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Vantage Point, issue 2, May 20, 1945
Page 3
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VANTAGE POINT No - 2, May 20th, 1945 (combined with BILLINGSGATE) A narrow-minded, truculent and intolerant journal of opinion written by John Michel. Published out of pure spleen, spite, irritation, hatred and a desire for vengeance. Rejoinders, rebuttals, etc., to these pages are unwelcome, pointless and indecent. They may be visited by physical violence and certainly pursued to the uttermost ends of the earth for apprehension and delivery into the hands of the most thorough bunch of torturers this side of Torquemada. You have your warning.-------- TAKE THEM AWAY---SCREAMING Those among us who imagine that the amazing feats of the Soviet Union in the European war period have answered the intellectual quibblers and economic defenders of the faith owe themselves a second look. It is true that a good two thirds of our people have at last decided it is more than likely that the average Soviet citizens wears ignetsia is ready to admit that Stalin probably does not eat more than one baby for breakfast, for which latter fact they have the word of Mr. Eric Johnston. We cannot, of course regard this as a victory. These people are still looking at the Soviet Union through the small end of the telescope. They are very difficult to convince and it would not do at all to risk their non-cooperation in the coming brave new world. The key positions they hold, say a vital switch on the Chicago subway, or the editorship of the New York Times may be vitally important at some future date and we cannot rule out the possibility of their playing [morry?] hell with our vita vuova should a particle of doubt remain to trouble their minds. Unfortunately it is also true that the present antics of this particular section of the tribe genus boobus intellectualonsis, are giving rise to the likelihood of some unpleasant contretemps unless vigorous steps are immediately taken to remove the danger. To forestall these dismal possibilities and clear the postwar atmosphere of its remaining poison gas, I have decided to institute a Michel International Truth Medal, to be awarded to that person, who, during the preceding twelfthmonth has, in my opinion told the groatcst amount of truth about the Soviet Union and its people. The idea was conceived as an inducement only to that percentage of our thinking population who still persist in telling lies about it. The luckloss majoriy are ineligible to compete. For them, honesty has been the best policy for so long that they will have no buming desire to snap up the award which is to be carved from non-strategic materials and cannot be melted down to anything more negotiable than firewood. All this is the result of no quick decision and I have thought out the whole thing thoroughly. Having divorced the reward from anything resembling a cash honorarium, I have thus created the basis for a purely psychological approach to a problem that by its very nature will be enormously attractive to intractible intellectuals. In this my friends will recognize the uncanny cleverness of the entire conception and I cannot be blamed as a snob for correctly appraising the fact that it is precisely the difficulty of winning the MITM that will provide the greatest spur to thos fortunate accustomed to hard brain work. Possibly I have underestimated the difficulties of the case. But on the face of it, the problem seems so simple. It is to tell the truth.
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VANTAGE POINT No - 2, May 20th, 1945 (combined with BILLINGSGATE) A narrow-minded, truculent and intolerant journal of opinion written by John Michel. Published out of pure spleen, spite, irritation, hatred and a desire for vengeance. Rejoinders, rebuttals, etc., to these pages are unwelcome, pointless and indecent. They may be visited by physical violence and certainly pursued to the uttermost ends of the earth for apprehension and delivery into the hands of the most thorough bunch of torturers this side of Torquemada. You have your warning.-------- TAKE THEM AWAY---SCREAMING Those among us who imagine that the amazing feats of the Soviet Union in the European war period have answered the intellectual quibblers and economic defenders of the faith owe themselves a second look. It is true that a good two thirds of our people have at last decided it is more than likely that the average Soviet citizens wears ignetsia is ready to admit that Stalin probably does not eat more than one baby for breakfast, for which latter fact they have the word of Mr. Eric Johnston. We cannot, of course regard this as a victory. These people are still looking at the Soviet Union through the small end of the telescope. They are very difficult to convince and it would not do at all to risk their non-cooperation in the coming brave new world. The key positions they hold, say a vital switch on the Chicago subway, or the editorship of the New York Times may be vitally important at some future date and we cannot rule out the possibility of their playing [morry?] hell with our vita vuova should a particle of doubt remain to trouble their minds. Unfortunately it is also true that the present antics of this particular section of the tribe genus boobus intellectualonsis, are giving rise to the likelihood of some unpleasant contretemps unless vigorous steps are immediately taken to remove the danger. To forestall these dismal possibilities and clear the postwar atmosphere of its remaining poison gas, I have decided to institute a Michel International Truth Medal, to be awarded to that person, who, during the preceding twelfthmonth has, in my opinion told the groatcst amount of truth about the Soviet Union and its people. The idea was conceived as an inducement only to that percentage of our thinking population who still persist in telling lies about it. The luckloss majoriy are ineligible to compete. For them, honesty has been the best policy for so long that they will have no buming desire to snap up the award which is to be carved from non-strategic materials and cannot be melted down to anything more negotiable than firewood. All this is the result of no quick decision and I have thought out the whole thing thoroughly. Having divorced the reward from anything resembling a cash honorarium, I have thus created the basis for a purely psychological approach to a problem that by its very nature will be enormously attractive to intractible intellectuals. In this my friends will recognize the uncanny cleverness of the entire conception and I cannot be blamed as a snob for correctly appraising the fact that it is precisely the difficulty of winning the MITM that will provide the greatest spur to thos fortunate accustomed to hard brain work. Possibly I have underestimated the difficulties of the case. But on the face of it, the problem seems so simple. It is to tell the truth.
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