Teenagers showed us what we had once been capable of, what we might still be capable of. In teenagers, the clear line between We and Other becomes a muddled, tentative barrier. It is easy to assume that we have left behind such paranoid notions. Even the Red Scare seems almost quaint as we enter the 21st century. As America becomes an increasingly diverse populace, the line between Us and Them breaks down.
Repressive measures rise up.
We see too much of ourselves in these new Others, we can no longer be sure what it means to be an American, and so we fight back. And kids still scare adults. Kids embrace a popular culture that crosses borders. Adults still find ways to squash those kids, to prevent them from reminding us of our Other capabilities. They can't be trusted.