Opinion: Term unfairly labels objectors

EDITOR's NOTE: This article originally published in The Advocate on Oct. 19, 2011. To view original post, visit AccentAdvocate.com.

Define what it is to be American. The description begins and ends at "one who lives in America."

Anything beyond that is an individual characteristic.

To be American is definitely not based on one's race, ethnicity or heritage. Based on the Constitution and its First Amendment, it is not defined by religion or speech.

Political actions at home and abroad contradict the ideals of the perfect American.

Since there is no ideal, catchall definition of an American, there is no such thing as being "un-American."

To be un-American is not to be anti-American, but perhaps it is to not be in line with norms and what some call "acceptable" behavior.

But it is a term politicians and newsmakers throw around, even with the phrase's tarnished history.

It is how Republican presidential nominee Herman Cain recently called the now national Occupy Wall Street demonstrations. At the same time, Jim Hoffa, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, also used the term to describe U.S. corporations outsourcing jobs.

One uses the phrase to describe American companies and their tactics while another uses it to refer to the protest of said practices.

This is the contradictory rhetoric that makes one's head nearly explode, especially when Cain and Hoffa share the goal of keeping American jobs in this country.

But painting with broad strokes disagreeable actions as "un-American" has deep-seeded roots in this country and its government.

Go back to the 1917 Russian Revolution, the First Red Scare.

In 1918, the U.S. Senate established the Overman Committee to investigate German and Russian activities associated with communism after World War I. This was a precursor to the 1938 establishment of the House Un-American Activities Committee.

HUAC was created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloyalty and subversive activities on the part of private citizens, public employees, and those organizations suspected of having communist ties.

Although not directly tied to Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-Wisconsin), HUAC engaged in and contributed to his crusade for democracy over communism in the 1950s, known fondly as the "Red Scare."

Two years after McCarthy died and known notoriously for his groundless investigations of Hollywood filmmakers, oppressive censorship and violations of due process, former President Harry Truman denounced HUAC.

According to Stephen Whitfield's "The Culture of the Cold War," in 1959, 14 years after ordering the dropping of two atomic bombs in Japan to end World War II, Truman called HUAC the "most un-American thing in the country today."

But there it is again.

To be labeled "un-American" is not to be taken lightly and should not be used to shame or invalidate dissent.

Instead, from the tea party's disapproval of lawmakers on Capitol Hill to the protestors on Wall Street, wear this scarlet letter proudly and celebrate the patriotism in dissent.