Another Letter To Smartfiles

Dear Readers:  Last week, on my May 29th article "A Letter to Smartfiles", the lady herself sent me a long commentary which (as it often does!) elicited so long a response from myself that, once again, I'm packaging it as a column.  I almost missed it in all my hectic attempts to put together my new Facebook account.  As usual, she presented a combination of relevant facts and speculations, old and new, which set me to thinking.

Dear Smartfiles:

I can't believe I missed your post until now!  I just added on a Facebook account and I'm still exploring its potentials.  In the process, I've added on a list of old friends; military, political and other child advocates.  God, am I busy!

I need to apologize here for not getting out that Ryan Simpkins article this month as I'd planned.  Information on her has proven surprisingly hard to come by.

[Note to new readers:  Ryan Simpkins is an 11 year old child film actress whose resume, since 2006, has consisted of seven straight R-rated films... a record that would even make Dakota Fanning blush!  I intended to start off a new series of articles entitled "Exploited Child Actor Of The Month" here in June.]

For example:  I still know nothing of her parents... not even their names!  As Jackie Cooper once said (in regard to this very topic), "First, tell me the composition of their family."  One has to seriously know about them to properly analyze why they consented to putting their own little girl in such situations.  I also need to find out more about the "track records" of Abrams Artists (the Simpkins' agency) and Sinclair Management.  I've heard of both these New York based firms before, courtesy of Janet P.'s input, but nothing in depth as yet.  I probably won't like what I find!

In fact, I was just commenting to Janet (she and Paul Petersen are associated in "A Minor Consideration's" new Facebook site) about their involvement in the DVD series "An Actor's Journey For Kids".  I recommend it highly, by the way.  I also mentioned to her that all prospective stage parents should supplement it with that outstanding A & E documentary on child actors; the same one that you referred to, as it so happens.  I saw it twice when it aired about two years ago.  No single visual source I know of is as educational as to the personal side of the business.  And I remember very well Bill Mumy's comments and the segment where his wife and their daughter Liliana were spending a day on-set.  They proved how informed and diligent parents can still make it happen- even today- without compromising their acting child in degrading situations.

Of course, there's that downside you mentioned.  Liliana proved herself as an actress in "Cheaper By The Dozen" and the "Santa Clause" movies.  Also, now at age 16, she's no longer just a female reflection of her father at the same age (electric orange hair and freckles!) but has grown into a very lovely young lady.  So why, indeed, is she not being much sought after, given that and her proven ability?  It's because her father- himself once the top child star in pictures and TV- knew the "ropes" and the hazards of "growing up Hollywood"... even in the more civilized era of the late '50s and early '60s.  Unlike other stage parents, he remained more concerned for his daughter's life than her career. 

[BTW:  Did you note Mumy's story about Alfred Hitchcock?  Classic!]

You also touched on another theme of mine when referencing Jodie Foster.  Indeed, I've often placed the true beginnings of of the child pornification trend in Hollywood to "Taxi Driver".  In fact, it was Dakota Fanning's own words (pre-"Hounddog") that led me to revisit that film and appreciate its significance.

Note the similarities between the two actresses and their defining films.  In 1976, Jodie Foster was a very popular child star, noted for her alleged precociousness, but with many good family films (Disney, in her case) to her credit.  But she was also then 12 years old, newly pubescent, and therefore in that most "uncertain" part of her career.  She was also growing up in the new Valenti Era of Hollywood.  Many of the once strict guidelines of decency (that Bill Mumy knew) had already faded. 

Even so, casting an ACTUAL child in such a role as her's was a big groundbreaker.  Only someone as odious as Martin Scorsese would have attempted it.  No one before would have thought of taking a popular child star and using her as a prostitute in an R-rated production of the sleaziest order.  In fact, even ten years earlier, he would have been thrown in jail for it.  But profits outweighed such "minor considerations" as decency of the most basic form.  And it worked!  Pundits still call it a "classic movie".  Thereby, it served to legitimize the use of little girls as sex objects and their employment in R-rated films.  Thus, too, did "Taxi Driver" provide leverage for casting directors in recruiting the daughters of ambitious stage parents.

Is it any wonder, then, that Dakota was citing Jodie Foster as her "role model" months before her own "groundbreaking event"?  Despite the fact that they'd never even met?  Who put that into her head, hmmmm?  Can anyone reasonably doubt that her own handlers did so... as a vital part of her "conditioning process"?

