Fears Inside of Fears
one.
A fear of something is an emotion that runs deep through your bones. It takes a hold of your reasoning and twists and turns it until nothing seems real anymore. When one is dealing with a mass hysteria type situation, such as the red scare of communism or girls using witch power during 1692, no one stops to think and no one tries to reason with knowledge. The fear grips a hold of people so strongly it never tends to let go but what is the source of this fear? What takes this fear and pushes it so deep into someone’s mind that the thought of the fear being unreasonable is the fear itself. Joe McCarty and Adolf Hitler are two examples of people who caused a mass hysteria somewhere in the world, by simply being trusted and coming along at a time where people’s minds were vulnerable.
During the 1950’s, Joe McCarty took the fear of communism and twisted it into a mass hysteria that still has people questioning other countries and their ways of government. The mass hysteria was started with the Soviet Union expansion in Eastern Europe. Once events such as communism in China, the Russian’s exploding an atomic bomb and the start of the Korean War, people’s minds were vulnerable to some explanation of why this all was happening. The people of the United States feared that communism would soon spread and take over their beloved country. The people of the United States needed an answer and when Joe McCarthy appeared, as a trusted senator, with a list of people he claimed to be Communists, they believed him. “…he also accused scientists, diplomats, actors, film producers and writers of being sympathizers” says Hindsight. People’s minds were so vulnerable, begging for an answer that no matter who he accused was automatically feared.
Feared and praised was Adolf Hitler. After the fall of Germany, he promised the Germans a one-way rise on the escalator back to the top. He promised the Germans that he could help them restore their country but he had something else in mind. Adolf Hitler killed many. He killed Jewish People, people with defects and even people who looked the slightest bit Jewish. He had an army of people scoping out those who he thought would betray him and those who he thought were against him. Adolf Hitler, though he promised safety and a rise back to the top, spread fear throughout Germany. The people who voted for Hitler when he ran for a power were so intrigued by his promises of a new and better Germany, that they failed to see the hideous crimes that this man would soon commit on their people, their neighbors, and their families. And just like the scare of McCarthyism, “people were anxious and frightened by the growing threat and were inclined to believe McCarthy’s extravagant claims” (Hindsight, line 6-7).
Both Senator Joe McCarthy and Adolf Hitler have things in common. Both men were trusted men who came about when the citizen’s minds were vulnerable and scared. “McCarthy claimed that he had a list of 205 communists worked in the State Department.” (hindsight) and the people believed him because of the fear they already had. They wanted someone to blame and they wanted to keep communism out of their minds and their homes. Similar to McCarthy, Adolf promised a rise to the top but instead gave Germany too many deaths to count. In conclusion, mass hysteria is certainly not fed by knowledge and reasoning but it is fed by fear and pain, and quite simply people just wanting something to blame. If one puts together fear and someone who comes along, promising a reason for this fear and a way out of it, people are likely to believe anything.
During the 1950’s, Joe McCarty took the fear of communism and twisted it into a mass hysteria that still has people questioning other countries and their ways of government. The mass hysteria was started with the Soviet Union expansion in Eastern Europe. Once events such as communism in China, the Russian’s exploding an atomic bomb and the start of the Korean War, people’s minds were vulnerable to some explanation of why this all was happening. The people of the United States feared that communism would soon spread and take over their beloved country. The people of the United States needed an answer and when Joe McCarthy appeared, as a trusted senator, with a list of people he claimed to be Communists, they believed him. “…he also accused scientists, diplomats, actors, film producers and writers of being sympathizers” says Hindsight. People’s minds were so vulnerable, begging for an answer that no matter who he accused was automatically feared.
Feared and praised was Adolf Hitler. After the fall of Germany, he promised the Germans a one-way rise on the escalator back to the top. He promised the Germans that he could help them restore their country but he had something else in mind. Adolf Hitler killed many. He killed Jewish People, people with defects and even people who looked the slightest bit Jewish. He had an army of people scoping out those who he thought would betray him and those who he thought were against him. Adolf Hitler, though he promised safety and a rise back to the top, spread fear throughout Germany. The people who voted for Hitler when he ran for a power were so intrigued by his promises of a new and better Germany, that they failed to see the hideous crimes that this man would soon commit on their people, their neighbors, and their families. And just like the scare of McCarthyism, “people were anxious and frightened by the growing threat and were inclined to believe McCarthy’s extravagant claims” (Hindsight, line 6-7).
Both Senator Joe McCarthy and Adolf Hitler have things in common. Both men were trusted men who came about when the citizen’s minds were vulnerable and scared. “McCarthy claimed that he had a list of 205 communists worked in the State Department.” (hindsight) and the people believed him because of the fear they already had. They wanted someone to blame and they wanted to keep communism out of their minds and their homes. Similar to McCarthy, Adolf promised a rise to the top but instead gave Germany too many deaths to count. In conclusion, mass hysteria is certainly not fed by knowledge and reasoning but it is fed by fear and pain, and quite simply people just wanting something to blame. If one puts together fear and someone who comes along, promising a reason for this fear and a way out of it, people are likely to believe anything.