmosphere the that wouldsupport in thefield and theprogram morale ofthegovernment ofthearmy cereat home. It is thisthatgivessignificance to the Nuremberg monies thatShirer describes. It is obviously thepurpose ofall the and theritual associated to crewiththeNazi movement ceremony and an in which, focusing ate an atmosphere, tension, expectancy a inhibit anyconhopedfor, willeffectively attention uponthethings
siderationthat runs counterto those hopes. I was constantlyimpressed,in reading William Shirer's Berlin

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To maintain thisatmosphere and protect theGerman population from the"poison,"as Goebbels calledit,offoreign propaganda has been thepurpose of the censorship. To interpret and mediatethe effect ofsuchreports ofevents as reached them are thefunctions of the propaganda bureau. It is obviousthat the impulse, thewill to act, expresses itself in characteristically different waysin different types ofsocieties; different, thatis to say,in thecrowd, inthegang, in thepolitical party, and in thesect. In fact,it mayexpress itself in all thesedifferent waysin thesuccessive phasesoftheevolution ofa collective action. This collective impulse assumesin the course ofits evolution most ofthecharacteristics ofa mind-thatis,ofa collective mind.Thus, MaryAustin speaksofthe"flock mind,"Le Bon describes theidiosyncrasies of the "crowdmind." We are familiar withthephrase "publicmind." The question as to where thisso-called mindorwill is located, whether itis a phaseoran aspect, likeclassconsciousness, oftheindividual consciousness or has somesortofindependent existence, seemsto losemostofitsimportance ifwe meanby "collective mind"no morethanthe unityand intimate interdependence which and conmakesit possible forindividuals to act concertedly The capacity is apparently sistently. to act collectively created by in communication. thatinterpenetration ofmindinvolved In thegangorother intimate is basedon where association group, familiar and personal moraletakes the form of esprit de relation, is a conflict itis which corps.In a political ordiscussion party group represented bya policy, ofsomesort. supported bya formal principle In a religious is supported sectmorale ofa creed or bytheauthority by dogmaswhichcannotbe questioned.It seemsthat the Nazi in thecourse all thephases has passedthrough party, ofitshistory, ofsociety I have mentioned. Its first represented by thefour types outbya orcoupd'etatthatwas carried appearance was in a Putsch group almost as little as a mob. Fromthatpointit fought organized It became itswayup ina kind with thecommunists. ofgangwarfare a as a status when itssuplater political and suchgained new party in the Reichstag.Meanwhile it had porters gainedrepresentation ofa more or thecharacter taken on,at leastinthecaseofitsleaders, ifnotreligious, lessfanatical sect. It nowincludes political, among

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and a creedbut,in thevolnotonlya ritual itsspiritual possessions if a Bible. Finally, it has in Hitlerits prophet, umeMein Katmpf, to suppress every sectit has attempted notits God. As a political and fanatical vigorofa newborn form ofdissent withall thefervor theGerman peoplearenowapparently religion. Underitsdirection in a holywarto reorganize oftheplanetin all thesociallife engaged and religious. its fundamental political, aspects-economic, to do justiceto thehisis a littletoo summary If thisstatement a totaliit at leastsuggests whatmoralecan be under torical facts, andwhatit cantarian suchas exists todayin Germany government society likeourown. notbe in a moresecular
III. NEWS

it, is activity and action,as I conceive The distinction between has perspective, has a beginning and an end,and,in the thataction it has itsorigin from thefirst impulse in which process oftransition in a final to encounter to itsfinal consumation overtact,it is likely thatsometimes makethatconsummation events precarious. Action, is activity and directed.That is thereain short, thatis controlled it requires, to inand difficult, son,whenand ifactionis prolonged sure success,"will" in the individual and, in the group,morale. of the give the dimensions These actionsand theirperspectives as in one life world which, might goeson, distinguished say, actually a preparation world where notlifebut thought, from theacademic foraction, goeson. we are thecenter, and Each and all ofus livein a world ofwhich and thedisaredefined bythedirection thedimensions ofthisworld tancesfrom which thenewscomes to us. Fornewsis notsomething it is something important; and it comesto us withan newmerely, ofattithatrequires action, evenifno morethana change urgency tudeor thereaffirmation ofan opinion. Allthisis ofno importance therelaexcept in so faras it suggests inwhich whose orderofworlds menareactively aliveand for tivity responsible. What ly existence theyare in some way personally thatis, from elsewhere, comesto us in thewayofa record ofevents oforon theouter outside limits is mainly myth, legend, ofourworld, or literature; interesting but thatis perhaps intrinsically something

