For John, BLUF: Destroying art, or suppressing it, because we don't like the artist, or the artists political views, is pretty much like book burnings. Nothing to see here; just move along.
That would be Mr Ezra Pound, noted poet, who turned to Fascism in the 1930s and 40s, as a reaction to The Great War (WWI).
From The New York Review of Books, by Mr Edward Mendelson, 27 February 2019.
Here is the key paragraph, from a 29 January 1946 letter by Writer W H Auden to his publisher, Mr Bennett Cerf, of Random House Publishing:
As you say, the war is not over. This incident is only one sign—there are other and far graver ones—that there was more truth than one would like to believe in Huey Long’s cynical observation that if fascism came to the United States it would be called Anti-fascism. Needless to say, I am not suggesting that you desire any such thing—but I think your very natural abhorrence of Pound’s conduct has led you to take the first step which, if not protested now, will be followed by others which would horrify you.Yes, Governor Huey P Long was able to see his Democratic Party today, from the 1930s.
The idea that we would suppress the art of someone else because of their politics should be anathema to all true Americans. This isn't, after all, Europe or certain parts of Asia.
It is little wonder to me that folks are opting for cremation, given the current attitude, which any day now may trip over into digging up the bodies of the dead and desecrating them for past sins.
However, we should not just focus on the sins of a Michael Jackson, but also ask about all those people who enabled his sinful actions. Why are we not talking about them? Holding them to account? Assigning them their share of the blame?
Regards — Cliff
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