Rebecca Moll's Blog - Posts Tagged "red-scare"

Told with honesty, a generation removed objectivity, and the skill of a consummate journalist, this story paints a portrait of A Good American Family.

Time and place weight equally in this account of a family's love for each other and their country, the trials and tragedies that ensue, the spirit that pervades, and the defining moments that give rise to understanding of what it means to be American.

Post WWII, Spanish Civil War, Red Scare 1950s, Conservative Midwestern America, Racially Divided South, Progressive and Liberal North. Time and place texture a turgid landscape that mires and mucks the right to free speech, right to ideals, right to organize, labor, and democracy, rights we may find hard to believe so challenged. By the very government founded upon those very ideals - liberty and freedom for all.

In the foreground is Elliot Maraniss, newspaperman Ace, soldier, baseball fanatic, father, husband, grandfather.

Look closely and you'll see the colors shift. Turn the page and watch the painting come to life, the pivotal moments spiraling, like spokes of a wheel, the hub, room 740 Federal Courthouse, Detroit, 1952, Elliot Maraniss-forced to testify, refused his statement, blacklisted, spied, followed, investigated, and painted Red with fear and drama.

Rooted in reality, this account, although unsettling to our picture perfect patriotic pride, paints a canvass worth remembering. At times, we are our own worst enemy.

What does it mean to be an American? To be A Good American Family? One man's story, David gives a compelling and thought provoking account, love and pride for his father, family and country inked in every letter.

Hung upon the wall, how does your past paint your future? Do the colors bring to life what it means to be you?

Take your time and observe. Step back and take stock. There at the edges, where the frame defines and the colors bleed, what do you see? Could it be you? Shaded and faded in red, white, and blue?