Red Scare Theoretical Analysis

Napoleon Bonaparte once said, "Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self interest." Fear is anything but a new concept. Throughout history, it has dictated and shaped societies in ways unlike any other. The "Red Scare" during the 1950's is just one of many great examples that demonstrate just how much fear actually dictates our lives. Fear is the main driving factor in our society today, from political and social campaigns to what we eat and wear. It is our scapegoat, our motivator.
Politics are one of the biggest platforms influenced by fear. For example, the fear of terrorism and Islamophobia are so prevalent in our society today, people actually deem it socially acceptable for a Presidential candidate to call for the "total and complete

They are portrayed as absent minded, lazy, low-life individuals with hardly any motivation. But where does this cliché actually come from? The New York Times recently published an editorial called, "The Federal Marijuana Ban Is Rooted in Myth and Xenophobia." In this editorial series, the author, Brent Staples, exposes the extremely biased "legislation that was passed in an atmosphere of hysteria during the 1930's and that was firmly rooted in prejudices against Mexican immigrants and African-Americans, who were associated with marijuana use at the time."(Times, 7/14) During the early 1930's, America was first starting to see marijuana use becoming prominent along the Texas borders, mainly by the Mexican immigrants and African-Americans. The same old song and dance is always true when it comes to immigrants in the United States: Many entitled 'true Americans' do not like them. Crimes committed by any Mexican or African-American people were immediately attributed to marijuana. Eventually, the federal government intervened when an influential New Orleans doctor blamed 'pot heads' for a string of robberies. The marijuana prohibition campaign spread like wildfire with the use of false propaganda such as marijuana led to insanity and as much as 'one marijuana cigarette' could influence you so greatly you would want to kill your loved ones. Eventually, marijuana was made