Lillian Hellman Quotes
Truth made you a traitor as it often does in a time of scoundrels.
Lillian Hellman, 1905-1984, Writer, Scoundrel Time, Little Brown, 1976
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910. From the point of view of the person or company that bribes or gives campaign contributions to legislators, there has often been a problem that when the heat is on the legislator might begin to refrain from voting as was expected. Twain was joking in this quotation by using the world “morality” to describe the obligation of the legislator to vote for the interest of the briber or campaign contributor. However, there were several major businessmen who actually saw the bribed legislator as having a moral and ethical duty to continue to protect the interest of the briber.
Lillian Florence Hellman was an American playwright, author, and screenwriter known for her success on Broadway, as well as her communist sympathies and political activism. She was blacklisted after her appearance before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) at the height of the anti-communist campaigns of 1947–1952. Although she continued to work on Broadway in the 1950s, her blacklisting by the American film industry caused a drop in her income. Many praised Hellman for refusing to answer questions by HUAC, but others believed, despite her denial, that she had belonged to the Communist Party.
