MacLeish Condemns Bitter Division In Controversies Over Communism

Archibald MacLeish, Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory, declared that the American mind today is "divided by bitterness unequaled since the War Between the States," in a speech in Washington, D.C., Saturday night.

Speaking before the Jewish Anti-Defamation League conference, MacLeish described an antagonism that goes to the root of American life. He defined the two schools of thought produced by this antagonism as, "those who define patriotism in anti-Russian terms, and those who judge patriotism by devotion to the cause of individual liberty."

The nation's condemnation of the practices and doctrines of Russia "was understandable enough," MacLeish said. But he added a warning against those who would "sacrifice to their hatred of Russia the heart of what America is--the freedom of the individual mind and soul and conscience."

He charged that this faction has wrapped itself in the claim of patriotism "to such a point that it has all but monopolized the American flag."

"Those who honestly believe that nothing matters in our time but the Communist conspiracy readily persuade themselves that the defenders of individual freedom are at best politically irresponsible, and at worst defenders of Communists themselves," he explained.

He said the same bitterness was true of those who believe in the freedom of the human individual. "These people believe that if freedom is lost, no matter at whose hands, America is lost. To them, the faction that would sacrifice liberty to the fight against communism is no better than the Communist Party itself."