I am old enough (barely) to remember the era when Joseph McCarthy declared that there were communists within the government, the military, and Hollywood. He claimed that he was going to ferret them out and put them on trial. And he did, not in secret but on television, ruining numerous lives.
Finally, when McCarthy charged that the Army’s lawyer, Joseph N. Welch, employed a man who had once belonged to a communist front group, Welch responded, “Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?” Then, in 1954, journalist Edward R. Morrow produced an exposé of McCarthy on his news program, See It Now. The public turned against McCarthy, and the Senate censured him; finally, he was stopped.
I don’t suppose saying the same words to President Trump would stop his relentless search for people to punish.
I remember that President Nixon had an “enemies” list, and, in fact, my father was on it—although I never found out what he did to merit being listed. In the late 1960s, I was a government employee, working for the newly established National Endowment for the Arts. As the Vietnam War dragged on and protests began, I was asked to sign a petition that appeared in the Washington Post whose title was “Government Employees Against the War.”
Older staff members cautioned me that if I signed that petition, I surely would end up on someone’s enemies list and probably never get another government job. Perhaps I was on a list, but didn’t find out about it. I went on to work for various city, county, and state governments in California and Oregon, though never again at the national level.
So, I get a sense of déjà vu as the nightly news keeps showing the latest Trump “enemy” as each one is either fired or indicted though none as yet have been tried or jailed.
Although the shock of ICE terrorizing anyone with brown skin has somewhat diminished, I am still appalled that we, the people, haven’t been able to stop labeling such people as “enemies,” although there have been strong protests in Los Angeles and Chicago. These raids remind me of Soviet Russia in the 1950s and ’60s when the KGB knocked on innocent people’s doors and whisked them away, some never seen again and with no fair trials to defend themselves. They were declared “enemies” of the state.
My years of protesting against enemy lists and denial of human rights have made the current situation seem like a repetition of this country’s past mistakes. When I hear some Republicans in Congress calling Democrats “communists, socialists, and Marxists,” I hear echoes of the McCarthy era. There is the saying (attributed to Winston Churchhill) that those who fail to learn from history are bound to repeat it. But I do hope that we are learning, will continue to learn, and do what we can to stop the making of enemies lists and labeling people—and even political parties—“enemies.” ∆
Judith Bernstein writes to New Times from Arroyo Grande. Send a response for publication to letters@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Nov 6-16, 2025.
The irony is that Trump dictating personnel decisions to private companies like CBS, Intel and Microsoft is the most Stalinesque action this country has seen.
Intel and Microsoft will do anything to ensure their monopolies, bailouts, and government contracts continue. They aren’t victims.
Exactly my point; what you describe is communism, with corporate lobbyists instead of apparatchiks and ALEC instead of the Politburo. I can’t wait to see the 5 year plan: Project 2030.
Steve: A more accurate description of our hellscape would be Mussilini’s “Corporatism.” State managed capitalism which is often described as “capitalism in decay.” Worst job numbers in TWENTY YEARS this month with 1 million recent layoffs, 40 trillion in national debt, AI taking tech jobs and administrative jobs, Depression era, wooden cracker box shacks selling for $1,000, 000 in SLO, and people pouring into gold because the dollar keeps dropping in value and into basically scrip. So yeah, just vote harder. Surely it will work this time.
Thank you Judith Bernstein for such an excellent historical statement of truth.
I have been protesting since the Vietnam War, and will always protest injustice, censorship, racial profiling, and for our civil rights, free speech, the right to assemble and to vote free and fairly.
It is amusing to see Democrats complaining about retribution by Trump against his opposition, after the jihad waged against Trump by Democrats following his 2020 loss. We all recall the criminal prosecution by Democratic operatives against Trump is a hostile blue venue, New York, which resulted in his felony conviction, on a victimless crime which is normally a misdemeanor and rarely charged. Ironically, we are now witnessing NY Attorney General Leticia James being prosecuted on a similar charge, to the howling of Democrats. And, of course, there was the unsuccessful effort to keep Trump off of the ballot in 2024. Democrats have chosen to engage in “banana republic” vindictive use of the courts, and now complain when the favor is returned.
So, Trump didn’t wildly exaggerate his property values to gain favorable interest rates and pay less in state taxes, despite abundant evidence? Or he really didn’t lie about extramarital affairs and pay off two women while he was serving in the White House, despite abundant evidence? Or he really didn’t whip up a Washington D.C. crowd and tell them to march on the capitol, despite abundant evidence? Got it.
Property values are estimates, and recognized as such. Lenders are sophisticated businesspeople, and undoubtedly performed their own valuations. Prosecutions over lying about marital affairs? Really? Wasn’t your dismissive mantra about Bill Clinton “it is just about sex…”, even though he did it under oath and perjured himself? And with all the violent rhetoic coming from Democrats, including incitment of the 2020 riots, and cheering assasinations, you’re in a panic about Trump’s usual gibbering?
Because Mr Donegan’s argument is weak, he engages in whataboutism, a typical response from those attempting to defend Trump. What he fails to mention is that under Trump, scores of career justice department personnel have resigned in the wake of these ridiculous indictments and subpoenas about matters than have long been adjudicated. If this were simply reciprocal prosecutions, why was there no such exodus from Biden’s justice department. Would Mr. Donegan have us believe that all these folks, even those that Trump appointed himself, are lunatic leftists?
Further, Mr. Donegan would imply that unfortunate comments by Jimmy Kimmel, for which he apologized, are akin to the Jan. 6 rioters who injured over 100 Capitol police officers and sent 15 to the hospital. In the aftermath of those events, even many of Mr. Donegan’s fellow Republicans condemned Trump, though they seem to have conveniently forgotten that.
It’s hard to defend the indefensible though I’m sure Mr. Donegan will continue to make excuses about Trump’s behavior.
If Mr. Smith checks the 2/11/21 edition of this paper, he will see that I unequivocally condemned the 1/6 riot, as did all of the conservatives I know. Our outrage was certainly stronger than that of most of the left to the George Floyd riots in 2020, which were roundly cheered by many liberals who were quick to support the rioters. Kamala Harris, your presidential candidate, busied herself raised bail money for the rioters, an act which didn’t seem to cool the ardor of any Democrats for her candidacy. Democrats always have little problem defending the indefensible.
Ah, the affluent arguing with each other.
Michael;
While accusing John D. of “whataboutism,” your entire comment was a perfect example of the very thing you accuse John of. Worse, they were just allegations:
“So, Trump didn’t wildly exaggerate his property values to gain favorable interest rates and pay less in state taxes, despite abundant evidence? Or he really didn’t lie about extramarital affairs and pay off two women while he was serving in the White House, despite abundant evidence? Or he really didn’t whip up a Washington D.C. crowd and tell them to march on the capitol, despite abundant evidence.” [Michael Smith]
Ho hum. Mr. Donegan says tomaaato, I say tomahto. As I see it, the bottom line is that Trump’s approval ratings are every bit as bad as Biden’s were and, unless I’m missing something the economy is no better than it was last year despite Trump’s endless assurances during the campaign that he would fix things on day one. The boys on Wall Street are going gangbusters, but most of that investment is in the AI bubble which may eventually pop. I’m not even benefiting from that because my investments are in things like agriculture which is pretty flat right now. But thanks for the debate, Mr. Donegan. I’m grateful that you steer away from ad hominem attacks and keep the debate congenial.
The approval ratings of the Democratic party are even lower. And they won’t have the luxury of running against Trump.