Communist infiltration of Hollywood motion-picture industry : hearing before the Committee on Un-American activities, House of Representatives, Eighty-second Congress, first session (1951)

COMMUNISM IN MOTION-PICTURE' INDUSTRY 1557 Mr. Levitt. If you are asking me to express an opinion on foreign policy, let me tell yon that I cannot answer it that simply as to say I am in favor, for example, of American policy. There are aspects of American policy with which I am in agreement and certain aspects with which I am not in agreement. I believe Mr. Jackson. Do you support American foreign policy in Korea? Mr. Levitt. If you mean do I approve of the Mr. Jackson. I have reference to the entrance and participation of United Nations troops as opposed to the puppet troops of North Korea and the Chinese Reds. Do you approve American and United Nations action, or do you disapprove that commitment? Mr. Levitt. If President Truman had called me that day in June, I believe it was, and asked me whether I approved sending troops in, I would have said, u No, I don't; wait." I think that the risking and actual expenditure of lives here was something that I would not be in favor of rushing into. I would much rather have waited and dis- cussed this in terms—used every effort of conference tables to try to prevent such a thing. Mr. Jackson. Suppose President Truman had not asked you for your opinion but only for your services in Korea. Would you serve? Mr. Levitt. I would obey the law. Mr. Jackson. You would serve in Korea if called? Mr. Levitt. If I had been called to serve in Korea I would have served. Mr. Jackson. I have no further questions. Mr. Wood. Mr. Potter. Mr. Potter. Mr. Levitt, if your feelings about war and the fact that a general world war now would be most destructive to civiliza- tion—which we all fear, however, many of us also have a greater fear of losing our freedom—I am wondering if your views would be the same if the United States should be attacked by Franco Spain. Mr. Levitt. My views on peace would be the same, yes; in any case. I feel that the possibility of considering attack and any possibility of world-wide war would be absolutely disastrous to civilization in its entirety. I feel that elements—I would like to refer back a little bit to Mr. Jackson's question about foreign policy, and I believe that this is terribly important to the way I feel and the way I have testified before this committee, and that is that I feel that every person, every individual, every group, has the right to any opinion. In the areas of opinion, the areas of speech and the areas of association should have complete freedom. 1 think people are responsible and should be held accountable for their acts. Now, I don't think that those rights should be diminished on the basis of the judgment of these opinions by any one group, or even by the popularity throughout the country at any given time because such popularities change with time and the effect of diminishing such freedoms is that although there may be a minority affected by this it also affects the majority because then the majority is afraid, becomes cautious about its thoughts and opinions for fear that they will be interpreted in another way. Mr. Potter. Of course, you realize, as well as I, that the suppres- sion of opinion in a Communist-dominated country, and within the Communist Party itself, it is much more severe than any suppression of opinion that you would ever get or ever find in a democracy such as we have here.