We had laid on the glamour and celebrity, and it had worked. We knew America.

Where to start?

I was amazed at the fact that although Bernstein had certain beliefs on Socialism, they didn't seem to consume him to the point that it affected his work, or the lives of anyone else for that matter. These ideals didn't seem big enough to blacklist him, to label him as a threat to America. At times he even felt disconnected from his beliefs. It was like someone saying "I like the color green" or "I think the killing and consumption of animals is inhuman". People are entitled to these opinions whether they be right or wrong, and I highly doubt green lovers and vegans are a threat to America. I guess what I'm getting at is, I still can't wrap my head around the concept of a blacklist. It makes me think back to when Bernstein described the movie My Son John, in which a patriotic mother blamed intellect for turning her son into a Communist (177). That summed up the whole ordeal to me, America was afraid and "they" wanted to keep people inside a little box where they could control them. It wasn't Communist people were afraid of, it was knowledge and growth. God forbid anyone would try to overthrow the government. The powerful were trying to protect themselves by instilling fear and claiming to protect everyone else. I guess its like Bernstein said, “You took a stand, and you had to be prepared to pay the price (151).” Who gets the right to determine that price though?

What struck me the most was the way the blacklist affected Bernstein, and the people he worked with. As a writer, I can't imagine how hard it must have been to sign your work over to someone else. I take pride in my work, I love knowing that I created something, I love seeing my name on a beautifully constructed piece of writing, and I love knowing that it's mine. "I felt suspended; my real life was somewhere else, on hold, waiting to be resurrected when the country came to its senses (186)" wrote Bernstein. There are things that Bernstein said and did that I do not agree with, but just putting myself in his shoes makes me feel awful. He constantly had to search for a front to conceal his identity, forcing him to disown what was rightfully his. Although Bernstein did brag that, "Careers were made on my talent" and this gave him "a righteous superiority", he finally felt the difference of being off the blacklist when he regained the use of his name (251). Writing is a lot of "behind the scenes" work, people read your words and that's the reflection they have of you. Your name on a piece of work though, that's what connects you to those words, that's your moment of being in the spotlight. To have someone take that away from me, I'd feel like my life was suspended in time as well.