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The Stewart Report
Your
Weekly Report from Jerry Stewart
"Our Battle With
Fear - Nothing To
Fear But ..."
By Jerry Stewart
Last Saturday night, Halloween night, as I stood
in my doorway, candy bowl in hand, watching all the little ones,
and not so little ones, march by my door, I couldn't help but be
amazed by the scene - one of the most popular nights in our
America and what are we doing? Dressing our children up like
fantasy and cartoon characters, some even dressed like monsters
or witches or ghouls, and then sending them out with bags in
hand to collect candy and other treats. Truly an odd site.
But the truth is this - terror and horror are
big business in America. On Halloween the Haunted Houses are
full and some of the biggest theatre box successes are horror
films.
Did you know that one Halloween in our America,
over 1 million people were convinced that aliens had landed and
were about to destroy us all?
The year was 1938, and radio was in its hey day.
One very popular weekly program was "The Mercury Radio Theatre"
and it was presented live. In keeping with the Halloween terror
theme the producers of the radio play decided to do an
adaptation of the H.G. Wells book, "War of the Worlds".
The lead producer for that week's show was Orson Welles, a young
and soon-to-be very famous actor.
The show had a simple and truly terrifying plot.
A meteor crashes in a farmers field in the small farming village
of Grovers Mill, New Jersey. When the locals approach the fallen
meteor to examine it, they soon find out that its not a meteor
at all - it's a ship from outer space full of horrible alien
creatures; and almost immediately these aliens begin using their
deadly heat rays to destroy the people and their community.
From there the aliens expand their web of
terror, make their way to New York City, killing everyone,
melting everything in their path, including the U.S. Army.
But you say, "How is it that the radio listeners
came to believe that the simple radio play was real?" This is
where the story becomes more intriguing. The Mercury Theatre
plays were always presented as live dramas with actors and sound
effects, making the stories seem very real- but there was
something else - the program was what was called a "sustaining
show" which meant that it ran without commercial breaks. Also,
the program director, Orson Welles, designed the broadcast to be
a series of news bulletins which sounded very real. So with no
periodic disclaimers, no commercial breaks, and very little in
the way of communication in those days, those who tuned in could
not confirm or deny the program's authenticity - it sounded like
the real thing.
But there was something else going on in 1938
America - there was much fear. America was still in the midst of
the Great Depression, and a real monster by the name of Adolph
Hitler had already begun his march of terror across Europe with
his own terrible invasions. All of these factors helped to
prepare the listeners to receive a fictional radio play as
truth, and to give us a moment in America which is now known as
the scariest Halloween in our history.
But there is something else to be considered
here and a huge point for "we the people" of America
today to remember - that true terror is a powerful tool. And
that, given the right words presented in the right way, we human
beings are easily persuaded.
We have so many today trying to move us in a
particular direction, trying to take away more and more of our
say in this nation. Their most powerful tool? Terror. If they
can convince us that we are on the edge of oblivion, then we can
be convinced to agree to go along with anything they may want to
do - and they will have their way with us.
Let us be careful and thorough as we study the
facts of our own terror in America today. Let us ask ourselves
the question, "What will happen if we do or don't act right
now? What will happen if we give over our permissions or
authorities to others without completely understanding the
consequences?" Let us not be so easily convinced that the
solution to our problems is in giving away our rights too
quickly.
Finally, let us remember and take to heart the
words of President Franklin Roosevelt which he spoke to a very
frightened America in 1933:
"Let me assert my firm belief that the only
thing we have to fear is fear itself".
Unjustified terror must not be used by those in
power today to manipulate and paralyze us.
May God Bless America.
Jerry Stewart
P.S. email me with your own thoughts and ideas
regarding our America at
stewartreport@onemomentinamerica.com
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