October 27, 2018
A Navy color guard unit parades the colors during Navy Day at the Alamo as part of Fiesta in downtown San Antonio. Ten different Navy commands in the San Antonio area gathered to celebrate with local military and community leaders. (This celebration was in April, but it fits with Navy Day.) (Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jacquelyn Childs)
A reminder to fly your U.S. flags today in honor of the U.S. Navy.
We celebrate Navy Day each year on October 27, one of the score of dates designated in the U.S. Flag Code to fly Old Glory. Navy Day honors everyone who serves or served in the U.S. Navy.
Navy Day may be eclipsed by Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day and Veterans Day in modern life, but it’s still in the law and the Navy still notes it.
Plus, we celebrate Navy Day on the birthday of former Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt. It’s Teddy’s birthday today, too.
So should we. Fly your flag for the U.S. Navy.
More:
Theodore Roosevelt in his office as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. DOD image.
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
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History, Naval History, Posters, U.S. Navy, World War I, World War II | Tagged: Fly your flag today, History, Navy Day, Posters, World War I, World War II | 
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Posted by Ed Darrell
October 27, 2017
NORFOLK – Sailors assigned to USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) lower the ensign as the ship shifts colors from the fantail to the mast in preparation to get underway. (U.S. Navy file photo and caption)
A reminder to fly your U.S. flags today in honor of the U.S. Navy.
We celebrate Navy Day each year on October 27, one of the score of dates designated in the U.S. Flag Code to fly Old Glory. Navy Day honors everyone who serves or served in the U.S. Navy.
Navy Day may be eclipsed by Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day and Veterans Day in modern life, but it’s still in the law and the Navy still notes it.
So should we.
You get an idea of the celebrations from some of the old Navy Day posters. (If you can put a year on posters undesignated, please tell us in comments; if you know of a poster not shown here, please give a link in comments.)
Navy Day poster, after World War I
This may have been used as a Navy Day poster after the death of Theodore Roosevelt, a former, popular Secretary of the Navy. Crash MacDuff blog
Navy Day poster, post World War I, pre-World War II
Navy Day poster, 1931; Crash MacDuff blog
Navy Day poster, early 1940s, featuring the battleship USS New Jersey.
Illustration by Matt Murphey
Navy Day poster, 1940s
Two more 1940s Navy Day posters
Navy Day poster, 1944
Billboard showing art similar to the poster, Navy Day 1944. History 101 image
Navy Day Poster, 1945
Navy Day Poster from after World War II (?)
Navy Day poster, 1947, Crash MacDuff blog. “Issued September 1947. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. NHHC Photograph Collection, NH 78860.”
Yes, this is mostly an encore post. Fighting ignorance requires patience.
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Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
3 Comments | History, Naval History, Posters, U.S. Navy, World War I, World War II | Tagged: Fly your flag today, History, Navy Day, Posters, World War I, World War II | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
October 26, 2016
A reminder to fly your U.S. flags tomorrow in honor of the U.S. Navy.
We celebrate Navy Day each year on October 27, one of the score of dates designated in the U.S. Flag Code to fly Old Glory.
Navy Day may be eclipsed by Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day and Veterans Day in modern life, but it’s still in the law and the Navy still notes it.
So should we.
You get an idea of the celebrations from some of the old Navy Day posters. (If you can put a year on posters undesignated, please tell us in comments; if you know of a poster not shown here, please give a link in comments.)
Navy Day poster, after World War I
This may have been used as a Navy Day poster after the death of Theodore Roosevelt, a former, popular Secretary of the Navy. Crash MacDuff blog
Navy Day poster, post World War I, pre-World War II
Navy Day poster, 1931; Crash MacDuff blog
Navy Day poster, early 1940s, featuring the battleship USS New Jersey.
Illustration by Matt Murphey
Navy Day poster, 1940s
Two more 1940s Navy Day posters
Navy Day poster, 1944
Billboard showing art similar to the poster, Navy Day 1944. History 101 image
Navy Day Poster, 1945
Navy Day Poster from after World War II (?)
