A new kind of red scare is taking place in the United States and the implications are serious. The declared enemy is Nicaragua and the propaganda target is the American people. The purpose of this red scare is to raise the level of paranoia and fear in the American public sufficiently enough to win support for President Ronald Reagan’s as-yet-undeclared war against the Sandinista government.
How is this red scare manifesting itself? Both Reagan and Secretary of State George Shultz have dramatically escalated their anti-Sandinista rhetoric in recent months. In foreign policy speeches, the Sandinistas are referred to as “drug pushers,” “godless,” “cruel,” “evil” and as “exporters of revolution” whose ultimate aim is to destabilize the United States. Reagan has warned the American people that unless the Sandinistas are stopped now, we might be fighting communism on our own borders.
In conjunction with this fear-mongering, the Reagan administration has also increased FBI surveillance of Central American support groups and harassment of individuals that question the official government position on Nicaragua. FBI infiltration of church sanctuary groups in Arizona, Texas and Washington has led to fear of trust among church sanctuary members throughout the country. Journalists have also been harassed, such as Edward Hasse, a freelancer from Kansas City. Hasse was interrogated at length by the FBI on January 16, after returning from a trip to Nicaragua. His personal diary, written works and address book were confiscated and are still in the hands of the FBI.
A dangerous trend is now being set in this country, fueled by Reagan’s desperate desire to win support for his Central American policy. Inflammatory rhetoric and FBI-sponsored harassment appear to be gaining headway over responsible discussion and debate on an important issue: Should the United States be supporting the overthrow of the Sandinista government? Americans must resist this latest attempt at drumming up a red scare by both Reagan and Shultz, and instead opt for a responsible presentation of the issues on Central America from the different points of view. If the current trend of fear-mongering continues, we may find that the cherished freedoms of this nation may be threatened more by Reagan’s redbaiting policies at home than by a perceived communist threat from abroad.