Chemicals In the Water: Homophobia in Cold War-era American Politics

In McCarthy’s era of politics, America was being united against a domestic foreign enemy; the fear of Communists and especially the idea of a neighbor working for the Russians. However, there’s one other domestic issue that was being tackled, the fear of homosexuality began to spread among the people in a fashion commonly referred to as the “Lavender Scare”. With McCarthy also at the helm of this era of politics and subsequently hoisted by his own petard, the Lavender Scare presented an interesting clash between a man and his ideas, between a country and its leaders, and a face with the cause he supported. Cohn and McCarthy led a witch hunt from the inside and, upon being outed, became synonymous with the hunt for internal corruption rather than the Communist purge they tried to make the more important part of their stay in Washington, D.C.

The smearing of McCarthy’s credibility revealed that sometimes a mob is just after a target at some point, and if it happens to point inwards, then so be it. This is far from the first time in history this has happened, with one of the most notable being the killing of Robespierre at the gallows during the French Revolution, but it’s shocking to see it happen again so long after. The interesting thing about McCarthy’s case, however, is that his targeting originally only had to do with homosexuality rather than the Communist threat he was simultaneously trying to weed out. This did not last long, however, as Pearson’s attack on McCarthy’s character largely consisted of both fronts, framing him as a “perverted and unmanly degenerate enslaved by the Communist party.” (Friedman 8 / American Quarterly 1111) With McCarthy’s credibility in the eyes of the American public quickly being flushed down the drain, not much was left of the anti-Communist agenda that wasn’t already being acted upon by the independent mob that had already turned on its leader.

When it comes to sexual innuendos in politics today, however, I would argue it’s gotten so much worse. With the advent of the Internet and the rapid growth of technology in the public sector, it’s become so much easier to follow what goes on in the personal lives of people in government and catch them for much more, more easily than it ever was in the past. From Trump’s comments both times he’s ran for President to the seemingly blatant sexism of some of the modern Republican party, i.e. the strong desire some members have to not let a woman become President, there are routine jabs at gender, race, and sexuality thrown around in politics like no consequences can occur. In my opinion, I think decorum in politics has gone downhill in the last 10 years at least, and that something should be done about it; the government is a place of business and should be treated as such, with respect for others and the common person given across the aisle in every facet of government.