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needs tobe doneabout thatsomething notso immediately important it. It is becausetheworld in which we liveis likethisthatwe disofourpractiaboutus as theperspective cover it visibly expanding lengthen. cal interests and actions during the these perspectives havebeenchanged How profoundly the fallof France,it war! Suddenly, after processof the present larger.The smaller andourworld seemed as iftheplanethad grown reasons notwholly isolationists among us are thosewhoforvarious I suspect, are unwilling or unableto acceptthischange. articulate, thanby the by thecirculation ofnewsrather It is in a realm defined thatall ourgreatcolwith which contact world we arein immediate government-are revolution, and national lective enterprises-war, carried on. ofenergizing, and,aboveall,ofanimating The taskoforganizing, willand a common vast armies and whole witha common purpose means of complicated but, withmodern peoplesis an incredibly notimpossible task. At anyrate,theGerman govcommunication, withtheassistance ofthecensorship and thepropaganda ernment, from as faras is humanly tohavesucceeded, possible, bureau, seems, its civil in imbuing its armies timeto time, and, to a less extent, of the unanimity withsomething of Le Bon's psychopopulation themorale ofthenation logicalcrowd.Thishas helpedto maintain it has passed. crises which in thesuccessive through in democratized one hears,has beengreatly The German army, a comTherehas comeintoexistence thecourse ofitsrejuvenation. inthePrusand menthatdidnotexist theofficers radeship between This has created theNational-Socialist revolution. sianarmy before thatdid in thearmy, in thenavy,an esprit de corps andparticularly WorldWar. thefirst notexistduring scholars in withtheaid of German German technicians, political the and new Gersocialsciences, theseveral history, anthropology, to the contribution have developed, as their manscience, Geopolitik, is designed a political which to justify philosophy national morale, race in of thedominant the German people'sclaimto theposition a political at thesametime program formulated Europe. They-have ifsuccessful, which tomakethisclaim good. SinceEurope promises, positionin the modern has held,perhapsstillholds,a dominant

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of Europewouldimplydomination domination world,German of theworld. Finally, HerrHitlerand his associates seemto have inspired the ifnotthepeople, an invincible in their and army, with faith mission destiny-a faithsuch as wouldordinarily existonlyin a religious sect. Hitlerand hisjuntohave sought to support thatfaith by rittime -ual, by myth, and, above all, by ceremonies thatrevivefrom in which it was to timetheatmosphere and themoodofexaltation and destiny has originally conceived.This faithin theirmission beentransmitted in whatone might deto Germans abroad,living as theDiasporaofthislatestofthe"Chosenscribe People." From that sourceotherpeoples,who,according can to Nazi doctrines, neverhopeto be identified withthemaster-race have nevertheless beeninfected by its doctrine. as Hermann Morale and discipline, Rauschning, the authorof Revolution ofNihilism, says,is nowa religion in Germany and has inthatnation an unprecedented and achieved high levelofintensity effectiveness. It has nevertheless and sustained beencreated by esthesamemeans as socialsolidarity and discipline havebeen sentially created and maintained to form wherever menhavebeenassociated societies and to act collectively. A nationincludes its wideembrace of within all ordinary forms association with which we arefamiliar, i.e.,local,familial, economic, andracial. It is theproblem morale to political, religious, ofnational co-ordinate thesegroups thanclash. so thattheyco-operate rather In the languageof the Nazi party'spolitical technicians, it is the problem ofGleichschaltung. It has beenachieved by co-ordinating, and eventually subordinating, fusing every local and minor loyalty intoa totalitarian loyalty to thenational state. Where thathas not beenactually as inthecaseoftheLutherans achieved, and Catholics, it has nevertheless been attempted.Thereis alreadyconsiderable andpedagogical, literature, psychological which shows whatwas atand whathas beenachieved in thearmy, and tempted theschools, thepress."" The relation ofnewsto morale is notso obviousas is thatofthe
IISee German Psychological Warfare: Surveyand Bibliography (New York: CommitteeforNational Morale, I940).

