Propaganda-Example I

"The American press and the radio have turned in a splendid performance as the watchdogs of our liberties. They can increasingly protect our children by turning the spotlight of publicity on sex degenerates and the cesspools of vice which nurture their development, at the same time protecting the identities of innocent victims and their families, once a sex fiend has struck."
-J. Edgar Hoover, American Magazine 1947 (How safe is your daughter?)

It is interesting that Mr. Hoover uses the words "liberties" and "cesspools of vice" to make his statement about protecting our children against sex offenders. He is obviously targeting the current mind set of the time, that not only did our political enemies threaten to inflate our government but they posed a serious threat to our families. They American public was being lead to believe that the "foreign" threat was composed of subversive degenerates; that threatened the family, property, and personal and national identity. These "foreign" enemies easily melted into our culture.

Another example of this media propaganda can be seen in the May 1953 issue of Ladies Home Journal, in the article entitled "To protect your child from sex offenders," "Unfortunately, respectability and pre-eminence in the community are no criteria for judging perversion. A corrupter of children may be anyone. And even though his guilt is known, parents, out of consideration for his family or respect for the man he once was, will not prosecute him."