Citizen's Duty: Edward R. Murrow

Owen Fadden

Mrs. Hunter

Composition II: English 106

27 March 2023

Citizen’s Duty: McCarthy : Murrow

Introduction

The film Good Night and Good Luck depicts the warless battle between television reporter Edward R. Murrow and Senator John McCarthy. Murrow uses his show See It Now to show that he is a man of justice, not a man that is quick to blame or become the metaphorical “Judge, Jury, and Executioner” of those who oppose him. He never claims McCarthy is completely wrong in his accusations, but he does bring to light the lack of correct judicial process and moral conscience. McCarthy is quite the opposite, a demagogue of a man that uses his skill of alluding to the fears of the public in order to complete his own agenda. If someone disagreed

In the beginning, the American public was quick to latch to anything they could, and McCarthyism was the new thing that everyone supported. No one wanted to be a communist or have them in America. But as time went on, McCarthy’s claims slowly proved unsupported. He neglected to show anyone the list of names he claimed he had of communists working in our government. Even his colleagues and closest friends desired to see the list, but he denied their requests. Additionally, the manilla envelope with the charges of Milo Radulovich’s father was never opened nor released (Clooney 00:11:36). True, physical, proven evidence wasn’t anywhere, making the claims of guilt

Murrow was affected by the decisions he had to make, adn they weren’t always easy. When talking with his fellow reporters, Murrow opened up about his stance on one’s connection to others. He said, “If none of us had ever read a dangerous book or had a friend who was different, never joined an organization that advocated change, we’d all be just the kind of people that Joe McCarthy wants” (Clooney 34:50). Although it was not an easy decision, Murrow knew he needed to make a stand. He did a citizen’s duty and dared to stand up against the grain and expose the demagogue and his