"Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it" seems like a very accurate statement when I look at news headlines these days. There was a period in our history that was known as McCarthyism. It was also called the Red Scare. It is an important historical time, as some of the same FALSE and DANGEROUS ideas seem to be being pushed today like they were back then.

What was McCarthyism?

McCarthyism actually arose due to a movement that was largely within the 1950 to 1956 time frame that was spearheaded by Senator Joseph McCarthy (R-Wisconsin). There was a fear of communism and the Communist Party spreading within the United States. The Cold War was very active. Many innocent people were wrongly convicted, and/or had their lives disrupted in other ways. The news was bashing Commies and Reds on a regular basis in the news. In 1954 they went so far as to add the "One nation under God" into the pledge of the allegiance with the idea that too would help combat Communism.

Source: Pinterest

This is rather stupid as it is only certain Communist nations that have eschewed religion. Other nations that practice Communism may leave religion untouched. Yet such a statement did send messages.

Joseph McCarthy did not create this movement. The Red Scare existed a significant amount of time before he came to play. He simply became a very vocal, and active media presence. Add to that he was a Senator and it could be a powerful message.

During this time...
There were Loyalty-security reviews.
There was a House Comimittee on Un-American Activities.
There were Blacklists to stop industries from employing certain people. This was common in Hollywood and within the MPAA.
There was the Communist Control Act of 1954

Source: SlideShare

According to Wikipedia there were hundreds of people imprisoned during this time and ten to twelve thousand people lost their jobs. It notes that in many cases it only took being subpoenaed by one of these committees to be fired. You could be fired with no actual guilt, but simply because there were "questions".

This ended up being viewed as a negative and taught about how wrong doing this was by the time I was in High School. In fact The Crucible play by Arthur Miller in 1952 became required viewing and discussion when I was in High School. It was generally lumped in with the Salem Witch Trial discussion within history. Why is McCarthyism lumped in with the Salem Witch Trial?

Source: Carrolton Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts

That is likely because they are the same mentality, and they operate much the same way.

Accuse someone. Put them to rigorous testing, torture, ridicule, and hardship to prove they are a Witch (communist).

Other Nations

Do you think the people of Russia are out to get us? I saw the other day that four periodic table elements were added to the number of elements we know. All four of them initially were discovered by a joint American and Russian team of scientists. It's pretty amazing what can be accomplished when politics and propaganda are not part of the equation.

Source: Reddit

Have you met many people online that hate YOU for your country? I haven't. Have you met many people from other countries that are visiting your country that HATE you because of your country? I haven't.

Source: Keep Calm-O Matic

So why do politicians beat the war drums, push propaganda to make us fear a nation? Control. It's much more difficult to sway us to give up things like FREE SPEECH if they cannot make us afraid of some boogeyman first.

Source: Activist Post

The problem is that the scariest monster in this entire picture is not the person they are pointing at. It is the politician who is trying to make you afraid so they can further justify limiting your freedoms. The politician pointing out how dangerous some other nation is, while they are preparing the dagger that is aimed for your back.

Source: Siasat.pk

Russia Today

The news is pounding on Russia hacked this, Russia Hacked that. Russia influenced the election, etc.

I ask you this... if what the hackers exposed was TRUE is it truly bad? When someone points out misdeeds, corruption, and crimes IS IT THE MESSENGER who is bad?

Whether it was Russia, or it was not Russia, DOES IT MATTER if it was the truth?

We live in an increasingly backwards world where doing the right thing can get you labeled a criminal, and actual criminals can ignore laws and run for the highest offices in Government.

My Challenge To You

Visit various news aggregators such as news.google.com, reddit, and many other sites. Watch a few different news channels, and pick up some news journals and publications. It is important that you do this over a wide selection. It will make it easier (I believe) for you perhaps to see what I am seeing. You can tell me if it is all in my imagination or not.

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The news to me seems very reminiscent of McCarthyism era publications. It also reminds me of the mental landscape leading up to the Salem Witch Trials, The Inquisition, and other Heretical Purges.

Do you see it too?

Steem On!