Question

When Edward R. Murrow profiled Senator Joseph McCarthy on his television program See It Now, he commented, "We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty." What did he mean by this, and how could it be applied today? - apex

Answer 1

Edward Murrow meant that just because someone disagrees with the political system in America, it does not mean they are not loyal to our country.

Joseph McCarthy made his living on trying to find communists in American society. He feared that communists would try to change American values and eventually changed the American government. His accusations lead America through a wild experiment in which the government questioned thousands of citizens on their loyalty to the US or their involvement in communist activities.

This is why Murrow says the aforementioned quote. If someone is communist, it does not necessarily make them a person who is not loyal to the US government.