posted on December 1, 2002 10:38:17 PM new
For over a year now, the American government has been telling it's
citizens that we're in a war, but apparently one we can win so easily that
the home front is asked to little more
than shop, eat out and travel. In
earlier wars the government wasn't
afraid to ask it's citizens - often
through the medium of the wartime
propaganda poster - to sacrifice: to
curb travel, plant a victory garden,
save tin, not let loose lips sink ships,
etc. Our pandering governments of
today wouldn't dream of creating
posters informing Americans of what
they could actually do to help, so I
decided I would.
The thirty-three poster's you'll see in my new book "When You Ride
Alone, You Ride With bin Laden," is a sincere attempt to point citizens in
directions where they can actually help
...............Bill Maher 2002
I think this guy is brilliant. Has anyone read his book?
posted on December 2, 2002 11:19:08 PM new
I'm confused over this, a propaganda poster that told us to "curb travel, plant a victory garden,
save tin," is better than today's advice, "shop, eat out and travel"?
Planting a victory garden is a mindless act, curbing travel only hurts the travel industry. Saving tin is the only smart one, I think.
During war we do sacrifice. We pay higher gas prices, lose our jobs, and watch our investments sink. Our government shouldn't expect much from us. Besides, they got themselves into the mess, we shouldn't have to sacrifice.
posted on December 3, 2002 02:11:49 AM newPlanting a victory garden is a mindless act, curbing travel only hurts the travel industry. Saving tin is the only smart one, I think.
During World War II absolutely everything was going into the war effort. Food was rationed. Victory gardens were grown everywhere--even in window boxes in the city--and provided needed food, and improved morale at home. Gas was also rationed as it was so vital to the war--limiting unnecessary travel at home meant that more fuel was available to the military.
And in addition to tin (& other metals), grease, oil & fat from cooking were saved so that they could be recycled & used for explosives, women went without silk hose so the silk could be used in parachutes, the country had a 35 mph speed limit to make tires last longer.
Ads of the day usually included: "Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without." Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there --Clare Booth Luce
posted on December 3, 2002 11:44:41 AM new
Your sig. line is from his book mlecher? It's a good line.
quickdraw, I think his point is that Americans did all they could to help insure the troops got back quick and safe in WW2 by becoming part of the solution. Now, there are men in the Middle East fighting a war that 'will never end' and we're told to go about our normal business. There's no outcry from the government on how to get involved so the 'war' can end because it's not going to end... according to Bush. From what I gather, Bill Maher's book apparently tells us how we can become more involved.
posted on December 3, 2002 11:58:58 AM new
"During World War II absolutely everything was going into the war effort. Food was rationed. Victory gardens were grown everywhere--even in window boxes in the city--and provided needed food, and improved morale at home. Gas was also rationed as it was so vital to the war--limiting unnecessary travel at home meant that more fuel was available to the military."
That's why they call them propaganda posters, because they are full of B.S.
Did they need more food because the soldiers ate more while fighting? I doubt it, rations are less.
Did they use more gas on the battle field? I doubt it. A lot of gas is already used in training exercises and patrols. If they need more gas, pump some more.
I'm sure planting a garden really made them feel better even though their son is over their getting his legs blown off.
kraftdinner, citizens really have no control on how "quick" the soldiers come back. They were actually becoming part of the problem by lowering economic input and less money for our country to fight the war and get it over with "quick."
The war that we have now "that will never end" is a totally different kind of war. Terrorism is often hard to detect; they can plant bombs cheaply; we can't blow them up with a few big missles. Besides being more aware, which the government already suggested, there isn;'t much else we can do. Planting lily's in our backyard won't make Terrorism go away; Recycling pop cans won't make it go away.
Just be more realistic. I'm shocked that a conservative Maher came out with a liberal based book. Shocking!
posted on December 3, 2002 01:35:13 PM new
The terms "propaganda" and "b.s." are not
synonymous.
people did not ration food so the "troops could eat it" etc.
Farmers were in the army. Plants making fertilizer and canning food were making bullets.
War means resources devoted to the civilian economy are diverted to help the military cause. Understanding this and doing without is "Victory begins at home".
Maher is not talking about helping troops on the ground on a distant battlefield. He's referring to stupidity such as political correctness which causes Ray Charles to be stripped seached because he's tenth in line at the airport check-in while an Arab guy with a turban who is sweating a lot goes right through. He's talking about using less fuel so we can wash our hands of the whole Mideast.
posted on December 3, 2002 01:55:15 PM new
That makes sense if they're in short supplies, but today it's a whole other matter. In the gulf war, we didn't have farmers running off to join the army, and we had no problem making bullets. The book apparently doesn't note the changes in way wars are fought.
