McCarthyism and the Red Scare

Okay, Drinko Hall is a bit of a walk when it's freezing out, but it was absolutely worth it to see the presentation on McCarthyism put on by the Arts and PSL Scholars. They did a dazzling performance of the congressional hearings by the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee). Seeing it in action really brought to life how insane the whole process was and how different ,yet in some ways eerily similar, the 1950s were to today. I especially enjoyed the panel during the last half of the evening. They described all the underlying reasons for the inquisitions into Hollywood, some of which I found to be quite discriminatory, but sadly not very shocking. They also drew parallels to some of the paranoia Americans deal with today, specifically terrorism. Though today, we have not had such a harsh and unwavering reaction, there are still some obvious correlations. The part I found most interesting was the point that America has consistently undergone surges of paranoia, and McCarthyism was simply one manifestation of this. I simultaneously  do and don't hope to be around when the next wave hits. The history was fascinating and I'm glad I was able to attend.