“Senator McCarthy used his political position to rail against the possibility of Communists “hidden in plain sight,” going on to associate Communism with whatever else he believed to be “deviant” behavior. His list of those who threatened American life included anyone with an interest in Socialist ideas but also artists, homosexuals, labor organizers, and more. Ultimately deemed a “witch hunt,” McCarthy’s campaign to rid America of “Un-American activity” was one in which fear of the Other threatened to undo the principles of democracy as many Americans understood them. But in some fashion, McCarthy’s anxieties, extreme in nature, were not his alone. McCarthy’s “witch hunt” and its seemingly unlikely success as a political effort revealed the intolerance and anxiety about Otherness that was indeed a part of American life. Widespread concerns about the categories “normal” and “abnormal,” “American” and “Un-American,” “insider” and “outsider” revealed themselves across the fabric of the country.
How far have we come? And how can we study the past to learn more about the future we’re making and the music we’ll make it with? This lesson gets to the heart of the conflicts that arise as particular rhythms get made, released, listened to, and loved.”