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other page ofthenewspaper, theeditorial. News comesto us and to thenewspaper we read from every partoftheworld in which we and itsother readers areinterested. It comes ordinarily, provided it is notwritten up so thatourinterest in it is symbolic and literary rather thanfactual, in theform ofdisconnected items.Newspapermenhave discovered that,other things beingequal,newsitems are readininverse ratio to their length.The national weekly newspapers like Timeand Newsweek have discovered thattheycan givea new newsinterest to theseitems(i) by classifying themand (2) by diggingup so-called background materials which enableus to see them in their relation to other events widely dispersed in timeand space. To puta news item ina setting ofhistorical orotherwise related facts gives it a character which is sometimes historical andsometimes sociological.Suchan itembecomes history in so faras it finds a placein thehistorical sequence. It becomes sociological in so faras, when it throws classified, light uponsocialprocess irrespective oftheplace or timein which theprocess takesplace. As heredescribed, newshas no influence uponpolitical actionor morale.Its tendency is to disperse and distract and thus attention decrease rather thanincrease tension. The ordinary function ofnews is to keepindividuals and societies oriented and in touchwiththeir and with world It is notitsfunction reality by minor adjustments. ordinarily to initiatesecularsocial movements whenthey which, movetoo rapidly, bring about catastrophic On the consequences. other hand,whensomeimportant or disturbing eventoccursthat "makesthefront page" and captures theheadlines, it mayalso captureand holdattention for daysand weeks, likethestory oftheabduction oftheLindbergh babyand thesubsequent trialand executionoftheallegedabductor. The story is notan item, itis a ofsuchan event orseries ofevents in fact;one thatmay growmoreab"story"-a continued story, sorbing as eachdayandeachissueofthepress forth somenew brings In thiswayit maybecomeso absorbing as to dwarf development. in every As interest other in local or current lesser incident history a story it becomes is in inmore it enthralling justbecause published stalments or which giveopportunity readers to reflect, for speculate, Under the brood instalment. overthesignificance ofeachsuccessive

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of thenewsinterpret readers theseincidents and all circumstances thedetails interms andofsimiofmemories oftheir ownexperiences lar tragicepisodeswithwhichtheyare familiar. In thisway the newsceasesto be merenewsand acquiresthesignificance ofliterabut of realistic ture, literature likethe"truestories" ofthepopular and oftheearlier magazines balladsthatpreceded them in thehistoryof the newspaper.'2 and holds the interest What fixes of the reader tendsto disorient him;tendsto possesshim. It is the samewithwarsin which in the we seemto see history making; warsin which thefateofnations and of civilization is involved.It is whenattention is focused on theseeventswhichare not itemsbut chapters from the current that we who are history spectators eventually getsympathetically involved.Under these cirin accordance cumstances it is inevitable thatwe should, withthe differences ofourpersonal and ourpersonal experiences prejudices, interpret eventsand history It is inevitable differently. that we takesides, should sincediscussion tendsto emphasize and bring out as wellas obscure, differences at least,more temporarily fundamental pointsof viewupon which we are united.This is unfortunate, fornational morale perhaps, above everything requires else thatin a crisis we shouldact as a nationand be united as a people. is therefore Public opinion not a good indexof moralebecause, ofdiscussion, thefruit itintensifies differences. being Publicopinion is on the surface of things and does not reflect the attitudes and is united.The very ofviewonwhich thecommunity points existence is itself ofpublicopinion thatwe arenotat themoment evidence as towhatas a nation ora peopleweshould oneinregard do. However, and drop out of discussion, as things get discussed the direction which publicopinion takesin thecourse oftimeindicates thedirectionin which collective offormation, will,in theprocess is taking. This is whatthe Galluppollsshow. Publicdiscussion ofpublicpolicyduring periodsof crisis, when discussion tends to become embittered, invariably brings to thesurfacenotonlydivergent ofviewbutthememories points andoriginal experiences upon whichtheseinterpretations of eventsare based.
I2