You can't just tell a child to perform in perverse sexual scenes- in defiance of their every natural inclination- without first twisting their sense of right and wrong.  Certainly not at the age of 12!  How Jodie herself was made compliant is a story that needs to be told.  But what can't be denied is that her example, in turn, was used 30 years later to influence another 12 year old girl.  And that influence made possible the achievement of the next level of cinematic depravity; actual child porn itself.  "Taxi Driver" was, indeed, the illegitimate father of "Hounddog".

Note, too, that quote of Foster's that you mentioned.  "I knew I wasn't REALLY a prostitute... etc."  Of course she didn't.  But she had to understand the concept and reality of child prostitutes in order to effect the role and, being a child at the time, virtually live it in her mind.  Likewise, Dakota Fanning issued a similar, scripted line for interviewers in regard to her Lewellen role when the storm over "Hounddog" erupted.  It was, also, equally duplicitous and for the same reasons.

Both were very popular kids, both had been marketed extensively as "precocious little adults" (but none- ever- so much as Dakota has) and both were pandered off at a soulshakingly early age into a sex-driven performance, the like of which was unprecedented, to effect an adult career.  And both dutifully repeated the lies they were told by their exploiters to say.  What does it further do to little girls- after making a movie of sex and violence and, resultingly, sacrificing their clean image with their supporters- to be led to tell public falsehoods?  And those falsehoods (as they must have dimly suspected) were not only aimed at justifiying their obscene enactments, but mainly at protecting their exploiters from criticism and possible prosecution.

And just when, in unconscious self-defense, do they begin to believe it themselves?

Bill Mumy and his wife apparently understand this.  One compromise, for a child's career's sake, only leads to another... and another.  It's a story older than Hollywood itself.  But now, since "Hounddog", nearly all moral constraints are off the table in the Film Industry.  And, as a VERY experienced child star himself, Mumy knows how a child's developing character is affected by such unnatural surroundings, even under the best of circumstances.

[Note:  I wrote this complete column several days BEFORE the untimely death of Michael Jackson!]

And "Hounddog" is, to date, the worst of those circumstances given form.  One can readily look to Jodie Foster's life after "Taxi Driver" as a harbinger for Dakota Fanning's future.  In addition:  Dakota been well-guarded ever since 2006.  Her once spontaneous, light-hearted interactions with her fans have largely receded into history.  She's since become the junior member of a new, Kristen Stewart led "brat pack" and has been spotted in Hollywood clubs where she could not legally go.  She dresses in chic jeans and pumps like a prowling, upper class prostitute; an image at incredible odds with that of the Clean-Teen-Schoolgirl-Cheerleader her handlers try to project- itself a continuation of the equally false cookie selling Girl Scout ploy of earlier days.

She has, in fact, become an pathetic, underage Hollywood sex object and is (consciously or not, as with Jodie Foster) living the role that was imposed on her by her handlers.  It's really been that way since 2006.  And now, with the upcoming "Runaways" film, she'll be living her most exploitive role since "Hounddog".  If she's called upon to GRAPHICALLY portray the life of 15 year old rocker Cherie Curry (whom she's been seen palling around with) just low low will that portrayal get?  What's the bottom rung for the girl who's been Hollywood's youngest ever screen tramp for the last 3 years?

Every day I turn on my computer and view the AOL news flashes, I expect to see what must inevitably occur.  A stalker incident.  Public misbehavior.  An arrest.  Sex, drugs, alcohol... it's all coming.  The pattern has already become well established in Tinseltown. 

But the worst part is that Dakota's story, piled on that of Jodie Foster's, will itself serve as the foundation for the even grosser exploitation of other children.  In fact, it already has!  And the youth audience, many still knowing Dakota only from "Charlotte's Web" and largely ignorant of "Hounddog", will themselves have to struggle with THEIR concepts of right and wrong as a result. 

Like I've said so often over the past three years, "Depravity- unchecked- only leads to more and greater depravity."  And, tragically, that depravity ranges far beyond Dakota's doorstep and the borders of Hollywood... right to our own doorsteps.                    

