Yes, the United States had an Office
of Censorship. FDR created it two weeks after Pearl Harbor was devastated by a
surprise attack from Japan. In hindsight, it is a troubling precedent.
The order began thus: “All Americans abhor censorship, just as they abhor war. But
the experience of this and of all other Nations has demonstrated that some
degree of censorship is essential in wartime, and we are at war.”
It then said:
“It is necessary that a
watch be set upon our borders, so that no such information may reach the enemy,
inadvertently or otherwise, through the medium of the mails, radio, or cable
transmission, or by any other means.
It is necessary that
prohibitions against the domestic publication of some types of information,
contained in long-existing statutes, be rigidly enforced.
Finally, the Government has
called upon a patriotic press and radio to abstain voluntarily from the
dissemination of detailed information of certain kinds, such as reports of the
movements of vessels and troops. The response has indicated a universal desire
to cooperate.”
The order lasted until 1945.
On Friday, President Trump addressed
a rally in Ohio. He repeated his pledge to build a wall. He added something
new: “And we're going to get tremendous security in our
country. And we may have to close up our country to get this straight, because
we either have a country or we don't.”
FDR called upon the press to be “patriotic.”
He distorted the dangers about securing our border. Not a single case of espionage
was brought against a Japanese American or Japanese resident alien in WW II.
The difference is that we suffered a brutal attack by a hostile nation. Today
is different.
No comments:
Post a Comment