Navy Day poster, 1947, Crash MacDuff blog. “Issued September 1947. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. NHHC Photograph Collection, NH 78860.”
Navy Day poster, 1940s, perhaps. From an eBay listing
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
1 Comment | History, Naval History, Posters, U.S. Navy, World War I, World War II | Tagged: Fly your flag today, History, Navy Day, Posters, World War I, World War II | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
September 5, 2016
Still important in 2016: Fly your flag for American labor, Monday.
Especially important in 2016. It’s a presidential election year. Wave the flag! Labor Day is the “traditional” start of the campaign for the presidency. In your town, most likely, there is a picnic sponsored by a union or other pro-labor group, at which you would be welcomed and can meet many of the candidates in your local races. Go!
Put your flag out at sunrise, take it down at sunset. (Okay, you may fly your flag all weekend — especially if you’re a union member. We get the whole weekend, but Labor Day itself is Monday.)
Labor Day 2016 in the United States is a federal holiday, and one of those days Americans are urged to fly the U.S. flag.
“Free Labor Will Win,” the poster said, encouraging a theme important during World War II, when unions were encouraged to avoid strikes or any action that might interrupt work to build the “arsenal of democracy” believed necessary to win the war. Labor complied, the war was won, and organized labor was the stronger for it. In 2015, some have difficulty remembering when all Americans knew that our future rides on the backs of organized labor.
In war, America turned to organized labor to get the jobs done. Not only do we owe a debt to labor that deserves remembering, we have many jobs that need to be done now, for which organized labor is the best group to turn to.
The poster was issued by the Office of War Information in 1942, in full color. A black-and-white version at the Library of Congress provides a few details for the time:
Labor Day poster. Labor Day poster distributed to war plants and labor organizations. The original is twenty-eight and one-half inches by forty inches and is printed in full color. It was designed by the Office of War Information (OWI) from a photograph especially arranged by Anton Bruehl, well-known photographer. Copies may be obtained by writing the Distribution Section, Office of War Information [alas, you can’t get a copy from the Office of War Information in 2012]
Even down here in deepest, darkest-right-to-work Texas, patriots fly their flags to honor Labor today. It’s heartening.
Flags fly all around in 1882 at the first Labor Day Parade in New York City’s Union Square; lithograph from USC’s Dornsife History Center, via Wikipedia, artist unidentified
What’s the history of labor in your family?
More, Other Resources:
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Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
1 Comment | Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, Freedom - Economic, Freedom - Political, History, Holidays, Labor and unions, Posters, Primary Source Documents | Tagged: Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, Labor Day, Library of Congress, Office of War Information, Patriotism, Posters, Trade union | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
September 7, 2015
Still important in 2015: Fly your flag for American labor, Monday.
(Okay, you may fly your flag all weekend — especially if you’re a union member. We get the whole weekend, but Labor Day itself is Monday.)
Labor Day 2015 in the United States is a federal holiday, and one of those days Americans are urged to fly the U.S. flag.
“Free Labor Will Win,” the poster said, encouraging a theme important during World War II, when unions were encouraged to avoid strikes or any action that might interrupt work to build the “arsenal of democracy” believed necessary to win the war. Labor complied, the war was won, and organized labor was the stronger for it. In 2015, some have difficulty remembering when all Americans knew that our future rides on the backs of organized labor.
In war, America turned to organized labor to get the jobs done. Not only do we owe a debt to labor that deserves remembering, we have many jobs that need to be done now, for which organized labor is the best group to turn to.
The poster was issued by the Office of War Information in 1942, in full color. A black-and-white version at the Library of Congress provides a few details for the time:
Labor Day poster. Labor Day poster distributed to war plants and labor organizations. The original is twenty-eight and one-half inches by forty inches and is printed in full color. It was designed by the Office of War Information (OWI) from a photograph especially arranged by Anton Bruehl, well-known photographer. Copies may be obtained by writing the Distribution Section, Office of War Information [alas, you can’t get a copy from the Office of War Information in 2012]
Even down here in deepest, darkest-right-to-work Texas, patriots fly their flags to honor Labor today. It’s heartening.
