Original sentence: Active in Republican politics and concerned about communist influence in the entertainment industry, Montgomery was a friendly witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947
Edited sentence: Active in Republican politics, Montgomery was a friendly witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1947.Montgomery was politically conservative and genuinely concerned with Communist influence in the entertainment industry, a common cause among conservatives of his era.The excesses of HUAC, the blacklist of entertainment industry figures, and the anti-Communist movement in general were not Montgomery's doing, nor was it the doing of other friendly HAUC witnesses from the Hollywood community.This distinction is often intentionally overlooked to villify conservative actors and and other artists in the entertainment industry, especially concerning the so-called Red Scare of the 1940s and 50s.True to his own values and beliefs he gladly testified before HUAC and it was not his intent to ruin anyone.While the claim is made that he gave this testimony to "save his own neck," and by doing so "ruined the careers of many friends," this is an over simplification of the facts and vilification of a man who acted in concert with his conscience, and not in malice