November 1947
We
just got back from traveling, again - this time to the Near East. We left on October 17 and returned November
4. Just a few days prior to our
departure the government agreed to a UN plan to partition Palestine into
independent Jewish and Arab states.
H.A. called for the creation of a Jordan Valley authority, based on the
successful TVA program in the States, and he called on the Jews and Arabs to
“abide faithfully by the ultimate decision of the United Nations.” H.A. believes that peace is possible even in
Palestine. He said, “I saw evidence on
the village level that the Jew and Arab get along very well, provided hatred
and discord are not incited from the outside.”
While
we were away HUAC was at it again. They
held a hearing on Communism in Hollywood.
H.A. attacked HUAC from Palestine, “From here where Elijah fought the
prophets of Baal and close to the mount where Jesus gave his famous sermon,
people without fear ask, ‘Has America really gone crazy?’ Is the un-American committee evidence that
America is traveling the road to fascism?
On behalf of millions everywhere you must answer no so loudly the people
of the world can hear. You must destroy
the un-American committee at the polls and in the courts, or it will destroy
many of the foundations of democracy and Christianity.”
Naturally
H.A. toured kibbutzs and offered his farming advice; he also toured many
religious sites and relics. Speaking of
relics, H.A. stopped in Rome, which included an audience with Pope Pius
XII. When Eugenio Pacelli was elected
Pope Pius XII in 1939 he stopped the Vatican’s criticism of fascist Germany and Italy and praised the victory of
Franco in Spain. Idiot.
© 2014 Ron Millar
October 1947
Good
news and bad news.
Good
news. The Civil Rights Committee’s
report, “To Secure These Rights,” was released and urged adoption of a federal
anti-lynching statute, abolishing poll taxes and other barriers to voting,
integration of the U.S. armed forces, and a halt to segregation on all public
interstate transportation. H.A. has
strongly endorsed the recommendations and will fight to get them implemented.
Bad
News. HUAC [House Un-American Activities
Committee –AS] is going Hollywood. Two
“good” Americans - - Walt Disney and Ronald Reagan testified before the
committee. Disney has recently created
the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals that offers
the following advice to movie producers: “Don’t smear the free-enterprise
system,” “Don’t smear industrialists,” Don’t smear wealth,” “Don’t smear the
profit motive,” “Don’t glorify the collective,” and “Don’t deify the ‘common
man’.” The last I can only assume was
directed against H.A. Ronald Reagan
[president of the Screen Actors Guild and loyal American –AS] attended the
hearing to publicly out colleagues and friends as Communists and Communist
sympathizers.
This
insanity all started with a series of columns in the “Hollywood Reporter” by
the rag’s publisher and founder Bill Wilkerson in which he named actors,
writers, directors and others who he thought were Communists or Communist
sympathizers. The accused are allegedly
part of a vast and Soviet-run conspiracy to plant Communist propaganda in our
movies. Personally, I see J. Edgar
Hoover’s fingerprints all over this. But I see J. Edgar behind all the stupid fascist activities -- perhaps I overestimate his reach, perhaps not.
As
a result HUAC subpoenaed many of those named and testify before them. Of the 11 who attended only one agreed to
testify. The rest refused to answer questions. Alvah Bessie, a Spanish Civil War veteran and
screenwriter for Warner Brothers, has gotten caught up in all of this.
This
insanity has got to end. H.A. has promised to speak out against these witch-hunts. I wanted to
host the accused and their supporters at a White House event to show support,
but our travel schedule prevented it.
H.A. has to take direct action and fire Hoover to show that this fear
mongering will not be tolerated.
© 2014 Ron Millar
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