Flags fly all around in 1882 at the first Labor Day Parade in New York City’s Union Square; lithograph from USC’s Dornsife History Center, via Wikipedia, artist unidentified
This is partly an encore post, a Labor Day tradition.
More, Other Resources:
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
Leave a Comment » | Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, Freedom - Economic, Freedom - Political, History, Holidays, Labor and unions, Posters, Primary Source Documents | Tagged: Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, Labor Day, Library of Congress, Office of War Information, Patriotism, Posters, Trade union | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
October 27, 2014
1945 Navy Day poster. NHHC Photograph Collection, NH 72280-KN (Color) via CrashMacDuff
Navy Day, October 27, is designated in the U.S. Flag Code as one of those days Americans may, or should, fly our flags.
History of Navy Day from the U.S. Department of Defense:
Navy Day was established on October 27, 1922 by the Navy League of the United States. Although it was not a national holiday, Navy Day received special attention from President Warren Harding. Harding wrote to the Secretary of the Navy Edwin Denby:
“Thank you for your note which brings assurance of the notable success which seems certain to attend the celebration of Navy Day on Friday, October 27, in commemoration of past and present services of the Navy. From our earliest national beginnings the Navy has always been, and deserved to be, an object of special pride to the American people. Its record is indeed one to inspire such sentiments, and I am very sure that such a commemoration as is planned will be a timely reminder.”
“It is well for us to have in mind that under a program of lessening naval armaments there is a greater reason for maintaining the highest efficiency, fitness and morale in this branch of the national defensive service. I know how earnestly the Navy personnel are devoted to this idea and want you to be assured of my hearty concurrence.”
October 27 was suggested by the Navy League to recognize Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday. Roosevelt had been an Assistant Secretary of the Navy and supported a strong Navy as well as the idea of Navy Day. In addition, October 27 was the anniversary of a 1775 report issued by a special committee of the Continental Congress favoring the purchase of merchant ships as the foundation of an American Navy.
Navy Day was last observed on Oct. 27, 1949.
But, of course, it’s still designated in the Flag Code.
More:
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
5 Comments | Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, Posters, Theodore Roosevelt | Tagged: Flag Code, Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, Navy Day, Posters, Theodore Roosevelt | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
August 30, 2014
Still important in 2014: Fly your flag for American labor, Monday.
(Okay, you may fly your flag all weekend — especially if you’re a union member. We get the whole weekend, but Labor Day itself is Monday.)
Labor Day 2014 in the United States is a federal holiday, and one of those days Americans are urged to fly the U.S. flag.
“Free Labor Will Win,” the poster said, encouraging a theme important during World War II, when unions were encouraged to avoid strikes or any action that might interrupt work to build the “arsenal of democracy” believed necessary to win the war. Labor complied, the war was won, and organized labor was the stronger for it. In 2012, some have difficulty remembering when all Americans knew that our future rides on the backs of organized labor.
The poster was issued by the Office of War Information in 1942, in full color. A black-and-white version at the Library of Congress provides a few details for the time:
Labor Day poster. Labor Day poster distributed to war plants and labor organizations. The original is twenty-eight and one-half inches by forty inches and is printed in full color. It was designed by the Office of War Information (OWI) from a photograph especially arranged by Anton Bruehl, well-known photographer. Copies may be obtained by writing the Distribution Section, Office of War Information [alas, you can’t get a copy from the Office of War Information in 2012]
Even down here in deepest, darkest-right-to-work Texas, patriots fly their flags to honor Labor today. It’s heartening.
Flags fly all around in 1882 at the first Labor Day Parade in New York City’s Union Square; lithograph from USC’s Dornsife History Center, via Wikipedia, artist unidentified
This is partly an encore post, a Labor Day tradition.
