Art Eckstein has a fascinating new article on the Hollywood Ten, a subject I have felt to be “worked over” sufficiently. But this is an interesting and even-handed overview (unless you’re a Stalinist) with some fresh information, at least to me (via Mark Moore)
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Roger:
I think the subject has been “worked over” too except in one aspect. The fact that the Soviet Union, it’s history, it’s symbols and some of the historical lies that still roam around this country and the world are still allowed to fester and have not properly been eliminated.
The 20th century had two incredible horrors develop during it’s duration, Nazism and Marxism. Nazism has been so downgraded, properly so, that anyone who tries to be an apologist for it or wears any of it’s symbols is considered a nut and relagated to the fringe of society, a pariah. Even the slitest hint of acceptance, witness the invented scandal of Arnolds supposed nazi past, is political and social posion. Yet the hammer and scycle or the red star of Stalins murder machine is worn in many hip places and the number of marxists on our campuses is incredible. The number of Castro sympathizers and the number of Sandinista mourners still freely roam among our intellectual elite without suffering any disgust their beliefs should bring. The fact that you can still read articles defending Hiss and the Rosenbergs and the martydom the Hollywood Ten is mythic in it’s scale.
I recently read a article celabrating the anniversary of Sarte’s death. In the middle of the glowing article the author mentioned his support of Maoist ideals and though the author mentions how this disturbed her it did not lower her opinion of this wonderfull man. Replace Maoist with Nazi and what do you think the reaction would be?”Well yes, he was a Nazi supporter, even after the truth came out, but this shouldn’t lessen his brilliance.” Outrage.
One can argue about who what was the worst social system, Nazism or Communism. But they are so close that who is number 1 and who is number 2 should be a moot point. They are both so horrid that the revulsion for both should be automatic. Yet one is properly reviled and the other still has currency in certain circles.
Kevin:
There are too many people like my own brother who beleive that communism was not really a big deal.
The right wingers just used it to scare people. Like they use terrorism.
This is so silly I don’t even know how to respond to it, but a lot of people think this way.
I asked him if 100 million dead people was not serious and he just snorted like I was some brainwashed right wing nut.
Terrye:
I used to share your brothers belief system until I began to study, away from the academic fog machine, the actual facts about marxism and the Soviet Union.I was a Reagan hating orthodox democrat and I began my study when Reagan declared the Soviet Union evil. I wanted ammo to strike down those idiot right wingers and I needed back up for my “Oh Communism is just a different form of governance” and of course it has it’s problems but so do we so we have no right to talk. As I studied I came to the conclusion that Reagan had been too kind and that the lefts attempt to rationalize and minimize the true horrors of Marxism is still going on today. When I see those symbols of Marxism (Hammer and Sycle, Mao,Lenin, Che,the Red Star) on the dilletante revolutionary wannabe’s I want to puke but I have a certain amount of sympathy because they are flooded with a constant propaganda from old leftists and their younger acolytes. The effort to dump all of the horrors of Marxism onto Stalin ignores that even if Marxists have noble intentions the system they propose always leads to tyranny. It is a built into the idea of giving complete controll to a small ruling clique. If you have total controll and power over your people even the best of men and women are corrupted and loathe to give it up.
kevin:
i only hope you’re not serious. i mean, saying that stalinism’s one of the worst forms of government/school of thought can be understood, but marxism? i think the first mistake is to confuse marxism with stalinism. marxism is not built into the idea of giving total control to a few, i know “the capital” is an arid book, but still i suggest reading and discussing it before stating its one of the horrors of our times (as bad as nazism! a theory! give me a break!)
i think all systems should be revised, and not accepted as perfect 8or even good) without serious research. that goes for comunism (and socialism), monarchy, capitalism… the idea that a certain school of thought (marxism here) and the soviet culture! (in the form of its symbols, its history) should be eliminated… i just find it too… extreme?