McCarthyism Weeding out Communist Threats or Saving...

What started with great potential as a revisionist look at the impacts of McCarthy’s red scare on the politics in the United States ended with a rudimentary analysis of the repercussions of a fabricated fear of communism. The article â€Å"McCarthyism: Political Repression and the Fear of Communism† denied overarching themes of the time period and focused on narrow attempts to place economic sanctions, infractions of civil rights, and national security as the reasons and outcomes of the fear of communism. While these themes are all supported with evidence, a neglect of analysis on the bigger picture leave the reader wondering if Ellen Schrecker, author of the article, is still living with the belief that over-critiquing US politics can land you in jail, tainted for life like a bruised apple. Preoccupied with the how’s of cold war repression the overarching why’s are barely brushed over let alone thoroughly discussed. Schreckers use of novice arguments as well as a lack of thorough analysis on points made proves a weak attempt to situate the impacts of political repression and communism in the United States and its actions abroad. Possible reasons for the absence of revised, more critical analysis desired in this research can be located in the biography of the author. Schrecker, born in 1938, is of the generation writing during the Cold War and after. Her research highlights her interest in writing this piece. An active member of ACLU she has also written extensively about