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Under Protest

The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries. 

"Fanfare for the Common Man"
establish and under
:0:04

Someone asked the other day why there's been no stamp yet for composer Aaron Copland. 
Most likely it's just a matter of timing and the marketability of classical music. 
But someone said it could be because Copland was thought to be a communist and 
blacklisted during the Red Scare fifty years ago.

There have been protests about other alleged or actual communist sympathizers on our 
stamps -- W-E-B DuBois, Paul Robeson, Frida Kahlo in particular. 

But there have also been protests about OTHER stamp subjects. Remember the complaints 
about Elvis Presley and his drug abuse?

Or the stamp commemorating the end of World War Two and the dropping of the atomic 
bombs. President Clinton himself nixed it.

Or how about this one, also from the Ninteen Fifties: The first multi-colored U-S flag 
stamp! Why? Opponents said applying ink to the stamp -- that is, the postmarks -- would 
be desecrating the flag!

I'm Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club. For more about stamps and stamp collecting, 
visit virtual-stamp-club-dot-com

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