Selective Enforcement... And The Road To Perversity

Dear Readers:

I just received an email today from a local acquaintance and fellow activist alerting me to a new development here in Houston.  Leo Velasquez, Harris County Tax Assessor/Collector and a Republican, has been the target of a hearsay campaign alleging that he and others of his staff had been suppressing or eliminating from the voter lists eligible voters.  (It is part of the Tax Office's duties to maintain this list in proper form.)  Democrats habitually seek to keep as many of their reliable voters, regardless of eligibility, on the rolls as possible.  As this often involves convicted felons, illegal immigrants or the geriatric victims of dementia, diligence in this duty works against them.  Also; Mr. Velasquez is newly arrived at his post and is therefore considered politically vulnerable.  Noticeably, the media's editorials were spurred by "leaks" from the new County Attorney (a Democrat) who failed to find any wrongdoing through investigation.

This is becoming an old story nationwide.  It illustrates well how vulnerable we've all become with regard to corrupt legal officials and their liberal media allies as they put politics ahead of civic responsibility.  It's also a condition that carries out into a broad spectrum of society.  From my studies in child protection, I've developed a viewpoint on this that touches on other troubling aspects of juristic corruption.

Dear Stan:

Mr. Velasquez has it right on a number of things in his statement.  Most pressing, in my opinion, is the issue of selective enforcement of the law.  In my dealings with political, social and/or children's issues over the past three years, I've come to recognize just how prevalent this has become in present times.  Entrenched special interests (like Hollywood, for example) can create legal safe havens for themselves by making themselves the centerpiece of a local economy.  In so doing, they win the support of Chambers of Commerce, local government and, correspondingly, that of District Attorneys.  This has implications that extend well beyond political infighting.

Here's a prime example with which I'm well familiar.  Bear with me on this.

In the entertainment field's case, this legalized corruption extends well beyond the known haunts of Hollywood, Las Vegas and New York... something that few realize.  When the State of North Carolina passed its 15% rebate policy on movie production costs, they spurred the development of their state as the third largest moviemaker in the country.  That led to one of the biggest studio complexes outside Hollywood being built (and still expanding) in Wilmington- Screen Gems Studios.

The untold downside, though, was that Screen Gems also catered to those most likely to take advantage of the rebate.  The sorriest of independent producers, in particular.  Thus, some of the worst and filthiest films made in America were and are being made there.  This reached its acme with the production of "Hounddog" in 2006- the first known domestic film to (as I say) "break the childporn barrier".

This happened in spite of numerous and (apparently) explicit child labor and protection laws.  Yet, the local D.A.'s refused to prosecute, despite nationwide protests.  Nor would the State Attorney General (Roy Cooper, of Duke lacrosse infamy) step in.  Hollywood had become too big to challenge... and politician lawyers tend to think of themselves first!  This; even when local children are being recruited into R-rated productions of the lowest order.

My researches, based largely on the culture's depravity with children, also re-emphasized a stark, basic truth about the legal system that should never be forgotten.  The law is only as good as the willingness of legal authority to enforce it.  Lacking that, laws are no more than ink stains on cheap paper.  Worthless.  If prosecutors can ignore their duty for their careers' sake- even when children are being hideously exploited within their own jurisdictions in defiance of all law and decency- what else can they ignore?  What other breaches of duty can they commit in the pursuit of personal and political goals?  Just about anything, you say?  Exactly!

And that's where we've come to.  We are now a country of men, not laws... the exact opposite of where any free and decent nation should be to reliably maintain a free and decent status.  When our own children can be reduced to the throwaway tools of adult agendas, then no one is safe.  Not Mr. Velasquez, not you or I, not our own kids.  All honor is vanquished.  No one without special influence in "the right circles" can expect the Justice Before God that this nation was specifically established to protect.  Thereby do we straggle down the road to the twin shantytowns of Tyranny and Depravity, the Shining City lost to sight.

BTW:  THIS is why I'm so bitterly opposed to HB873 and SB605; the proposed state rebate for filmmakers in Texas.  It corrupted North Carolina in the most terrible way possible.  Hollywood must not find another safe haven for perversity with children in our state.

Steven Mark Pilling     

Hold, Christian Soldiers

Dear Readers:  I wrote this today in response to an article on Xanga's "Theologian's Cafe" entitled "Praying The Will Of God".  In it, the author describes the travails of a Christian girl who prays for protection, but is nevertheless raped by criminals and then abused and abandoned by her husband.  If God exists, then why did He not answer her prayers and protect her?  My reply follows.

