I'd argue McCarthyism ended not because the US has "progressed" socially, but because the US had won the Cold War and there has not been a "worthy adversary" for the US until the rise of China.

I wouldn't be surprised if the US start to make the life of China sympathizers difficult in near future if China becomes more competitive.

McCarthyism was over by the mid-50s. The Cold War was only gathering steam at that point.

McCarthyism's end predates the cold war. It also predates all other markers of social progress in the last 50 years.

To me, the end of McCarthyism is the first point in the great wave of American social change that began in the 60s.

But moving on...

> I wouldn't be surprised if the US start to make the life of China sympathizers difficult in near future if China becomes more competitive.

I think that China is largely viewed as a 'foregin nation', whereas communism (whcih is what McCarthyism railed against) was an ideology.

You can adopt an ideology and still remain patriotic--China is a good example of how to take communism and fuse it with your countries national soul. However, you can't really 'adopt' a foregin power.

Because of that China will likely find itself with a lot less sympathizers than communism. The existing sympathizers will likely be people who are ethnically Chinese, which would make it difficult for the government to pressure them due to concerns over racism.

Age is a funny thing, it makes people have different perspective on recent history.

1962 wasn't even 60 years ago. The president of the USA was already an adult at that time.