January 25, 1999
 
Dear Editor:
 
In his Counterpunch article "Despite Talent, Kazan Doesn't Deserve Honorary Oscar" (1/25/1999, Calendar) Allen Garfield writes "There is no honor -- there can never be honor -- much less an honorary Oscar, for one who sells the lives and futures of his fellow man." Amen. Except Garfield has confused who are the victims and villains in this honorable period in American history. It was the communists who were bent on destroying American lives and freedoms.
     Kazan's testimony to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was the act of a courageous, principled man. He was revealing facts about how an evil ideology, communism, was influencing Hollywood and the American theatre; an ideology favoring America's enemy, the USSR. HUAC was examining this threat to national security.
     By joining the Communist Party, filmmakers, screenwriters, playwrights and actors were not merely making an ideological statement. They agreed to take orders to commit criminal and treasonable actions, since the American Communist Party, and the Soviet government it served, was openly dedicated to the overthrow of the U.S. government and all of America's freedoms, including the freedom of speech and thought. The blacklist (boycott) that followed the HUAC investigations was a proper response by the movie studios.
     If the communists had succeeded in their plans, America today would be a totalitarian dictatorship, with no Hollywood freely producing movies, and no Mr. Garfield being free to express his opinion.
     Mr. Kazan deserves the thanks of any American who values freedom. It is the Hollywood Reds who should never be forgiven and never receive American honors.
 
Sincerely,
 
Scott McConnell
Director of Communications
The Ayn Rand Institute
4640 Admiralty Way, Suite 406
Marina del Rey, CA 90292