Paul Kengor, one of the top contemporary experts on the infiltration of the United States by Communists under the control or influence of the Soviet Union in the 1940s and ’50s, writes in today’s American Spectator a fascinating summary of Communist involvement among Hollywood actors during that period, which was real, pervasive, and which claimed Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall as prominent and influential supporters for a time. Kengor writes, in part:
The facts are that Lauren Bacall herself learned the truth about communism in Hollywood. She admitted to being badly duped by bad guys. She learned her lesson, even as her fellow Hollywood liberals to this day have not, opting instead for a false narrative that feeds a handy caricature. Here’s what really happened:
In October 1947, Lauren Bacall joined a group of high-profile Hollywood actors, writers, and producers for a major public-relations trip to Washington. Their goal was to defend the First Amendment freedoms of their accused friends and colleagues—accused, that is, of being communists dedicated to infiltrating the motion-picture industry as a means to peddle propaganda. The accused were summoned before the House Committee on Un-American Activities as “unfriendly” witnesses. (For the record, Senator Joe McCarthy had absolutely nothing to do with this.)
Unbeknownst to Lauren Bacall and friends, nearly every single one of the accused was a closet communist formally pledged to Stalin’s Soviet Union. When these individuals joined Communist Party USA (CPUSA), they swore a loyalty oath to strive to “ensure the triumph of Soviet power in the United States.” They were committed to what CPUSA general secretary William Z. Foster openly called a “Soviet America,” or what other hope-filled comrades called a “United Soviet States of America” (USSA).
Of course, these communists didn’t dare tell any of this to their liberal/progressive friends. They assured their pals that they were good liberals/progressives just like them. They would never support a totalitarian dictatorship. They insisted that they were being unjustly hounded and persecuted and silenced. This was an outrage, they said, a violation of their First Amendment/Constitutional freedoms (none of which existed in the Soviet Union).
Kengor is a superb historian, and the entire article is well worth reading. It will prove eye-opening for those who remain unaware of the huge amount of information we now have about the extent of Communist infiltration of U.S. institutions, which has become available in great profusion since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Hey, I’ll just drop it. “The Leopard” is a more interesting subject, anyway.
Bradley–as I stated earlier, my point is that abuses do not nullify the reasons for doing something. Authorities should of course be required to do things properly.
Yes, of course I get your point, but my point is that abuses do not nullify the reasons for doing something. Stop the abuses and do things properly. I am well aware that there are many files on me due to my public activities. That is to be expected.
So you do want them to spy on you? LA’s Finest will oblige.
Bradley, I saw the movie The Leopard quite a few years ago, and found it to be quite interesting and visually impressive. I have not read the book, nor do I have any expertise at all in the history of Italy at that time (or any other period, for that matter).
I am grateful for your response on this.
Bradley–activities on behalf of foreign nations against the United States are a valid concern of the authorities, one of the very few areas of governance that the federal government should in fact be involved in. I strongly disapprove of sweeping surveillance actions such as those currently be conducted by the NSA, but monitoring and targeted infiltration of groups that directly threaten the safety of U.S. citizens (including those that do so by proxy, as the CPUSA did), is certainly a valid function of government.
The Los Angeles Police Department “Red Squad” could not have cared less about if a person actually was taking orders from a Comintern directed group. If you expressed a dumb opinion, they opened a file on you.
“That was true too; but kings who personify an idea should not, cannot, fall below a certain level for generations; if they do, my dear brother-in-law, the idea suffers too.”
Do you know any authors who wrote non-fiction about Italy, about the years 1860-1883, in Italy?
I am trying to avoid overdoing this.
—hsve you read “The Leopard?”
—So…do you want the Los Angeles Police Red Squad to open a file on you for your opinions, or not?