More, Other Resources:
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
1 Comment | Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, Freedom - Economic, Freedom - Political, History, Holidays, Labor and unions, Posters, Primary Source Documents | Tagged: Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, Labor Day, Library of Congress, Office of War Information, Patriotism, Posters, Trade union | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
September 2, 2013
Still important in 2013: Fly your flag for American labor today.
It’s Labor Day 2013 in the United States, a federal holiday, and one of those days Americans are urged to fly the U.S. flag.
“Free Labor Will Win,” the poster said, encouraging a theme important during World War II, when unions were encouraged to avoid strikes or any action that might interrupt work to build the “arsenal of democracy” believed necessary to win the war. Labor complied, the war was won, and organized labor was the stronger for it. In 2012, some have difficulty remembering when all Americans knew that our future rides on the backs of organized labor.
The poster was issued by the Office of War Information in 1942, in full color. A black-and-white version at the Library of Congress provides a few details for the time:
Labor Day poster. Labor Day poster distributed to war plants and labor organizations. The original is twenty-eight and one-half inches by forty inches and is printed in full color. It was designed by the Office of War Information (OWI) from a photograph especially arranged by Anton Bruehl, well-known photographer. Copies may be obtained by writing the Distribution Section, Office of War Information [alas, you can’t get a copy from the Office of War Information in 2012]
Even down here in deepest, darkest-right-to-work Texas, patriots fly their flags to honor Labor today. It’s heartening.
Flags fly all around in 1882 at the first Labor Day Parade in New York City’s Union Square; lithograph from USC’s Dornsife History Center, via Wikipedia, artist unidentified
This is partly an encore post, a Labor Day tradition.
More, Other Resources:
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
Leave a Comment » | Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, Freedom - Economic, Freedom - Political, History, Holidays, Labor and unions, Posters, Primary Source Documents | Tagged: Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, Labor Day, Library of Congress, Office of War Information, Patriotism, Posters, Trade union | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
September 3, 2012
Probably more important in 2012 than ever before: Fly your flag for American labor today.
It’s Labor Day 2011 in the United States, a federal holiday, and one of those days Americans are urged to fly the U.S. flag.
“Free Labor Will Win,” the poster said, encouraging a theme important during World War II, when unions were encouraged to avoid strikes or any action that might interrupt work to build the “arsenal of democracy” believed necessary to win the war. Labor complied, the war was won, and organized labor was the stronger for it. In 2012, some have difficulty remembering when all Americans knew that our future rides on the backs of organized labor.
The poster was issued by the Office of War Information in 1942, in full color. A black-and-white version at the Library of Congress provides a few details for the time:
Labor Day poster. Labor Day poster distributed to war plants and labor organizations. The original is twenty-eight and one-half inches by forty inches and is printed in full color. It was designed by the Office of War Information (OWI) from a photograph especially arranged by Anton Bruehl, well-known photographer. Copies may be obtained by writing the Distribution Section, Office of War Information [alas, you can’t get a copy from the Office of War Information in 2012]
Even down here in deepest, darkest-right-to-work Texas, patriots fly their flags to honor Labor today. It’s heartening.
Flags fly all around in 1882 at the first Labor Day Parade in New York City’s Union Square; lithograph from USC’s Dornsife History Center, via Wikipedia, artist unidentified
More, Other Resources:
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
7 Comments | Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, Freedom - Economic, Freedom - Political, History, Holidays, Labor and unions, Posters, Primary Source Documents | Tagged: Flag etiquette, Fly your flag today, History, Labor Day, Library of Congress, Office of War Information, Patriotism, Posters, Trade union | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
July 28, 2012
No matter how much the Texas State Board of Education wishes to run away from America’s heritage, we can’t.
Nor should we want to.
Propaganda is not a bad word. There is bad propaganda, stuff that doesn’t work. There is propaganda for bad purposes, stuff that promotes bad policies, or evil. But good propaganda is stronger, long-lasting, often full of great artistic merit, and instructive.
