Witch Hunting

Possibly it is because I'm of the older generation, or among those whom youngsters call dinosaurs, that I enjoyed the film The Majestic. It was a movie that did more than revive memories, however. The film spoke powerfully of many of the fears, heartaches, and problems that all generations are grappling with today. The movie was delightful, but more importantly, it provided a sharp reminder and warning to Americans of their need to cherish their liberties and rights and to be vigilant in their defense.

Jim Carey shows he is a fine serious actor in playing the role of a screenwriter trying to prevent the destruction of his career. He is one of the targets of the "witch hunt" conducted by the House Committee on Un-American Activities as it relentlessly searched for Communists in Hollywood during the late 1940s.

Best known for comedy, Carey offers a portrayal that is sensitive, uplifting and believable. His appearance before the Committee recalls Jimmy Stewart's speech before a cynical Congress in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Carey matches the intensity of emotion evoked by Stewart, and generates the same sense of pride in being an American who stands for what is right.

We need to see today how unreasoned fear of threats to our way of life—whether of Communism then, or "terrorism" today—can lead to "witch hunts" that cause us to behave in very un-American ways. Ways that threaten the very rights we want to protect. After the fever passes and the threat never materializes, we look at the period and feel foolish for being drawn into the stampede. This has been true throughout history, whether the hunt was led by a Cotton Mather in Salem, a Joe McCarthy in Congress, or a John Ashcroft in the Justice Department. (I haven't found myself on common ground with Charlene LaVoie [America’s Bill of Rights—An Unfinished Story, December 21] for a long time, but I agree that the direction Ashcroft has taken in law enforcement is often frightening and unnecessary.)

Another aspect of this movie that spoke to me was the setting and line of the story. It could have been Winsted, Torrington, or any of a score of small American towns and cities that were trying to get back to normal by reviving their town economically after the trauma of World War II. This struggle for renewal in the film has as its focus the restoration and re-opening of the Majestic Theater. As such the story could easily be that of the Strand becoming the Gilson in Winsted during the recent past, or the Warner in Torrington and Palace in Waterbury today. In both the movie and our local situation, the goal is to reinvent the town and re-energize its people and economy by rejuvenating Main Street.

See the movie, The Majestic. It will help you to feel very proud of being an American, and will also help you to understand the challenges we face in trying to maintain our nation's liberties.