faith and example of the man and his contemporaries are not made to live in the present. Jefferson's declaration of inalienable rights"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"-can be best vivified for students of today by a comparative analysis of Western and Communist ultimations of these abstractions. To do less than this is to leave the young mind open to one-sided attack which exposes "capitalistic" deficiencies far out of proportion while hiding its own flagrant violations of life and liberty. An approach which thus interprets the swift and confusing flux of current events in the light of broad principles can do much to counteract the Communist technique of "changing masks" to suit the moment's opportunity. It will provide a steady platform from which the student can view and evaluate the worldwide conflict, and more surely arrive at sound conclusions when left on his own. If the comparative analytic approach is to be effective, it must be applied throughout pertinent aspects of the curriculum. In the ideological war the front is everywhere; it penetrates into every aspect of human life and relationships-social and cultural, as well as political and economic. The teachers of literature and the humanities, of science and sociology will be engaged, as well as those instructing specifically in history, government, and economics. The Communists well know the need for control of the whole mind; a full and balanced presentation is equally imperative on the side of its free development. Here as elsewhere, the enemy seeks to conquer by dividing the forces against him. He arranges cultural youth "congresses" to emphasize the international brotherhood of his cause, and berates the Western Powers for interfering with his efforts. He fosters meetings among African and Asian students with strong nationalist ties, denounces the Western colonialism which oppresses them, but remains silent to the fact that their schooling is provided under the laws of, and often with the money from, the "repressive" West. In January 1960, the Center for International Studies at Harvard University submitted a report on "Ideology and Foreign Affairs" to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. According to this report, there is a widespread feeling in Asia, the Arab world, and Latin America that in the final analysis the present conflict in the world is not between freedom on the one hand and Communist oppression of the other, but between two rather sharply different systems of socioeconomic organization. In such a conception of the present conflict, America tends to be placed on the right, as the defender of the status quo, and the U.S.S.R. on the extreme left, as a revolutionary power striving to undermine that status quo. This state of mind is primarily the result of prolonged Marxist indoctrination. In the United States, Communists use free rostrums to release clouds of verbal "peace doves," and protest as warmongering the need for a fallout shelter program against the bombs with which Moscow continues to threaten us. Against such an onslaught, the full truth is the only reply; it is also an effective one. For the Communist ideology is a narrow archaic one, based on an economic theory promulgated by one man over a century ago, and borne out by neither history nor reason. Here is one of its basic weaknesses for the teacher of economics to reveal, drawing the comparision with the steady progress of economic liberalism. Marx proclaimed that under "bourgeois" free enterprise the poor would inevitably get poorer as the slaves of property. That the opposite has happened in the United States and elsewhere is demonstrable by reference to statistics readily available, such as average income and purchasing power, the amazing increase in numbers and classes of people entering into capital investment, and the profit-sharing plans developed jointly by management and labor. The Soviet economic system, with its state ownership, scarcity of consumer goods, and low level of purchasing power, is by contrast not the "peoples paradise" as advertised. Again, in the field of politics and government, a comparative analysis is fruitful for the cause of the free world. Marx's vision of a classless state was qualified from the outset by reiterated need for an interim "dictatorship of the proletariat." The totalitarian methods instituted by Lenin and followed by his successors have, when admitted, been justified as necessary to the abolition of outmoded institutions. Hence the perfection of the classless society demanded a single party domination of government, murder of political enemies, wholesale slaughter of dissident groups (euphemistically called "liquidation," to borrow a term from the capitalist system), and rigid suppression of rights of speech and action long since taken for granted in the Western nations. Meanwhile the "withering away" of the state envisioned by Marx has been replaced by an all-encompassing governmental power in the hands of the party-a dictatorship indeed, but not of the proletariat. All this, too, can be easily documented by the teacher, and set deliberately against the facts of political life at home-the almost exact numerical balance between two parties in 1960, a President seeking advice from his "opposing" predecessor, the