Images of Uncle Sam provide clear pictures of what Americans were thinking, from the oldest versions to today.
This poster above is a World War I poster designed to convince Americans to get involved in the war effort. J. C. Leyendecker, a noted illustrator, cast Uncle Sam as a baseball player up to bat. The poster says simply, “Get in the game with Uncle Sam.” Perhaps uniquely, this poster showed Sam in yellow-striped pants, instead of the more traditional red-striped. Could an artist take such liberty today?
Nicolas Ricketts at the Strong Museum of National Play offered a good, concise description of the politics and history of the poster at the blog for the Museum (links added for your convenience):
Meanwhile, then-president Woodrow Wilson, who had won reelection in 1916 on an anti-war platform, faced the need for American participation in the terrible “Great War” raging in Europe. He and his cabinet knew that American involvement loomed. But how could the government convince the American public that this was necessary? One idea was to create a poster that urged Americans to metaphorically “Get in the Game,” along with their patriotic national symbol, Uncle Sam.
Artist J. C. Leyendecker (1874-1951) designed the poster, commissioned by the Publicity Committee of the Citizens Preparedness Association, a pro-war organization with federal support which also sponsored “preparedness parades” and other nationalistic activities. Leyendecker himself emigrated from Germany at age eight and was approaching the pinnacle of his career in 1917 when he created this work.
The poster just preceded James Montgomery Flagg’s famous “I Want You” image of Uncle Sam, which later became the best-known likeness of the country’s unofficial symbol. Leyendecker’s version, in spite of his baseball bat, is possibly less affable to contemporary eyes than Flagg’s friendlier Sam. But the bat he holds connected him to many Americans, who perhaps then decided that America should “get in the game.”
Some of this older propaganda had a humorous twist I think is too often missing from modern posters. It was more effective for that, I think.
The image of Sam at bat shows up in many places in the internet world, but most often stripped of its identifying links to Leyendecker. That does disservice to the art, to history, and to Leyendecker, who was one of our nation’s better illustrators for a very long time.
Visit the National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York.
More posters, almost random, found through Zemanta:
The most famous Uncle Sam recruiting poster, by James Montgomery Flagg (1917). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
James Montgomery Flagg 1917 poster: “Boys and girls! You can help your Uncle Sam win the war – save your quarters, buy War Savings Stamps” / James Montgomery Flagg . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
1 Comment | 1914-1918, Art, History, Posters, Propaganda, Uncle Sam, World War I | Tagged: 1914-1918, Art, History, J. C. Leyendecker, James Montgomery Flagg, Posters, Propaganda, Uncle Sam, World War I | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
June 17, 2012
Think American Institute. “We’re Fighting to Prevent This.” Rochester, New York: Kelly Read, 1943. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Both Republicans and Democrats might make a claim on this poster, today.
Propaganda for patriots, from World War II, from collections now held by the Library of Congress.
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
4 Comments | Fascism, Freedom - Political, History, History and art, History images, Labor and unions, Propaganda, U.S. Constitution, World War II | Tagged: Constitution, fascism, freedom, History, labor, Posters, Propaganda, World War II | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
January 6, 2012
That’s a safe bet — the bid at the moment at Heritage Auctions is at $450. How much is it worth?
Howard Chandler Christy poster from 1918, for the Third Liberty Loan to finance World War I - Heritage Auctions image
Heritage Auctions describes the poster:
World War I Propaganda Poster by Howard Chandler Christy (Forbes, 1918). Third Liberty Loan Poster (20″ X 30″) “Fight or Buy Bonds.” War.
Howard Chandler Christy was so good at illustrating iconic beautiful women in uniquely styled poster art, that they soon became known as “Christy Girls.” He used some of these images to sell war bonds during WW I. His lovely art was instrumental in raising countless millions for the war effort. An unrestored poster with good color and an overall very presentable appearance. It may have tears, pinholes, edge wear, wrinkling, slight paper loss, and minor stains. Please see full-color, enlargeable image below for more details. Rolled, Fine+.
