American Paranoia

Paranoia is a frightening thing. It completely alters the way someone lives and thinks. Harsh judgments can be made when we suspect the worst is coming. A famous example of this was Senator Joseph McCarthy. During the late 1940’s and 1950’s, he believed over two hundred communists had hacked the United States Government System (McCarthyism). He desired to find and uncover the ‘communists” hiding in the United States. This was an ongoing subject of quandary and chaos for many years. Most people have heard of the witch hunts and trials that took place in Europe long ago. They used the Malleus Maleficarum to identify witches by having a set of standards and anybody who didn’t meet those was most often executed as a witch. Imagine a modern day witch hunt. This was what McCarthyism was considered. He instituted a fearful hunt for the supposed communists in the United States. McCarthyism is the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques, especially in order to restrict dissent or political criticism (McCarthyism Defition). He was ruthlessly accusing hundreds of individuals, including authors, actors, and anybody who had a “creative job”, of being a communist. One of his more well known …show more content…
He was openly opposed to trials and questioning. He was amazed anybody would agree to being tried over such matter. This scandal would have ruined both his and Monroe’s careers, but he remained steadfast and refused to be victimized. Miller even lost a close friend in the process, but his wife stood beside him throughout the accusations. Both Miller and Monroe were targeted, along with many others in the entertainment industry because of their unique ways of life. The battle was elongated and tedious, but they prevailed and came out with no harm to their careers or credibility (Shmoop Editorial