Breaking From The Party

The end of Walter Bernstein’s story happily ends on a high note with him being welcomed back into the world of entertainment writing. His story of hardships through the red scare was an interesting look at the fear that was part of the American psyche of the time, and how politicians and various others used it to further their own ambitions. While Walter Bernstein was indeed a victim of these circumstances one thing bothered me about his rise from political persecution back to the studio. He mentions various times throughout the narrative that there was talk and rumors of various problems within the Soviet Union; human rights violations, purges, Antisemitism, etc. While these were at the time just rumors Bernstein’s willful ignorance towards them is a bit troubling. Yet other rumors, such as free bread throughout the Soviet Union were a sort of justification for his beliefs. I wish he would have addressed his double standards concerning the truth a bit more. It’s clear that he is not just a blind follower when he decides to leave the Communist Party once the various problems within the Soviet Union following the death of Stalin come to light. So then why participate in this willful ignorance? I suppose that for someone who was continuously shunned by people both professionally and personally, the party provided some solace. I’m curious as to whether he actually would have left the party had his friends decided to stay loyal. I think the sense of community that he felt with his fellow socialists was the most important thing for Bernstein, and his reason for continuing to stay in the party. One thing that I did not feel from him is regret for his long time devotion to a The Communist Party. In fact, his dedication to socialism was still quite strong following his break from the party. Therefore it seems that for Walter Bernstein, the Communist Party was not expressly political. For him it seemed to be just an ideal way of life. Yet the fact that he was never capable of connecting the political with the ideal is troubling.