Dear Dan:

You're forwarding the classic dilemma of moralists; the question of "Why does God let bad things happen to good people?".  Unsurprisingly, it's also the central argument that atheists use to convince the unchurched to their unholy beliefs.  I'm not a pastor or a theologian myself, so I'll just tell you what I think.

First off, God is not evil or the author of evil.  But He IS the Creator of the universe.  And the universe is not here- anymore than we are- by a vague whim of God or by sheer chance in an amorphous Nature.  It is there for a purpose and it is working for a greater, unknowable Purpose.  As God's creatures- and blessed by Him with intelligence and a small understanding of His existance and purpose- we are part of His plan. 

And the Universe is a working whole; constantly changing and adapting to conditions that ultimately affect its entirety.  In that respect, Mankind reflects Creation in a small way.  Like stars, we are born (some stillborn, as stars are) we live a brief, allotted span and fade away, leaving our material substance behind from which new entites arise.  Dust to dust.

The difference is that people are self-aware and are granted, by the Grace of God, free will (within the greater parameters of God's Plan) over our own lives and destinies.  That is the lesson of the story of Adam and Eve.  When we seized that ability to define right and wrong- the "forbidden" knowledge- we assumed that power over our lives... and the consequences of its misuse.  Thus, the loss of earthly paradise.

But, also like the greater Cosmos, every person affects the other toward a greater, God-ordained destiny.  And that path can be a violent and tragic one.  Our individual lives are as atoms in an unimaginably vast ocean of Eternity; each affecting the others before dispersing.  But those atoms endure- as our souls do- in the skies of Heaven when our earthly span is done.

It doesn't matter how long that span is or how difficult it may be.  Everything we or the universe around us does or experiences works to a greater good.  We all affect our fellows by our triumphs and tragedies.  Even that stillborn child touches the lives of others and influences the future course of THEIR lives, the process compounding over time and through succeeding generations.  But we, as self-aware beings, are expected to face tragedy and, with faith in our Creator and his Promise for us at the end of our short, material existance, persevere for that greater legacy.

It's difficult to console the victim of tragedy in such a manner.  We all tend to place ourselves at the center of the universe.  But we're not.  God is.  That is why His Word and our faith in Him is so important.  That's why Jesus was sent to us when and as He was, to fulfil God's Message to us as Mankind emerged from the era of wandering tribes into that of world-spanning civilization.  That is why we must retain that Faith in our darkest hours... for the sake of our fellows as well as for we ourselves. 

No man is an island.  All of us carry a sacred mission and trust from our Creator.  Like good soldiers, we're expected to carry on with our mission, despite personal wounds and casualties among our ranks.

For we ARE as soldiers in a mighty, universe-spanning Crusade.  And God is our Commander in Chief.  Somewhere, on a metaphorical cosmic battle map, is a position marked "Earth/Humanity".  And our standing orders are the same as any soldier's are on the front lines.  "Hold... until relieved."

So HOLD, Christian soldiers.  We are not forgotten.  And our travails will not go unrewarded when we "rotate" back to Paradise, our mission accomplished.

Steven Mark Pilling

The Devil At The Door: Hollywood Invades America?

Dear Readers:  A couple of days ago, I received a nice message from a fellow Xangan in response to my recent article "Jon & Kate + 80,000,000".  Her comments were not only heartfelt, but were also typical of many others I've seen elsewhere.  In reading it over, I recalled (in greater detail) many of Paul Petersen's revelations on the issue which had helped inspire that column.  But, in the process of typing out what I thought would be a short reply, something struck me.  These incidents of child exploitation that I, Paul and so many others have been dealing with are not just isolated events.  All are manifestations of a common trend in the pop culture.  And that trend, if extrapolated upon as a single entity (and if history is any guide) is liable to coalesce its various threads into something truly monstrous.  What does it all portend for the future, given all that has happened in this decade alone?  My own speculations came to horrify me as, in the process of writing my message, it turned into the essay I hereby present.

Dear Elizabeth:

I've seen a number of comments that reflect what you're saying, from posters and reviewers alike.  Having these film crews in residence became a burden for the Gosselin kids a long time ago... after the initial novelty and thrill wore off.  Then they slowly went from passive guests to a dominating presence, as "Jon & Kate" evolved from a documentary into a high-pressure, scripted TV series in order to "keep the action going".  When you look at it from the professional's standpoint, that was virtually inevitable.  But their actors... weren't actors.  Therefore, they had to be morphed into actors along the way.  That's where the troubles began in the family's personal lives.

