pwd+outside+readings

ATG NBC – The Lasting Effects of McCarran-Walter Act  The McCarran-Walter Act was derived from the many allegations of Sen. Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy made a name for himself by prosecuting innocent government officers and people of the United States. Years after the start of the witch hunt lead by McCarthy took off, people were still being affected by the enacted policies and this is when NBC picked up the story. It is obvious that NBC along with many other people in the United States agree that the Act should be not only abolished, but completely forgotten about. By giving examples of the people who were affected by the Red Scare, NBC was able to instigate feeling of negativity towards the Act. During the time that these trials were taking place, under the control of McCarthy, many people in the United States were hidden from the facts of what was really going on behind the blunt mind of Senator McCarthy. McCarthy used the lack of knowledge shared by many Americans to his advantage, allowing him to gain support at staggering rates. People were lead to believe that members of their own government were turning against the state. News feeds like these were used to try and play down the affect the Senator McCarthy was having on the ideas of the people. The main idea of this NBC video is that Sen. Joseph McCarthy was corrupt in his actions.

SLW-- "The Company Man" This advertisement was most likely created by a clothing company that sold business attire or by an actual business company that wanted to instill the idea of conformity in the workplace. People in the business world wanted to commission such attire because, during the 1950s, personal opinions and individuality became viewed as detrimental and problematic to a company. This idea largely arose out of the Cold War and the fear of the spread of communistic ideas into the United States. People who failed to conform to the social norm were often deemed radical and communistic. Therefore, the 1950s saw a large decline in individual personality and a growth in obedience. This whole idea of conformity took a much larger role than just in the business world and affected society as a whole. People drove the same cars, virtually had the same houses as suburbia grew, and all wanted the same appliances thanks to the rise in consumerism. In the business world in particular, shown in the above photo, businessmen were presumed to all wear the same clothing and were even issued “company neck ties” as a standard. These men became known as “The Company Man” and were prime examples of what people aspired to be in society. While some people did not find this selling of personality to be a negative thing, other members of society found this hypocrisy and phoniness of America to be revolting. These advocates of non-conformity largely consisted of the younger generation, who wanted to maintain their individuality and expression, and a group that came to be known as the “beatniks” who challenged the accepted rules and behaviors that everybody was adopting. These vast disagreements of ideas eventually caused a separation of the adult world from this new “beat generation” and caused many teenagers and others to rebel. Sex, drugs, and alcohol were such controversial aspects of life that many of these non-conformists adopted to keep from succumbing to the homogeneity surrounding them. These advocates of non-conformity during the 1950s led the way to the huge movements that occurred during the 1960s.