s divided. The anti-communist network that evolved during three decades blossomed from within civil society in the 1940s and 1950s as a minority. They wielded influence because they were able to effectively lobby the Congress and the Head of the FBI. But more importantly, because the majority of the citizens were silent, inactive and misinformed by the media on public policy issues. The media played a "Goebbels" role during the McCarthy era. The mainstream media "hanged" citizens in public. The Catholic Church also fell down. Many trade unions abandoned their leaders and members. Communities ostracized their neighbors and their children. For many, it was hell on earth. But perhaps, the collaboration of the private sector in dismissing workers and denying employment to victims of the purge was the policy that made citizens feel real fear. To lose ones means of livelihood is to lose all. The weapon of unemployment was effectively used by the Executive, the Congress and the FBI.
However, America did emerge from nearly two decades of that "nightmare" and entered the turbulent 1960s, when citizens were awakened as never seen before, East and West, North and South, to fight for their rights and demand that their government be accountable and transparent. The seeds were planted in the previous decades when many organizations and individuals heroically stood up to McCarthyism. One such organization was the National Alliance of Postal Employees (NAPE). But that is a story to be told.