Wu Ting
How would you interpret this sentence? WASHINGTON, OCT. 22—Actors, writers and others in Hollywood were named today as members of the Communist party or as Communist sympathizers. The accusations were by Robert Taylor, screen actor, and by other movie figures as the inquiry of the House Committee on Un-American Activities into the extent of Communist penetration into the film industry went into its third day. …… Representative Emanuel Celler, D. NY, attacked the inquiry as an act to make “all true Americans blush with shame.” “If Chairman Thomas sought to strike terror into the minds of the movie magnates, he succeeded. They were white-livered. One vital aspect of these antics must be kept in mind. Today it is the motion pictures. Tomorrow it may be the newspapers or the radio. The threat to civil liberties is a real one.” How would you interpret this sentence in the last passage: One vital aspect of these antics must be kept in mind? Which aspect did the man refer to? Did he refer to the following sentences?
Apr 1, 2015 7:34 AM
Answers · 2
1
The 'one vital aspect' he refers to is spelt out in the last sentence of the quote - the threat to civil liberties. He is saying that today, it is the motion pictures (that are being targetted by the hearings) - But he is warning, that, while for now, it is just them, tomorrow it may spread to other forms of media, and ultimately, everyone's civil liberties are under threat.
April 1, 2015
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