THE BLACKLIST – IT CAN HAPPEN HERE

In the early 1950s, this country went through a crisis that seriously threatened the constitutional rights of American citizens as nothing had since our founding in 1776. It was the era of McCarthyism – a period of anti-Communist  fervor that did more damage to our Democracy than the Communists ever did. Subsequent investigations, and even the recent release of the files and records of the Communist Party of the USA, showed that while American Communists had ambitious dreams of conquering America from within, they completely overestimated their visions, and underestimated the strength and power of American Democracy. American Communists did virtually no damage other than sound and fury. This, however, was not true of the anti-communist zealotry that produced McCarthyism and that ultimate disgrace of our democracy – the blacklist of radio, motion picture and television writers and performers.

I write of this  for two reasons – the parallel we now face in fear-mongering as a political tool, which drove the anti-Communist hysteria, and the fact that I was there. As a young radio and television writer, and a member of the boards of directors of both the Radio Writers’ Guild and Television Writers of America, I was deeply immersed in the activities of the time. While I was personally appalled by what was happening, I was never seriously attacked because I had never been a Communist, nor, in fact, a communist sympathizer. I was, though – and still am – a proud supporter of fairness, Democracy, and the U.S. Constitution.

The story of the blacklist is beautifully – and objectively – chronicled in Shadow of Red: Communism and the Blacklist in Radio and Television, a new book by David Everitt, reviewed in full on The Marcus Letter. A fascinating story, meticulously told by Everitt, a noted author and journalist.

And why is this of significance to this blog and The Marcus Letter?  Because it concerns all Americans, and lawyers – the guardians of our constitution. Because it’s a lesson in mass communication and mass hysteria.  And most of all, it’s a warning about the use of fear-mongering as a political device. As Ed Murrow put it – see it now.