The generation of Americans who lived through, and still remember, the McCarthy Hearings of the 1950s is rapidly shrinking and will soon also fade into memory. But — like the Holocaust, Watergate, and other monumental events — we must not allow the historic records of those tragedies to be erased, for if we do, they will most certainly be repeated.

Joseph McCarthy was a United States Senator from the state of Wisconsin, who, in the early years of the Cold War following World War II, became obsessed with the belief that the U.S. government, educational institutions, and even the film industry were riddled with communists attempting to undermine and overthrow the government.

On this date — February 9th — in 1950, he began what would become his notorious “Red Scare” crusade when he delivered a speech before the Ohio County Women’s Republican Club in Wheeling, West Virginia, during which he waved a sheet of paper in the air and declared:

“I have here in my hand a list of 205 [State Department employees] that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping the policy of the State Department.” [“This Day in History,” History.com, February 9, 2026.]

Over the course of the next four years, his repeated — though unverified — accusations, carried out to the world through televised Senate hearings, destroyed the lives of countless innocent people, including government officials, academicians, and movie stars. He was finally stopped and censured by the Senate in 1954. He died in 1957 at the age of 48 — officially of “Hepatitis, acute, cause unknown,” though there were rumors that his decline into alcoholism was the real cause. [Joseph McCarthy biography, Wikipedia.]

“McCarthyism” entered the English lexicon as a reference to extreme anti-communist activities. Eventually, its usage broadened to signify demagogic, reckless and unsubstantiated accusations, along with public attacks on the character or patriotism of political opponents. [Id.]

And that is the lesson to be learned, and reinforced, from the madness of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Whatever his original intent — whether a sincere desire to protect the country from a perceived communist infiltration, or his own narcissistic political ambition — his method was not new; it had been used by demagogues and authoritarians throughout history, and continues to this day. It is, quite simply:

Repeat it often enough, with sufficient authority, and the people will begin to believe. Instill in them a fear of something they are helpless to control; convince them that you have the answers and the solution; and they will follow you.

Sound familiar?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/9/26