Posters from the wars are great teaching tools. I tell my students to watch to see if their parents or grandparents have any of these old posters lying around. $450 would buy books for a semester at college.
Heritage Auctions plans to sell this poster, and many others, this coming Sunday, January 8.
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
2 Comments | 1914-1918, Art, Posters, Propaganda, World War I | Tagged: 1914-1918, Art, Heritage Auctions, Howard Chandler Christy, Posters, Propaganda, World War I | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
September 25, 2011
Great posters with provocative aphorisms came out of the Northland Poster Collective. Alas, Northland called it quits in 2010.
One of their best artists, Ricardo Levins Morales, continues the fight at his own site. Morales is the guy who made this work, on the importance of standardized student tests:
Testing, by Ricardo Levins Morales
Earlier I questioned whether Einstein actually said that. I don’t think he did — but I love the poster and the sentiment, all the same. I haven’t been able to verify the quote in Alice Calaprice’s The Ultimate Quotable Einstein, for example.
In my classroom the air conditioning often did not work last spring, at testing time. When we’d open the windows, we’d get visitors — usually bees, but birds on at least two occasions. The student in the picture has her priorities right.
The poster is just $10.95. Teachers, if a dozen of these appeared in your school, it might make a difference.
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
2 Comments | Art, Education, Politics, Posters, Testing | Tagged: Art, Education, Politics, Posters, Ricardo Levins Morales, Testing | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
August 28, 2011
No matter how much the Texas State Board of Education wishes to run away from America’s heritage, we can’t.
Nor should we want to.
Propaganda is not a bad word. There is bad propaganda, stuff that doesn’t work. There is propaganda for bad purposes, stuff that promotes bad policies, or evil. But good propaganda is stronger, long-lasting, often full of great artistic merit, and instructive.
Images of Uncle Sam provide clear pictures of what Americans were thinking, from the oldest versions to today.
This poster above is a World War I poster designed to convince Americans to get involved in the war effort. J. C. Leyendecker, a noted illustrator, casts Uncle Sam as a baseball player up to bat. The poster says simply, “Get in the game with Uncle Sam.” Perhaps uniquely, this poster showed Sam in yellow-striped pants, instead of the more traditional red-striped. Could an artist take such liberty today?
Nicolas Ricketts at the Strong Museum of National Play offered a good, concise description of the politics and history of the poster at the blog for the Museum:
Meanwhile, then-president Woodrow Wilson, who had won reelection in 1916 on an anti-war platform, faced the need for American participation in the terrible “Great War” raging in Europe. He and his cabinet knew that American involvement loomed. But how could the government convince the American public that this was necessary? One idea was to create a poster that urged Americans to metaphorically “Get in the Game,” along with their patriotic national symbol, Uncle Sam.
Artist J. C. Leyendecker (1874-1951) designed the poster, commissioned by the Publicity Committee of the Citizens Preparedness Association, a pro-war organization with federal support which also sponsored “preparedness parades” and other nationalistic activities. Leyendecker himself emigrated from Germany at age eight and was approaching the pinnacle of his career in 1917 when he created this work.
The poster just preceded James Montgomery Flagg’s famous “I Want You” image of Uncle Sam, which later became the best-known likeness of the country’s unofficial symbol. Leyendecker’s version, in spite of his baseball bat, is possibly less affable to contemporary eyes than Flagg’s friendlier Sam. But the bat he holds connected him to many Americans, who perhaps then decided that America should “get in the game.”
Some of this older propaganda had a humorous twist I think is too often missing from modern posters. It was more effective for that, I think.
The image of Sam at bat shows up in many places in the internet world, but most often stripped of its identifying links to Leyendecker. That does disservice to the art, to history, and to Leyendecker, who was one of our nation’s better illustrators for a very long time.
Visit the National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York.