Helen Hughes, The Human Interest of Chicago Press Story(Chicago: University

I940).

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Onehas butto readtheexasperated and often outrageous viewsexin letters pressed to theeditor to recognize thatthese letters are the reflections ofpersonal frustrations andofdeepemotional experiences whose areoften sources so obscure thatitwouldrequire theskill ofa psychoanalyst to discover them.But in so faras freedom ofdiscussiongetsto thesource ofthisemotional violence and so brings itinto to thatextent theopen,discussion contributes something indirectly to thenational morale.Thesecontroversial letters serveas a purge to theminds ofthose whowrote them andgivecomfort to those who wouldliketo have written iftheycould. them In a recentcopy of the Detroit FreePress I ran acrossa very and notill-natured clever indictment ofHaroldIckes. He was deas kind a man of who andexasperated scribed the writes exasperating letters to theeditor.Well,probably HaroldIckes is thatkindofa to meand I am sureto others. man,buthe has beena greatcomfort He exaggerates, to be sure,as an exasperated manwill;buthe says thatsomeone things shouldsay,and I am certain through myown thathe is improving ofthecountry. I recall experience themorale I admire.I wishI could whathe has said aboutLindbergh, whom hearhimon SenatorGeraldNye. I supposehe has at sometime landedon thesenator from it. North Dakota,butifso I havemissed thisstuff off ourchest for the Getting is,as I havesuggested, good It improves country. morale, and, besidesthat,one can be certain outwith thebitterness thatno onewhocomes thatis in himis going to the pressare not public columnist. These letters to be a fifth If they could however. opinion, Theyaremerely personal opinions. and bitter" be accompanied by a confession "sudden,complete, in whichtheywereformed, whichwouldrevealthe context they a great on thesources ofdiscontent which makeit wouldthrow light ina country ofpeoplewhohavecometo difficult likeours, composed in a us from to unitewholeheartedly, theendsoftheearth, except on an all-out totalitarian suchas greatnational emergency, policy, a greatnational thatwe should. emergency requires I said at theoutsetofthispaperthatwartendedto assumethe in whichideas rather thanforce character of a dialectical process makethe issuesas originally conplay theleadingrole.As events

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from time belligerents find it necessary ceivedand statedobsolete, and aimsand discover morefundamental to timeto redefine their to justify thecoursetheyhave chosento morereasonable grounds ifconflict is prolonged, it bepursue.In thelongrun,particularly thequestions which notmerely to satisfy reflection comes necessary ofthewarto theaimsand conduct has raisedat homebutto justify side. committed toeither thepublicabroadwhich maynotbe wholly of an international In thiscase war ceases to have the character the world to present coupd'etat, aimingby meansof a Blitzkrieg and becomesmoreand morea war of ideas witha fait accompli, and ideologies. come to have the character Such warsinevitably aboutnotmerely ofrevolutions. Theyendin thatcase by bringing in material but in institutions and the fundachanges possessions do this whyin so faras they mental conceptions oflife.It is,infact, in thehistorical thatwarcan be said to function process. by a principle of moralesupported Underthesecircumstances, a of either reasonceases to be a matter hope or fearand becomes morale morale forces thatdetermine force.In thelongrunit is these theissuesforwhich on. warsare carried
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO