"Father Coughlin had a voice like honey, but his message was pure evil," Rodger Streimatter in "Mightier that the Sword."
Among many historical episodes in which media play a very important role, Roger Streitmatter cites Father Coughlin and his Anti-Semitism message that “Jews were evil, money-hungry conspirators who had infiltrated American life and were destroying every value that Christian people held sacred”. I chose this chapter because radio became a powerful tool to reach the masses and drive changes; however, instead of fulfilling its democratic role, it was used by Father Coughlin to spread Anti-Semitism and violence.
Father Coughlin in Action
(by Candour Magazine on YouTube)
Looking forward to spread “the word” with his innovative means, Father Coughlin, who was assigned to be a pastor of a new church in the suburb of Detroit, approached Detroit radio station WJR and asked to broadcast a weekly sermon based on the news events. Initially, he attacked economic matters; then, he jumped to politics. As his voice was captivating, people would gather around the radio and listen to the words of the man of God.
His attacks caused authorities to doubt of his tactics and CBS to refuse to renew his contract in order to avoid trouble. After complaining about his freedom being violated, Father Coughlin founded the National Union of Social Justice, and later on his weekly tabloid called Social Justice that printed scripts of his broadcasts. In both air waves and tabloid, he would establish his Anti-Semitist feeling through stereotypes and insinuation. He even accused Jews of being the in a global conspiracy to ensure communism; then, he argued that Jewish bankers plotted and financed the Revolution in 1917.
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| http://archives.lib.cua.edu/education/politics/1936-chided.cfm |
After those accusations, many Catholics leaders renounced him and the Cardinal George Mundelein of Chicago said that Father Coughlin was welcome to express his opinions; however, he was not authorized to speak for the Catholic Church or represent the doctrines and sentiments of the Church.
As a response to that, Father Coughlin took a very shocking step; he started advocating violence as a response to the social ills that had been instigated by the Jews. Coughlin critics formed the Friends of Democracy to remove the priest from the air, and several large radio stations refused to air his broadcast. As it wasn’t economic feasible to continue broadcasting, he retired.
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| Father Coughlin in action. http://www.ssa.gov/history/fcspeech.html |
Social Justice continued to attack the Jews saying they were the cause of World War II. As people like Father Coughlin were no longer tolerated, officials stepped up and took direct action to quiet him; they seized his paper and nosiness records. However, it was needed more than that to silence Father Coughlin’s thoughts. Authorities of the Catholic Church had to order him to choose between ceasing all his non-religious activities or be expelled from his religious duties. That was when he disappeared from public’s eyes.
This chapter not only shows us how powerful words can be when reached the masses but also how radio is a very important part of spreading the word and propelling changes, in Streitmatter’s words, “not necessarily by appealing to the best in human nature.”
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