Maher also misses another factor in the airport searches. Ever see those people who are paid money to sneak in drugs on a plane. Very ordinary people who are paid large sums of money. A terrorist could pay someone $500 to bring in a bag, unknowingly to the recipient, containing a knife. Also, there have been celebrities carrying guns and knives through the metal detectors, and were arrested. Obviosuly it wasn't for terrorism, but they do need to be checked nevertheless for weapons.
The terrorists on 9-11 weren't dressed in turbins, they looked very ordinary and professional. That's what we have to look out for, things that look ordinary, whcih means everyone gets scrutinized.
posted on December 3, 2002 06:33:42 PM new That makes sense if they're in short supplies, but today it's a whole other matter. In the gulf war, we didn't have farmers running off to join the army, and we had no problem making bullets. The book apparently doesn't note the changes in way wars are fought.
In the dawn of time it was the stone that Cain hurled at Abel, and in the future it shall be many things that we cannot even imagine today, but that will be able to put an end to men and their wondrous, fragile life..Borges
I don't know Maher because I never watched him on TV and my bookstore was out of the book today. Based on the comments here, I think that I'll not look again.
posted on December 4, 2002 05:24:22 PM new
Quickdraw
Your post said " ...did they" in reference one supposes to WW2 Posters, and yes, they did.
Yes, 5 million men & women in uniform (1944)ate a whole lot more than they had a few years before at the height of the depression. So did those left behind who were now working at war plants around the clock.
Gasoline consumption was cut by rationing both to save oil for the war effort and to cut the use of RUBBER (100% imported at the time)by civilians.
Fat and cooking grease WAS used to make explosives and many other materials, collections were measured in the thousands
of tons.
Metals of all kinds were collected, sometimes by government order, and yet with the whole country scrounging and every mine running full tilt around the clock there was still a shortage of steel in 43 and copper, tin and lead thruout the war.
You obviously didnt live thru those times when we were supplying not just our people and our troops but the millions of our allies' as well. You've obviously not read of the casualties in shipping , in 1942, 1 tanker in 4 lost enroute to Murmansk, 1 freighter in 8 en route to Europe. Those ships were packed full of food and munitions, clothing and vehicles, all the sweat and effort of the American people pulling together against a common foe.
So yes, we needed Victory Gardens, we needed to save cooking grease and toothpaste tubes and old tin cans and scrap metal and THAT'S how WE, the people at home, did our part to get the boys home sooner by making sure that they had what they needed to get the job done.
posted on December 4, 2002 06:25:41 PM new
Eating more than during a depression doesn't mean more vegtables needs to be planted years later when consumption goes back up. The food they probably cut back on anyways, would have been meats not vegatables.
Let's not get off track, today is a different time. One farmer can do the work of 15 back then, we don't have shortages of gas or rubber. No has bothered to show some related material concerning whether the conservation efforts made a difference.
posted on December 4, 2002 09:56:32 PM new
OK, let me do this in very short bits so it can be understood by anyone.
VICTORY GARDENS were planted DURING WORLD WAR 2. That was the BIG WAR where we fought Japan and Germany and the countries that were their friends.
By growing their own FOOD, people needed to BUY less AT THE STORE, saving on metal (used in cans)and leaving more of the BIG HARVESTS of the war years for OTHER PURPOSES.
Extra food was needed because people were eating MORE because they WORKING HARD and because a LOT of it was WASTED when SHIPS carrying it ACROSS THE OCEAN were SUNK by TORPEDOS from SUBMARINES.
OTHER PURPOSES include sending food to the ARMY and NAVY men both here and ACROSS THE OCEAN. We also could send food to our FRIENDS in other countries who didn't have enough.
MEATS and MILK and things made from MILK like CHEESE and BUTTER were HARD to get
because it takes a lot of time to GROW MORE ANIMALS to get these things. VEGETABLES and GRAINS are easy to grow more, you PLANT MORE SEEDS and in a short time YOU HAVE MORE.
METALS, RUBBER and OIL were other things
also were needed to FIGHT a WAR so PEOPLE
used less for themselves so the ARMY and NAVY MEN could have enough to fight with.
PEOPLE also helped by RECYCLING these things so they could be REUSED to HELP the MEN in the ARMY and NAVY fight the BAD PEOPLE.
