What changed and stayed the same over 30 years (though maybe just an oscillation)

Disclaimer: The slogan at the bottom of the Timken Guide mentions “right to work”. Either this guide was not for employees, the way I thought it was, or I am very mistaken about the union situation in industrial plants in the Midwest during the 1960s. I would have assumed that that type of mantra wasn't part of the conversation among workers until much later. So, much of my analysis may well be slightly inaccurate. I had pictured the timken guide to have have been posted throughout the steel plants. In the break room. Next to the cigarette vending machine. Next to a circle saw. It would be dusty and faded.

DISCLAIMER #2: I’m realizing now that maybe the guy on the right is calling out the communist, and the communist is the guy on the left (Timken). In that case my argument is that this shows how the vision of communist had changed in 30 years. In Scot Ad, the Bolshevik was wearing a suit. Sure, everyone wore suits in the 30s. You would put on a suit and your hat to go out for a milkshake. But if the guy on the right is the decent hardworking American, his tie and buttoned shirt represent capitalism. He has a piece of paper in his hand. He is a workingman. The guy on the left is having a nice cup of coffee and a sandwich. He is freeloading. And this makes the reader annoyed. I WORK HARD AND YOU DARE TO BENEFIT. FREE MARKET INCENTIVES. RIGHT-TO-WORK WITHOUT UNION LEADERS TAKING AN INDULGENCE. GRRRRR. The guy on the left, the communist, has a scar. Probably because he is a criminal.

The “Spotting a communist” advertisement is a window into the late 60s. The “Is your washroom breeding Bolsheviks” ad is a window into the 30s. Both artifacts do not have modern equivalents, relevant to specifically communism. Though economics has been highly politicized, capitalism is the only economic option taken seriously in the modern world Some may say the red scare is alive and well: “Socialist” is a conservative battle call against the president. While that culture of accusation may be a legacy of the cold war, it is small. Economic politicization is the real legacy.

The inescapable similarity of the two artifacts, despite 30 years of time in between, reminds the modern reader of the Cold War's durable and pervasive role through fifty years of american history. For a frame of reference, think about the change in race relations from 1930 to 1970. Then look at the visual depictions of the two artifacts The cartoonists basically used the same stencil.  40 years worth of change in worker conditions, bargaining power, and societal developments apparently wasn’t enough to overshadow the somewhat constant nature of Russian- United States Relations. 

            The communist in the Timken Guide is wearing a tie and collar. He doesn’t belong among you decent blue collar folk. He is my grandpa- a “colonizer” sent from New York to interfere with the decent, Midwestern (“the most American region”) way of life.  The real American is just trying to eat his lunch, man.

            Due to differences in rhetorical situation, It’s no wonder that the Timken guide left out key points made in the military pamphlet that would inspire a wave of Timken-like guides. 1955 southern army base is more willing to listen to claims about them commies then a unionized, heavy industry, plant in the later 1960s. such claims missing in the Timken ad that were present in the original include: they talk about "McCarthyism," violation of civil rights, racial or religious discrimination, immigration laws, anti-subversive legislation, any legislation concerning labor unions, the military budget, and "peace." All of these issues were clearly more accepted by the later rhetorical situation.