The McCarthy's Communist hunts were part of the period called the Red Scare this was a time of prejudice and fear among the people of the United States of America saying the Communism was going to sweep the nation taking away their freedom and Democracy. McCarthy's hunts were done to "help make sure that communism is dealt with". McCarthy at the time held great power being in the Senate and held many unconstitutional trails to suspected Communist supporters/ spies for the "Communist Nation"/ Russia. And now we know that these acts we unjustified. Right after 9/11 we now come to repeat these actions acting on fear instead of justice. The Patriot Act, enacted after 9/11 allowed US agencies to search homes and initiate investigations without a warrant similar to the trials and investigations held during the Red Scare. After 9/11 we targeted and blamed Al-Qaeda and therefore initiated the War on Terrorism and invaded Afghanistan, but not to put down the organization that struck the United States instead they attack the Taliban. This war would continue even to this day fighting multiple organizations throughout the Middle East. This also became soon a fight less about 9/11 and more about fossil fuels and even today the US uses this as an excuse to continue and fight this war. So in the end America ends up only hurting itself in these situations violating our rights to protect our rights. The only real difference between these eras is the fact that we didn't use guns and bombs to get our way in the Red Scare that's why it's called a Cold War.
