Our Own Inquisition

I just finished Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna, and while I did have difficulty 'getting into it' once I got about a third of the way through, I found I could not put the book down.

In this book I learned much about Leon Trotsky, artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo,  and more about what I consider to be the absolute darkest period in our Nation's history:  the McCarthy Era.

It was during this time that a lying, power-seeking, fear monger (and these were his positive attributes), Senator Joseph McCarthy, a Republican from Wisconsin, began a reign of terror in the US that jeopardized the rights of so many good Americans.  (A frequent sidekick of McCarthy was Richard Nixon) .The feared Dies Committee, aka House Un-American Activities Committee, employed questioning tactics akin to the "So when did you stop beating your wife?" ilk.  "Trials" or hearings were not much different than those conducted in 1692 Salem, Massachusetts when the town elders threw the suspected witches into the pond.  Only their drowning proved the alleged conjurers'  innocence.   Ironic, huh?   The paradox?  In their condemnation of all things Communist these 1950s leaders employed tactics that probably  made Stalin proud.

**  In addition to reading The Lacuna, if you're interested in reading more about this time, and if you haven't already read/viewed these, consider reading Arthur Miller's The Crucible, or viewing a film titled The Front.  I used both of these in my 11th grade American Lit classes and the kids really seemed to get a lot from them.  As always, I'm available for discussion.  :)

♫These Are The Good Old Days♪♫

I was born a poor, black tenant farmer .  No, that isn't right...  I was born in the 50s.  See, I can say "the 50s"  and everyone can understand the impact of that:  born in the throes of Korea, the McCarthy Era, poodle skirts, American Bandstand, I'd be on the cusp of understanding all of these; wouldn't come to really know them until much later.  Then there were the 60s -- a fantastic time to be alive:  in my teens by then and experiencing JD Salinger, Joseph Heller, and George Orwell and waiting for the predictions of 1984 to be proven or not.  Then came the 70s, 80s, and 90s, each significant, and each  branding the nuances and history of the particular decade.

Yesterday a bloggerfriend mentioned the passing of yet another decade and it hit me!   We've just experienced the 0s and now we're into the 11s.  Just doesn't have the same ring, the same impact, does it?  It seems the first 19 years of each century are nebulous and without a clear name.   Do we have to wait until 2020 to ameliorate this tragic condition?

I think part of the reason I'm having trouble even recognizing the past 10 years as a decade is because we haven't 'characterized' them --there's no clear name.  (Well, actually there's probably more to that -- I still can't get used to being in this new century and yet when I say '1970' it seems to me like ancient times, but this is my problem.) 

So where do we go from here?  Any ideas?