Margaret's Column

It’s not that clear-cut. Art and politics are inextricably tangled. You will never have one that’s free of the other. Human beings are political creatures; politics infuses everything we do.

I bring this up now because of two recent developments. The first is the release of a movie that questions the patriotism of lefties. The other is the increasing resemblance between John McCain’s campaign rallies and out-takes from Triumph of the Will.

The movie is, of course, David Zucker's An American Carol (I haven’t seen the entire movie, nor do I plan to). A thinly-disguised Michael Moore is depicted as a terrorist-loving, America-hating buffoon who wants to ban the Fourth of July; he turns into a ‘patriot’ after visits from the ghosts of George Washington and George Patton, among others. In the ruins of the World Trade Center, he finally sees the light and comes to love America and embrace war as the solution to all the problems.

This is all rather muddled. Clearly it didn’t occur to Mr. Zucker that this could be seen as a slam at right-wing paranoia: Oh, look, Lefties disagree with Bush! They must love bin Laden! Real Americans always side with their government! Except that we don’t.

Mr. Zucker says he made the film as an antidote to all the lefty-propaganda coming out of Hollywood, especially from Michael Moore. Except that Mr. Moore doesn’t support al Qaeda, and everything that shows up in his documentaries really happened. (Mr. Zucker complained that ‘prejudice’ made it difficult to get funding for this tripe, but the movie is dropping quickly at the box-office).

And why is Hollywood so full of lefties? Because movies and televison are creative pursuits (at least hypothetically). Creative pursuits don't thrive in places where there is heavy government oversight or oppression. Name any fiction, painting, or film from Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy that has true lasting value (Even the work of Leni Riefenstahl has more value as history than art). Ever try sitting through a Chinese opera written by a government sanctioned committee? All of the true artists in Soviet Russia were in constant hot water with the politburo. Pasternak and Solzhenitsyn paid with imprisonment and/or exile. Shostakovich and Eisenstein managed to keep their lives and some degree of freedom, although both knew that could change at any time. I can’t even imagine trying to create anything under pressure like that.

Which brings me to John McCain. If all of that fascistic, mob-mentality is any indication, what might we expect from a McCain presidency? Especially when his running mate approves of book-banning?

All creative types, from true artist to competent hacks to everyone in between, need to think about this. Think about a government telling you what to write, or banning your work if you refuse. It isn’t that far-fetched. Think of Chile under Pinochet or Greece under the Colonels-two open democracies that lost it all in military coups.

This, of course, is the worst case scenario. That kind of censorship would be more difficult to implement here in America. But it’s a fight I'd rather not wage. If everything I've mentioned continues, I'm afraid we will be waging it.

It is not acceptable to question the patriotism of people who question their government, which, after all, belongs to the people. Nor is it acceptable in a democracy to whip up mob-frenzy in the attempt to get votes. Let's call this what it is: Fascism.