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
2 Comments | 1914-1918, Art, History, Posters, Propaganda, Uncle Sam, World War I | Tagged: Art, History, J. C. Leyendecker, Posters, Propaganda, Uncle Sam, World War I | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
August 23, 2011
Not exactly a DDT/Malaria carnival. Just enough for a sideshow.
First, the controversy over use of DDT in Uganda continues, even as DDT is applied daily there. This demonstrates that DDT remains freely available for use in Africa. It also demonstrates that Africans are not clamoring for more DDT.
Uganda offers a key proving ground for the propaganda campaign against environmentalists, against scientist, against medical care officials, and for DDT. Though malaria plagues Uganda today and has done so for the past 200 years at least, it was not a target of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) campaign to eradicate malaria in the 1950s and 1960s, because the nation lacked the governmental structures to mount an effective campaign. DDT was used to temporarily knock down mosquito populations, so that medical care could be improved quickly and malaria cured among humans. Then, when the mosquitoes came roaring back as they always do with DDT, there would be no pool of the disease in humans from which the mosquitoes could get infected. End of malaria problem.
Plus, for a too-long period of time, Uganda was ruled by the brutal dictator Idi Amin. No serious anti-malaria campaigns could be conducted there, then.
Uganda today exports cotton and tobacco. Cotton and tobacco interests claim they cannot allow any DDT use, because, they claim, European Union rules would then require that the tobacco and cotton imports be banned from Europe. I can’t find any rules that require such a ban, and there are precious few incidents that suggest trace DDT residues would be a problem, but this idea contributes to the political turmoil in Uganda. Businessmen there sued to stop the use of even the small amounts of DDT used for indoor residual spraying (IRS) in modern campaigns. They lost. DDT use continues in Uganda, with no evidence that more DDT would help a whit.
Much of the anti-malaria campaign aimed at soldiers, to convince them to use Atabrine, a preventive drug, or to use nets, or just to stay covered up at night, to prevent mosquito bites. Mother Jones compilation of posters and photos.
Second, the website for Mother Jones magazine includes a wonderful 12-slide presentation on DDT in history. Malaria took out U.S. troops more effectively than the Japanese in some assaults in World War II. DDT appeared to be a truly great miracle when it was used on some South Pacific islands. Particularly interesting are the posters trying to get soldiers to help prevent the disease, some done by the World War II-ubiquitous Dr. Seuss. Good history, there. Warning: Portrayals of Japanese are racist by post-War standards.
Third, a new book takes a look at the modern campaigns against malaria, those that use tactics other than DDT. These campaigns have produced good results, leading some to hope for control of malaria, and leading Bill Gates, one of the biggest investors in anti-malaria campaigns, to kindle hopes of malaria eradication again. Here is the New York Times review of Alex Perry’s Lifeblood: How to Change the World One Dead Mosquito at a Time (PublicAffairs, $25.99). Perry is chief Africa correspondent for Time Magazine.
This little gem of a book heartens the reader by showing how eagerly an array of American billionaires, including Bill Gates and the New Jersey investor Ray Chambers (the book’s protagonist), are using concepts of efficient management to improve the rest of the world. “Lifeblood” nominally chronicles the global effort to eradicate malaria, but it is really about changes that Mr. Chambers, Mr. Gates and others are bringing to the chronically mismanaged system of foreign aid, especially in Africa.
These three snippets of reporting, snapshots of the worldwide war on malaria, all diverge dramatically from the usual false claims we see that, but for ‘environmentalist’s unholy and unjust war on DDT,’ millions or billions of African children could have been saved from death by malaria.
The real stories are more complex, less strident, and ultimately more hopeful.
Spread the word; friends don't allow friends to repeat history.
1 Comment | Africa, DDT, Geography - Physical, Health care, History, Posters, Propaganda, Science, World War II | Tagged: Africa, Bill Gates, DDT, Dr. Seuss, geography, Health care, History, Malaria, Posters, Propaganda, Ray Chambers, Science, Uganda, World War II | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell
Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 