we were pretty much raised on the belief that the Communists were Teh EBIL because the government told the people how to think and what to believe, and shut down anyone who didn't think or believe the way they were supposed to, and I was going to question the fact that our government, to a lesser degree, is trying to do that now
And back then, I think. Certainly the McCarthy scare was in large part about automatically vilifying anyone on the mere suspicion that they might have communist leanings, which, last I checked, holding non-capitalist economic/political beliefs was not *actually* treasonous. Though I'm sure they're working on it. Anyway, yesterday's dirty commies are today's Islamofascists, but I think the construction of an evil evil Other that all good Americans stand in opposition to is a decent example of " the government [telling] the people how to think and what to believe, and shut[ting] down anyone who didn't think or believe the way they were supposed to". Not on the level of the more repressive communist countries - in general (though not without exception) people don't get jailed by the US gov't for free speech, and though there are a variety of other methods used currently to inhibit free speech, free speech is still legal on the books. But, yeah. I see your point, and I too get frustrated at this construction of America as the one country that's automatically morally superior in all its actions, no matter what those actions are. I guess that's bog-standard unthinking "patriotism", but it is wearying.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ninetydegrees
no subject
on 2006-07-18 01:53 pm (UTC)And back then, I think. Certainly the McCarthy scare was in large part about automatically vilifying anyone on the mere suspicion that they might have communist leanings, which, last I checked, holding non-capitalist economic/political beliefs was not *actually* treasonous. Though I'm sure they're working on it. Anyway, yesterday's dirty commies are today's Islamofascists, but I think the construction of an evil evil Other that all good Americans stand in opposition to is a decent example of " the government [telling] the people how to think and what to believe, and shut[ting] down anyone who didn't think or believe the way they were supposed to". Not on the level of the more repressive communist countries - in general (though not without exception) people don't get jailed by the US gov't for free speech, and though there are a variety of other methods used currently to inhibit free speech, free speech is still legal on the books. But, yeah. I see your point, and I too get frustrated at this construction of America as the one country that's automatically morally superior in all its actions, no matter what those actions are. I guess that's bog-standard unthinking "patriotism", but it is wearying.