As Paul pointed out in his columns, The Learning Channel may have incurred "potential" legal difficulties as well.  If the Gosselin children can now be considered "actors" under the relevant child labor laws (which Paul knows well!) then it's possible that the producers of "Jon & Kate + 8" can be held liable for violations.  But only "possible".  The overworking of actual child actors is a long standing feature of the entertainment field.  (The "Hounddog" case, with all its other disgusting factos, included this element as well!) It was in another controversial TV documentary, "Kid Nation", where the legal dodge of using real kids as, essentially, acting "non-actors", was first tried on a large scale.  Like the "Hounddog" movie, "Kid Nation" failed... but both achieved notoriety and, importantly, were never seriously investigated for their abuses and NEVER prosecuted.

That's a key element in the Industy's "advances" into child exploitation in any form.  Their initial forays may fail financially, but their not being held accountable is what kicks open the door for more attempts and encourages them among amoral producers.  Whether it's the savage sexual exploitation of child actors to the point of pornography ("Hounddog"), the physical exploitation of non-registered children in an isolated setting ("Kid Nation") or, now, a "reality series" that exploits a whole family, children and all, by controlling them in thier own home ("Jon & Kate + 8"); the fact that they can get away with this is what the producers notice.  It spurs others to make their own attempts that will, this time, "get it right".

That's why all these series and films are important.  Each one has, in its own way, broken a barrier of decency in the pursuit of profits.  And, in each, the appeal of children was used as the prime selling point by those filmmakers with a callous disregard of those children's sensibilities.

Naturally, "Hounddog" remains the worst by far, due to its relentless obscenity in content and concept.  (It should be remembered that, aside from Dakota Fanning, the other underage actors in that film had been locally recruited for it as their first film.)  They, however, were still considered "actors" in the legal sense; despite the hideous (and IL-legal) mental and physical abuses they were subjected to.  Being recognized as actors didn't do them much good, protection-wise! 

"Kid Nation" and "Jon & Kate" served to muddy the legal waters as to just what, exactly, IS a child actor vs. a "participant".  Although neither involved sexual exploitation, both took their projects into the realm of pressuring children with concepts and responsibilities that children, by nature, are ill-equipped to handle.

Taken together, we see the two modern concepts of Hollywood (as per children) in play:  "Children are little adults" and (malevolently), "Children are sexual beings".  And- again- all three of these examples I've mentioned (along with many more besides) have more or less followed these grim guidelines.  Not always with financial success.  But ALWAYS without serious legal penalty.

NOW... given this, what happens when some "bright" producer/director/writer (like "Houndog's" notorious Deborah Kampmeier?) decides to combine all these facets in a big way to see if it "works"?  How about something like this:  "Molester House"; where real life kids who've been sexually abused are collected to tell their stories?  They can be put together in a home to fend for themselves (while "guided" by the production staff off-camera) to work out their traumas (with other kids... or on them!) in the process.  That such a scenario would only heighten those traumas, expose them to public degradation and lead to even worse traumas as a result- with consequences extending into adulthood- would mean little to such producers.  They would merely be adding that needed element of pathos.

And besides (and as all pornographers traditionally claim) it would "raise awareness of the issue"!  Thus, they can present stark depravity while wrapping themselves in a false cloak of righteousness... and thereby discouraging any "over-zealous" prosecutor.  It works, too.  Ask Deborah Kampmeier herself! 

That would all likely collect an audience of Oprah-style handwringers (who "care", but are clueless of the moralk strictures involved and thereby do nothing) and, of course, the pedophiles themselves- both in and out of prison.  As always, if it's made cheaply enough and filthy enough, it'll attract an audience and stand to profit.  And, given the level of depravity to which even broadcast TV has sunk (much less satellite and cable!) would this be out of bounds?  Consider what you see children enacting in any given episode of "Law & Order: SVU".

The modern denizens of the entertainment field will do whatever seems to work, uninhibited by any natural moral concerns toward children.  They have proven this constantly over time.  Unrestrained by law and custom, seeking new areas for profits with a singleminded relentlessness and buoyed by their predecessors' successes in corrupting parents and evading responsibility, they have effectively reduced children to the status of brainwashed tools of their ambitions.

