Word: huac
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Dates: during 1961-1961
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Perhaps as damaging to Seeger as the frontal attack by the HUAC has been the insidious effect of an uncritical press--a notable current example was the Boston Daily Record--which prints allegations as fact, or alternatively attempts to stay away from controversy by labelling him as "the controversial folk singer." As the University so ably demonstrated three weeks ago, "controversial" has become an evil word in America. It has become a facile way of saying, "Some powerful people say he's a Communist and I haven't got the guts to say otherwise...
Seeger makes no effort to hide his opinions. "Just come and listen to me sing any evening," he says. As frank as he is on stage, however, Seeger would not divulge his views to the HUAC. "I merely said that I have never supported any conspiratorial cause whatever, period. If they didn't believe me they should have indicted me for perjury...
Seeger could have taken the Fifth Amendment in refusing to answer questions about his associations and beliefs, but he decided instead to challenge the right of the HUAC to ask those questions by standing on the First Amendment. It is hard to interpret the spontaneous and prolonged ovation at the beginning of the evening as anything but an affirmation that "We applaud your courage...
...According to one American reporter, the newspaper "cannot divulge its means of access to the HUAC files." Although the files are not always open to the press, they can be used "in certain ways, for certain things," he said...
...affirmative team questioned the HUAC's legislative functions and accused it of creating panic and confusion, of causing innocent witnesses to lose their jobs, and of encouraging witch-hunting...