Реферат: Jospeh Freeman
States, official power was directed toward thought as such.
O there had been violations of civil liberty before. In the 1850’s — a century ago –
the Abolitionists were given a rough time. During the great industrial wars from 1890 to
1914, labor was given a rough time. During the Deportation Delirium of the early 1920’s
the radicals were given a rough time. But these were primarily economic and political
conflicts. Slave owners lynched people who wanted to abolish slavery. Industrialists
lynched people who wanted to reform the private enterprise system or to abolish it.
In the terror of the Fifties hundreds and hundreds of American writers, artists,
actors, directors, school teachers, college professors and scientists were fired from
their jobs; penalized economically and socially; and jailed for ideas! For
something they had published! For belonging to this or that radical organization. For
writing in this or that radical magazine!
And nine times out of ten, the alleged "crime" had been committed in the
Thirties!
The reaction of the Fifties made war on the vision of the Thirties and a large number
of the victims were intellectuals.
Right or wrong as these people may have been in the Thirties, they were being punished
now — in the Fifties — retroactively for thinking, feeling, talking and writing.
This was war on the mind and spirit of man!
Such was the terror. It is not really over yet. And people ask silly questions.
Why is the present so sterile in ideas? Why are people so conformist? Why are they
afraid to think, to speak up? Why have we no great ideas to inspire our writers? Why is
there so little genuine critical appraisal of current events, current literature, current
leadership?
And why is our youth — youth, the period of dreams, visions and hopes from time
immemorial — why is our youth so scared, so conservative, so timid, so lacking in
vision and hope and daring?
Why indeed!
You use the whole tremendous force of state and society to destroy people for