ABSTRACT
The mobilisation of 1965 and 1966 reflected a development of new peace groups; the difference from the movement of the 1950s was marked. In the context of the Cold War, the activity was a significant rupture and can be taken as a marker of the end of the Cold War paralysis of public debate. The conundrums reveal something of the puzzling and transitional character of public debate in the second decade of the Cold War. Save Our Sons represented a distinctly genteel use of public space; its members wore blue and white sashes to identify their cause, and their language was that of a faith in liberal democracy and the piercing light of rational argument. Identifying the cause of Labor's defeat led to a flurry of political debate both inside and outside the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The differences illustrated the struggle within the ALP, and were taken as graphic proof of disunity.
