How is 1950’s society similar to post 9/11 society?

The first of many similarities between the two American societies is that both felt threatened by an outside force, the communists in 1950 and terrorists in Post 9/11 society. Also both of these societies had a paranoia embedded within the very fabric of their people, which was set off by an event. In the 1950’s the paranoia was sparked by WWII and the fear of nuclear annihilation while the Post 9/11 society’s paranoia was sparked by the attack on the Twin Towers in New York on the 11^th of September 2001.

Another similarity between the two societies is the lack of freedom and liberties. In the 1950’s society McCarthy would look into private documents to try and discover who could possibly be a communist sympathiser or even maybe a communist all together. He used this power to spy on Hollywood and see if any of the films being produced had any pro-communist themes or values that could be used to turn more America to their side. In the post 9/11 society the Patriots Act was used to try and find out if there were any possible terrorists living among the innocent people. This act allows the FBI to hack phones, computers and private documents quickly and without the use of forms. Both of these restricted the liberties and freedoms of the people of America. Also both were implemented in order to try and ‘protect’ its people.