Welcome back, Senator McCarthy, we sure have missed you – not!
Recently it seems that the oh-so-reviled McCarthyism from the 1950’s is coming back to haunt us.
Martin Sheen, who plays fictional president Josiah Bartlet on the Emmy-award TV series The West Wing, is facing an acerbic backlash after expressing anti-war sentiments in the public eye. Some critics are demanding that NBC fire him because he is “un-American.”
Fellow celebrities Sean Penn, Sheryl Crow, and several others have been criticized for not being patriotic or supportive of our government solely because they don’t believe in this war.
Texas music group the Dixie Chicks is also facing an unfortunate response to Natalie Maines’s comment to a London audience. “Just so you know,” she said, “we’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.” Some are calling for a boycott of the group’s music; two Dallas radio stations even ceased playing their music because of Maines’s remark. The Dixie Chicks won three Grammy’s this year and currently have the number one country song.
McCarthyism.
In the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy (R) blacklisted several Americans he thought were communists. It was similar to the Salem Witch Trials, since so many innocent people were targeted out of fear but with little proof. Their accusers used compelling words and fiery statements to stir up mass hysteria to pass the cases.
Over 320 people were blacklisted for being “communist.” The accused were forced out of their jobs, and it was nearly impossible for them to find work. Celebrities like Arthur Miller, Orson Welles, and Charlie Chaplin were among the blacklisted.
It seems nowadays that anti-war sentiments are like communism was in the 50’s; anyone who even breathes the word “peace” is in for criticism, ridicule, and possibly blacklisting. I, personally, would love to hear one valid reason explaining why our First Amendment rights are at stake. Free speech is one of our constitutional rights, and I feel that America is a great nation because of our freedoms. However, I am appalled that this country is taking such an unfair approach to exercising those freedoms: free speech is fine, as long as you’re supporting Bush and his war.
If we’re not careful and don’t keep track of our rights, pretty soon they’re going to be taken away from us, and we’re not going to be any better off than those countries we are trying to save.