their primary
functions was to champion the feelings of "fraternal love, trust, and
gratitude" of the Bulgarian people for the "heroic Soviet people," at
the same time demonstrating "clearly and convincingly the unbreakable
ties linking our present and future with the present and future of the
Soviet Union."

A second common theme of the current media deals with the continuing
struggle between so-called bourgeois capitalism and socialism. The
people are, on the one hand, warned of the invidiousness of capitalistic
methods--"The veiled methods of ideological struggle applied on an even
broader scale by contemporary imperialism requires greater vigilance
from us...." On the other hand they are assured that socialism will
ultimately prevail--"their [socialist] ideas make their way with
insuperable force into the minds and hearts of working people all over
the world, gain more and more new adherents, and become a powerful
factor of social progress."

Another dichotomy that the media pose as a continuing theme is that of
religion versus socialism. Bulgarian writers triumphantly proclaim that
"religion as a component of the sociological structure of society for
thousands of years gradually withers away at an even faster pace
throughout the transition from capitalism to communism." Since one of
the major aims of the government is to eliminate religious sentiment
among the people, the public is from time to time assured
that--according to the latest survey--only 35.5 percent of the
population is considered religious or that the "Bulgarian people is one
of the least religious in the world."

Another divisive force that is frequently posed by the media is national
patriotism versus proletarian internationalism. Although
internationalism is viewed as predominant, citizens are warned against
feelings of bourgeois nationalism, since the "unity between
internationalism and patriotism is of a relative character, and there is
always the real possibility of dissension between them; they may even be
placed into a position of mutual opposition." Somehow the conflict,
according to the journal _Filosofska Misal_, is perceived as being
resolved through a higher form of patriotism that is inextricably linked
with love of the Soviet Union. Socialist patriotism is seen as a
"qualitatively new, higher form of patriotism" as expressed in "love and
gratitude toward the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of the Soviet
Union organically linked