God, Country & My Baby

"Why in hell," ask many Britons, "should we fight for the Germans?" This corner-pub view of the Berlin crisis is shared by an overwhelming majority, according to Britain's Gallup poll. Only one Englishman in eight believes that Berlin is worth a nuclear war; 81% put their faith in a summit meeting. Only 3% of all Britons think they have a good chance to live through all-out nuclear war. To the pollsters' loaded question, "Would you rather be Red than dead?", 31% plumped for Red, while 21% opted for nuclear war in preference to Communist subjugation; the other 48% refused to answer (in the U.S. 81% would fight).

If most adult Britons preferred not to talk about war, they could not stop Pop Singer Chico Holiday (real name: Ralph L. Veizolino) from wailing about it. On every jukebox last week was his blood-and-tears ballad:

They say we sail tonight

And we may have to fight

I want with all my might to stay,

But I'll go for God, country and my baby.

Reaching a new high of nonbelligerence, the BBC banned the song, explaining: "The sentiment in the lyrics reflects the somewhat hysterical attitude on the international situation which is said to be prevalent in America, but which is not shared in this country, and which in our view would be undesirable to encourage."

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