Modern-Day McCarthyism - is it back? Rosie Williamson

Modern-Day McCarthyism - is it back?

Rosie Williamson U6

McCarthyism has become a term used somewhat liberally in modern-day politics. Some may even argue that Trumpism, the new ‘woke revolution’ and even current fears of Russian intervention are all throwbacks to McCarthyism from the 1960s.

The McCarthy ‘witch-hunts’, otherwise known as the ‘red scare’, were a series of investigations spearheaded by Joseph McCarthy into suspected communist infiltration of the US government. When the Cold War broke out between the US and the USSR there was an intense fear and hatred of communism among many Americans. Common slogans such as “better dead than red” and “there’s a red in every bush”, highlight the collective fear of a communist revolution in America. This hatred was stoked by American leaders incessantly warning the public to be wary of communist influence in their lives. Fear of the unknown proliferated, and the belief that anyone could be the ‘enemy’ such as teachers, journalists or even police flooded society. It created a terror led environment resembling the historical regimes of the Nazis and Torquemada’s Spanish Inquisition, as those under investigation were coerced to falsely accuse anyone of being a communist to demonstrate their patriotism and save themselves. These mid-twentieth century hunts were later found to be a wild goose chase… without a goose. Although, no one dared to question McCarthy for fear of being labelled a traitor. In a speech, McCarthy declared “Any man who has been named by either a senator or committee or a congressman as dangerous to the welfare of this nation, his name should be submitted to the various intelligence units, and they should conduct a complete check upon him. It’s not too much to ask.” This answers the question as to why McCarthy’s methodology was left unchallenged. And as Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, illustrated if you wished to square a grudge, all you had to do was whisper a name and say that they were a communist, and the state would come knocking at their door. Signs of a rising neo-McCarthyism have begun to emerge in America and worldwide.

Significantly Kurt Schlichter in a Twitter poll asked his followers, “Would you take up arms and fight to defend the US Constitution against a socialist coup/revolution?”. A worrying 63% said they would ‘fight back ruthlessly’, highlighting an emergence of suspicion, potentially rallying people into unfound paranoia, resemblant of the red scare. Conservative critics have also argued that “cancel culture is the new McCarthyism of the ‘woke’ generation.” If you are not with us, you must be against us – no defence can be accepted, this mentality has been adopted by many who label themselves as ‘social justice activists.’ Society appears to be heading in the direction where a spectrum of opinions is no longer acceptable, with only one objective truth, and all other beliefs are deviant and unjustifiable. Rather than debate polarised opinions to find common ground, one side “cancel culture is shut down and ‘cancelled’ to is the new McCarthyism avoid offending any individual. “Cancel culture” is a phenomenon that stemmed of the ‘woke’ from movements to end discrimination against generation.” victimised minority groups, especially racial minorities, and members of the LGBTQIA+ group. However, critics argue that this has gone too far and we are transmogrifying into an Orwellian dystopia where people are told what to believe; counterbeliefs are not tolerated, and standing against the accepted truth leads to protest, threat, and social exclusion by an often-faceless mob. To overcome entrenched beliefs within a society, huge change is needed. But how far should this be allowed to go? The line between being ‘woke’ and forcing opinions on a populace is being blurred. Prejudice, paranoia, and hysteria remain tools employed by the unscrupulous to manipulate society. But is McCarthyism re-emerging or are politicians just throwing the term around to disempower and attack their opponent?