American communism then and now. That ought to be the big story and yet it appears nowhere in the media.
Simply this…once upon a time in America, during the 1950s, you would not become mayor of New York City IF YOU WERE A COMMUNIST. You would be in JAIL.
Back then, during the McCarthy era, you would be blacklisted if you were suspected of being a communist.
Today, it’s cool, right?
So it is up to me to break the news, and the commentary?
I haven’t the patience or the time or the strength to take this on, and at this time in my life I’d rather read than write; better yet, watch movies.
Speaking of which, “Cast a Giant Shadow," showed up on YouTube and I watched it again for the 10th time, over the years, and it always gets me.
The story of Israel’s founding, starring Kirk Douglas.
Then Paul Newman in “Exodus." Leon Uris wrote the book, Dalton Trumbo wrote the screenplay, directed by Otto Preminger.
This was America during the Red Scare. This was a time when communists were jailed in America. Dalton Trumbo was a communist.
He was on the blacklist and so were many others in the entertainment industry.
The witch hunt was on. Some fled to Europe when they were ordered to testify for the McCarthy Committee, among them were actors, directors, writers.
This was terror in America, brother against brother. A hint of being Red got you fired and all doors shut. The Studios trembled.
The tycoons were warned against hiring communists, and they complied for fear against being named anti-American Jews.
You were ordered, by the Committee, the Senate chaired by Joseph McCarthy, to name names. Woe to you if you hesitated or refused.
Dalton Trumbo refused. He was jailed for 11 months.
Blacklisted writers credited “John Does" as their work on screenplays. Their real names were anathema.
Once upon a time in America. Otto Preminger and Kirk Douglas broke the blacklist. Men of good courage, they took their chance against McCarthy, and prevailed.
Preminger named Dalton Trumbo as the screenplay author of Leon Uris’ “Exodus."
Kirk Douglas named Dalton Trumbo as co-author of “Spartacus."
Using real names took guts, and President Kennedy approved.
America today seems enchanted by communism and Islamism, this in a country that, together with Israel, towers over the rest of the world through Democracy.
Jack Engelhard writes a regular column for Arutz Sheva. Engelhard wrote the international bestselling novel “Indecent Proposal," today a classic for literature and film. His “Days of the Bitter End" is cited as the greatest work about the 1960s, comparable to Tolstoy’s War and Peace. His latest book, “Writings," offers a collection of his varied and widely popular columns. From John W. Cassel: “Jack Engelhard is a writer without peer, and the conscience of us all." Website: JackEngelhard.com