How McCarthyism affected the lives and political thinking of people in the U.S.?

Answer 1

McCarthyism, was the key to paranoia for the American Right wing just the word communist would send them into a fit of convulsions , most still view communism as a system of government rather than an economic system. the Convulsive knee jerk reaction to the slightest hint of the dreaded Commies allowed the overthrow of dozens of duly elected governments and thousands tortured and murdered in the name of capitalism, Guatemala, Iran, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, are but a few, and Americans look the other way because the Commie word was used.

Answer 2

It is pretty amazing to believe that people were getting thrown into jail such a short time ago for attending political meetings (whether they even joined that party or not), and also for assocating with people who did. Both of those things are expressly protected in the Constitution (remember that weird letter the founding fathers wrote), which gets conveniently forgotten every time it suits conservatives.
Yes, McCarthy is really somehow a big hero for ruining people's lives and throwing them in jail when they didn't commit any crimes, I already know about it. McCarthy was a traitor, along with Ray Cohn.

Answer 3

He mobilized public fears of a country that constituted a mortal threat to the United States in order to advance himself politically thus cocooning America inside a bubble of pathological paranoia that made it susceptible to acting irrational. Kind of like what the Bush Administration has done to the country over Iraq and terrorism.

Answer 4

1) Turns out, with Russian secret documents released, that McCarthy was right about Communist/Socialist infiltration of the U.S., particularly Hollywood. Almost every single person he went after turned out to be what he said they were.
2) McCarthy's methods were wrong, and should never be repeated. His goal of ending socialism and communism infiltration of our government was wise.
3) McCarthyism made us careless. We let the Socialist Party of America use the Democratic Party as one of their arms (see Wikipedia: Socialist Party of America: Split). We're paying for it now with several members of the party trying to install socialist reforms into our country, and otherwise undermining everything else in the interests of this country.

It won't work. Free speech is one of the best defenses we have. I helped with that fight.

I'm a democrat (not a socialist).

Don't lose it.

Answer 5

It's the same today as it was then. McCarthy was having people see communists behind every tree. Today, Bush has people seeing terrorists behind every tree. So much so that many are willing to give up freedoms guaranteed to them in the Constitution.

Answer 6

its ironic that mccarthyism employed the very tactics they claimed to be trying to rid our country of.

hard to beat mckenzies answer. It's tactics were unamerican, despite the good intent.

Answer 7

It has stiffled acknowledgment of the communists within our country. If I even mention the name on YA I get a violation notice.

Answer 8

McCarthy correctly identified many Communist agents in government, which was the job he was assigned to do. The Venona Project of the 1990s gave us solid proof of that.

A common Communist technique for defusing investigations into their activities is called "Poisoning the Well". What Leftist sympathizers did in Hollywood, the media, the House of Representatives and other places is to create a frenzy of false accusations and recriminations in order to derail McCarthy's genuine search for enemies of our nation working at the highest levels of government. This activity was called "McCarthyism" to smear that senator with the activities of those trying to derail him. It worked.

The long term effect - as a nation we have been neutered, unable to accurately point out Communist enemies in our midst. This strategy has given Communists great power in our nation.

Answer 9

Hmmm? Lemme guess? Your liberal pony-tailed sporting poli-sci prof gave you this question to see if you'd come back Monday spouting the ACLU approved line about McCarthy?

Answer 10

it showed how easily we could be divided through fear.
many politians use this tactic now.