Posted on 12/15/2009 7:28:12 AM PST by Captain Kirk
In 1941, the Roosevelt administration commissioned a radio special, “We Hold these Truths,” to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Bill of Rights. Listen to it here.
The producer and writer was Norman Corwin (an ardent New Dealer who is still going strong at age 99). It featured an all-star cast including Orson Welles, James Stewart, Walter Brennan, and Edward G. Robinson, and closed with a speech by Roosevelt.
Broadcast only a week after Pearl Harbor, it still holds the ratings record for any dramatic show. About half the American population tuned in. The actors, especially Stewart and Welles, give a hyper exuberant commentatory on each amendment.
Despite Corwin’s leftist political beliefs, the content (with a few exceptions) does not reveal a pro-New Deal slant. The section on the second amendment (32.35 minutes into the program) seems downright libertarian. It interprets the amendment as not only protecting gun ownership by individuals but also their right to use these weapons to overthrow an oppressive government.
(Excerpt) Read more at hnn.us ...
their right to use these weapons to overthrow an oppressive government.
That’s right baby.
The Second Ammendment ain’t about hunting.
It’s about keeping elected officials in a constant state of terror.
The 2nd Amendment...because sometimes tar and feathers just ain’t enough!
Wow. Back when “freedom” actually meant something. If people from the past could see what a mess this country has become — and what a POS occupies the White House — they would weep — for us.
It is quite remarkable. The show is really quite good on that issue. The rest of it ain’t bad, either. I can’t imagine the same thing being made today, especially by a major network.
Bump for later download of the audio. Can’t do it here.
Thought you might be interested in this. :)
Thanks for the bump. I’ll catch it later.
ftl
-—they should have told it to Homer Cummings, a few years earlier—
Great catch!
"Gun Control" only became a "mainstream liberal" issue following the second Kennedy assassination. Prior to that, it was the province of corrupt machine pols who wanted to tighten their grip on power (do you HEAR me Big Tim Sullivan?), to say nothing of racists.
LOL! I love that!
Interestingly, Hubert Humphrey was a strong supporter of the second amendment (at least during the 1960s).
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