Edward R. Murrow

There has been a lot of banter floating around ATS a bit and in the government for a long time. And to the Moderators, I hope this in the correct place, for what I am about to post, it makes sense. With this quote, if you replace the name and issue with anything of today and look at the reactions of the general public, it would reflect that of the past, the lessons of such should come from the past.

"Senator McCarthy succeeded in proving that Reed Harris had once written a
bad book, which the American people had proved twentytwo
years ago by not buying it, which is what they eventually do will all bad ideas. As for Reed Harris, his resignation was accepted a month later with a letter of commendation. McCarthy claimed it as a victory.
The Reed Harris hearing demonstrates one of the Senator's techniques. Twice he
said the American Civil Liberties Union was listed as a subversive front. The Attorney General's list does not and has never listed the ACLU as subversive, nor does the FBI or any other federal government agency. And the American Civil Liberties Union holds in its files letters of commendation from President Truman, President Eisenhower, and General MacArthur.
Now let us try to bring the McCarthy story a little more up to date. Two years ago
Senator Benton of Connecticut accused McCarthy of apparent perjury, unethical
practice, and perpetrating a hoax on the Senate. McCarthy sued for two million
dollars. Last week he dropped the case, saying no one could be found who believed
Benton's story. Several volunteers have come forward saying they believe it in its
entirety.
Today Senator McCarthy says he's going to get a lawyer and force the networks to
give him time to reply to Adlai Stevenson's speech.
Earlier, the Senator asked, "Upon what meat does this, our Caesar, feed?" Had he
looked three lines earlier in Shakespeare's Caesar, he would have found this line,
which is not altogether inappropriate: "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves."
No one familiar with the history of this country can deny that congressional
committees are useful. It is necessary to investigate before legislating, but the line
between investigating and persecuting is a very fine one and the junior Senator from Wisconsin has stepped over it repeatedly. His primary achievement has been in confusing the public mind, as between internal and the external threats of
Communism. We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember
always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and
due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and
remember that we are not descended from fearful men not
from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular.
This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy's methods to keep silent, or
for those who approve. We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot
escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of a republic to
abdicate his responsibilities. As a nation we have come into our full inheritance at a
tender age. We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom,
wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.
The actions of the junior Senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay
amongst our allies abroad, and given considerable comfort to our enemies. And
whose fault is that? Not really his. He didn't create this situation of fear; he merely
exploited it and rather successfully. Cassius was right. "The fault, dear Brutus, is
not in our stars, but in ourselves."
Good night, and good luck."
That was stated by Edward R. Murrow, See it Now (CBSTV,
March 9, 1954)
"A Report on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy"

If you replace McCarthy with the name of any politician, and a political issue, that the politican supports, in for Communism, and if it is based on political gain or fear, then this speech by Mr. Edward R. Murrow fits more now than ever, especially if it is on a national scale.