To the editor:

When we learn history, we often proclaim that had WE been there, we would have acted virtuously. WE would have helped slaves escape and not sent them back to their masters. WE would have hidden Jews and worked to stop the Nazis. WE would not have been engulfed in the paranoia of McCarthy and the “Red Scare” witch hunts that destroyed people who didn’t buy into the paranoia.

We are on the verge of repeating history, and we are not acting virtuously. We are not supporting the free speech ideals of our country. We are not honoring diversity. We ARE creating a new era of McCarthyism.

When we split people into groups using over-simplistic logic (e.g.: “you’re either with us or against us,” “if you speak against the war, then you’re a terrorist,” and “if you don’t agree with Bush, you’re a traitor”) we are practicing McCarthyism. When we directly or indirectly threaten, fire, refuse to hire, or in other ways bully people into silence, we are practicing McCarthyism. When we don’t voice our views for fear of reprisal, we are feeding into McCarthyism. When we allow others to bully or be silent, we are feeding into McCarthyism.

Democracy only works if the many views of the people are heard. McCarthyism kills democracy. I hope that in the here and now — which our children will judge as history — that you will work to save American democracy by fighting the emergence of the new McCarthyism that is attacking our country.

Paula Schumacher,

Lawrence