That's why I pursue this subject so frequently and will continue to.  The cinematic abuses of children have gone beyond "just" those of child stars.  They've also gone beyond the corruption of elected officials, of stage parents and of the evil influence they exert on the young followers of those child actors throuogh their images.  They're now recruiting our OWN children and ourselves as direct participants- even into our very homes- with the lure of fame and fortune as their "carrot".  And they get away with it.  EVERY zip code has become that of Hollywood.

The idea of these "advances" in the child acting field being combined into my hypothetical "Molester House" is not beyond the pale.  That... and more.  This is the point.  NOTHING is truly beyond the pale anymore.  When any child can be recruited, corrupted, degraded and exploited to virtually any degree- with little or no penalty to the "savvy" producer- then the last barriers have been effectively abolished.  And so, as a consequence, has the sanctity of childhood.  No American child in the 21st Century is now safe from Hollywood's depredations; indirectly or DIRECTLY.

Parents who love their kids had better get wise to this... and fast!  Ronald Reagan once famously said, "The most chilling words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help."!  Perhaps even worse, in this our present day, would be the appearance -at the doorstep of some struggling family- of a tall, spaced out redhead in a serape (like Kampmeier!) who eyes the clustered children and smugly proclaims, "Hi.  I'm from Hollywood... and I'm here to help."  Only an informed and strongly moral household will be liable to recognize the Devil at the Door- and send her packing.     

Faith Of Our Fathers: Part 3

Dear Readers: 

I had intended to post this yesterday, on the 65th anniversary of the Normandy Invasion.  Unfortunately (and as so often!) personal matters intruded.  What I present here is among the most moving appeals to God ever spoken by a Head of State, to and in behalf of his nation in a time of war.

Within a 24 hour period in early June, 1944, two mighty events had occurred in the greatest war in human history.  After a long, hard campaign, Rome had fallen to the combined Anglo-American armies and Italy had surrendered.  Then, to the north, the long-awaited assault on Germany's vaunted "Fortress Europe" was launched; an armada of 7,000 ships carrying 150,000 fighting men- American, British, Canadian and Free French- in the greatest military operation of all time.

Even as President Franklin D. Roosevelt sat down to deliver this historic broadcast on the evening of June 6th, the issue was still in doubt.  Powerful German armored and artillery units still threatened the beachheads.  Scattered American paratroopers on the Cotentin Peninsula were still savagely fighting for survival without relief.  On Omaha Beach, the bodies of hundreds of American soldiers still littered the shore, their blood dyeing the sands and the waters a vivid crimson that could be seen from the supporting ships.

Yet, the latest reports were carrying an increasingly positive note.  Much had gone wrong, but a lot more hadn't.  While nearly 3,000 men had given their lives on that first day, pre-invasion projections had predicted higher.  Much higher, in fact.  And, while the troops had not progressed far inland from the beaches, they had apparently achieved a semi-stable "toehold" on the mainland of France.

On that basis- and as cognizant as ever of the huge consequences of either success or failure- FDR offered these words to a breathless nation.

ROOSEVELT'S D-DAY PRAYER

My Fellow Americans:

Last night, when I spoke to you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that the troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation.  It has come to pass with success thus far.  And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer.

Almighty God:

Our sons, the pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor- a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.  Lead them straight and true.  Give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.

They will need Thy blessings.  Their road will be long and hard, for the enemy is strong.  He may hurl back our forces.  Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again.  And we know that by Thy Grace and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will prevail.

They will be sore tried by day and night without rest... until victory is won.  The darkness will be rent by noise and flame.  Men's souls will be shaken by the violences of war.

For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace.  They fight not for the lust of conquest.  They fight to liberate.  They fight to let justice arise and tolerance and goodwill among all Thy people.  They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.  Some will never return.  Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy Kingdom.

And for us at home- fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters and brothers of brave men overseas, whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them- help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.

Many people have urged that I call the nation to a single day of special prayer.  But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves to a continuance of prayer.  As we rise to each new day and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.  Give us strength, too- strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our Armed Forces.  And let our hearts be stout to wait out the long travail, to bear the sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.

And, O Lord, give us faith.  Give us faith in Thee, faith in our sons, faith in each other, faith in our united Crusade.  Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled.  Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment... let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.

With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy.  Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogances.  Lead us to the saving of our country and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace; a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men.  And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just reward of their honest toil.

Thy Will be done, Almighty God.  Amen

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt; June 6, 1944.