Copyright by Gregory Krauss 2007 - The University of Texas at Austin

Credibility
Throughout his career, those who knew Lister found him to be genuine. From
the Italian Socialists to the student groups he hosted in the State Department, Lister
was good at winning the confidence of people who were often skeptical about U.S.
foreign policy aims. Lister could be disarming at times. His pamphlet for Latin
Americans on U.S. foreign policy goals admits that the U.S. government is
“composed of human beings” who despite good motives sometimes make poor policy
judgments. 2
Lister’s emphasis on treating human rights violations objectively, regardless
of the political character of a regime, was another technique that won him credibility
both within the State Department and outside of it. His stance might seem
incongruent given that he was trained as a propagandist. Yet, Lister realized from
early in his career that truth was a potent tool against Communism. In 1956, Lister
encouraged the State Department to confront the Polish Ambassador to the United
Nations at a forum at the University of Colorado because he recognized that
Communist propaganda could not withstand reasoned scrutiny. Lister likewise knew
that the idea of human rights could be easily tarnished if used purely as political spin.
Lister’s insistence on treating human rights violations objectively was partly a
political tactic to enhance his own credibility and that of the human rights cause. But
it was also an expression of the way he genuinely felt, which was that all human
rights violations should be condemned. From the point of view of colleagues in the
131