gradually inevitable expansion by constitutional process of free opportunity among minority groups, the guarantees of the Bill of Rights which preserve freedom at the expense of little license. The student who fails to see this comparative balance sheet between the two ideologies must be willfully blind to political truth-or else it has not been clearly explained to him. Here again, the force of current events can serve to strengthen the historical perspective, as in the contradiction between the grandiose title of the Soviet Union's westernmost satellite "The German People's Republic"-and the patrolled Berlin wall over which these people clamber for their lives, and for freedom. Underlying the relation of the individual to his government is the concept of man's essential nature and function in society. To the student preparing to take his place in life, this is a central question. American education in the fields of psychology and sociology, in literature and the arts, will serve him and the society into which he emerges, if it shows him clearly the value placed on the individual by the tradition he is preparing to inherit. The rights of man are inseparable from belief in his integrity and dignity. Western societies, whether founded directly on the religious faith that man is the image of God, or on the humanistic philosophy which developed from that faith, regard the individual as morally free, capable of determining his own status and destiny. His life and freedom are hence sacred, "inalienable," a heritage that is his apart from all other conditions of heredity or environment. The institutions of which he is a member, from family to nation, are dedicated to the preservation of his heritage as man, in the balanced sharing of mutual rights and obligations. Without this faith in the individual, democracy does indeed become a hollow slogan, and freedom a mockery. The words may still be employed, as they are by spokesmen for both ideologies; but to mistake the name for the reality is to be uneducated in truth. Here beyond all other considerations, analysis must show clearly to the youth of this country the difference between the Communist and the free ideology-the difference between the individual as free will contributor to his commonwealth, and as pawn of the state for which he exists. From this fundamental divergence spring all the other distinctions of theory, institutions, and modes of conduct. Comparative examples of each system's view and treatment of the individual are potent instruments to help the student pierce through the word to the reality. One such example is provided in the field of literature by the annual Nobel Prize Award to an outstanding man of letters. In 1959 the literature committee in Stockholm named the Russian writer, Boris Pasternak, for his novel "Dr. Zhivago." This powerful work, included now on many college reading lists, speaks of and to the heart of man beyond the framework of ideologies. The student cannot fail to be struck by the fact that it has never been published in the author's native land, which refused to let him accept the Nobel Prize and did him the ultimate dishonor of ignoring his recent death. Why did the Soviet Communist Party thus censor a Russian internationally acclaimed? Because his novel carried a message of individual dignity and moral freedom, and these were hostile to the purposes of Soviet communism. In 1950 an American novelist, William Faulkner, stood up in Stockholm to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature that year. His acceptance speech of a few paragraphs has been anthologized in many school and college texts. It is a noble document of our time, declaring with passionate conviction Faulkner's faith in man, and ending with these lines: He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail. In itself this is a powerful testimony of the Western liberal tradition, the ideology of freedom. Set clearly against the Communists' repression of a companion voice in their midst, it can have lasting effect in the mind of the American student. Faulkner's work and his ability to speak thus about it are examples of the opportunities and the standards provided in an open society. Here is no party voice, speaking the dictated will of an autocratic minority, but an individual freely addressing his fellow men everywhere. In it is found the strength of the liberal tradition. That tradition will prevail among the rising generation of Americans, if by a thorough and planned analysis its values are declared in our schools and colleges, in full comparison with the false and destructive ideology against which we are now engaged in vital combat. If we are engaged in a battle for the minds of men, we must understand better the conquering force of motivating ideas. Armed with understanding, we must wage and win this battle in its most crucial sector the education of our youth. AVAILABLE RESOURCES MATERIAL For the information and assistance of those consulting this volume we list herewith additional material available, which has been previously printed. ARTICLES Bartlett, Hall. Book review of "Democracy Versus Communism" by Kenneth Colegrove, published by D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc., 1957, Princeton, N.J., $3.96 (New