Reply To: TBC: The novel is set against the backdrop of the Red Scare and McCarthyism.
Great points about Reka Nancy. I know that the United States was very worried after WWII that the communist parties in many European countries would grow stronger after so much destruction and death at the hands of the fascists so they worked at promising Europe military protection and defence so those countries could pour money into rebuilding their economies and into the social programs that the European citizens were demanding for their welfare and security (so much of the roots of WWII came from inequality and people starving and struggling to survive from post WWI and economic collapse). It’s such a strange echo now, to see the current administration pulling away that military protection from the EU, under the notion that the US can’t afford it.
And I so agree, with your points Jane. Troubling parallels with today and the power plays going on with the universities and the “witch-hunting” of students and green-card holders etc. It’s not communists but simply “foreigners” but now appears to be also including “dissenters.” There are sadly so many real people out there with Arlene’s attitude.