England Social Studies Bulletin, March 1958, pp. 24, 25). Fischer, John H., Superintendent of Public Instruction in Baltimore, Md. "Teaching the Nature of Communism" (Social Education, April 1958, pp. 187-190). "High School Seniors Should Be Required to Take a Course or Unit on Communism" (Nation's Schools, July 1961, p. 44). Hook, Sidney. "The Fellow-Traveler: A Study in Psychology" (New York Times Magazine, Apr. 17, 1949, pp. 9, 20, 21, 22, 23). "Should Our Schools Study Communism?" (New York Times Magazine, Aug. 29, 1954, pp. 9 and 24). Judd, Dr. Walter H. "Education and Ideology," published in the General Electric Forum, October-December 1961, pp. 6 and 7. Kirk, Dr. Grayson. "Education for the World Challenge," General Electric Forum, October-December 1961, pages 8 and 9. Mayer, Maj. William E. Copy of a tape recording of a speech made at the University of California in 1958, dealing with the brainwashing of American prisoners of war in Korea, reprinted in the Congressional Record of September 18, 1961, pages 18778-18781. Reed, Calvin H. and Evelyn Caha. "Teaching About Communism in Nebraska's Junior High Schools" (Social Education, April 1958, pp. 178, 179, 180). Steinberg, Samuel, Chairman of Social Studies at Stuyvesant High School, New York City. "Teaching About Communism" (Social Education, April 1958, pp. 199-206). Stephenson, Clarence D. "Resources for Teaching About Communism in Secondary Schools" (Social Education, April 1958, pp. 207, 208, 209). "What You Should Know About Communism-And Why." Fifteen weekly articles expressly designed for classroom use in senior high schools. Prepared by the editors of Scholastic Magazines, Inc., in consultation with leading authorities on communism and Soviet affairs. Starting November 15, 1961, and continuing through April 11, 1962, in Senior Scholastic and World Week. Scholastic Magazines, Inc., 33 West 42d Street, New York 36, N.Y. "When Freedom's Young People Confront Communism: The Angle of Approach.' Harry and Bonaro Overstreet (P.T.A. Magazine, February 1962, p. 4). REPORTS American Bar Association. Report of Conference Committee on Need for Education as to Aims and Threat of Communism, February 9, 1961. Comparative Study of Democracy and Communism, Curriculum Services Series No. 2, Department of Public Instruction, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pa., 1960. Fischer, Dean John H., Teacher's College, Columbia University. "The Problems Ahead," an address, included in a report on "Teaching About Communism and Democracy in the Public Schools," reprinted for the Seventh Annual National Military, Industrial, and Educational Conference by the Institute for American Strategy, 140 South Dearborn Street, Chicago 3, Ill., April 1961, price 50 cents. Gilfoy, Lewis W., Director of Instruction, Secondary Schools, Indianapolis, Ind., Indianapolis Plan for Teaching the Threat of Communism. Handbook on the Principles of American Democracy, Boston Public Schools, Keating, Kenneth B., "The Progress Thus Far," a report by the Legislative Outline of Content, Included in Social Studies Courses, Grades 6-11, Related to Triggs, Dean E., Superintendent. "Teaching About Communism," a compendium of resource materials and recommendations for teaching-to assist schools in educating youth about the ideology of communism and its threat to the free world and democracy. Edited by Louis J. Rubin, Consultant, Secondary Education, Office of the Superintendent of Schools, Ventura County, Ventura, Calif. Unit on Communism, Enemy of Democracy, a Publication of the Boston Public BIBLIOGRAPHY "World Communism: A Selected Annotated Bibliography," prepared upon the request of the Department of Public Instruction and at the instance of the U.S. Senators from Pennsylvania, Hon. Edward Martin and Hon. Joseph S. Clark, Jr., by the Legislative Service of the Library of Congress, published by the Department of Public Instruction, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pa., 1958. Official List of Publications issued by the Congress and other Departments and Agencies, including testimonies heard at congressional hearings relating to various aspects of communism, for sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D.C. Bibliography on the Communist Problem in the United States, published by the Fund for the Republic, Inc. Publications, Tape Recordings and Other Educational Materials on Communism, available from the Institute for American Strategy, 140 South Dearborn Street, Chicago 3, Ill., spring 1961. Swearingen, Dr. Rodger, University of Southern California, "The World of Communism," answers the 100 questions most often asked by American high school students about communism, Russia, and China (Houghton Mifflin Co., New York, 1962). "A Selected Annotated Bibliography to Assist Teachers in Teaching About Communism," prepared by Merrill F. Hartshorn, Executive Secretary, T. Marcus Gillespie, Executive Assistant, published by the National Council for the Social Studies, National Education Association, 1201 16th Street NW., Washington 6, D.C., 1961, price 25 cents. "Communism's Challenge to American Education." This address by Commissioner John W. Studebaker was delivered at the convention of the National Council for the Social Studies in St. Louis, Mo., November 28 and 29, 1947. |