One of the most notorious cold shoulders in the history of humanity has made news once again. This tactful game of nationalistic passion and deception against rivaling world powers never actually subsided when diplomats said it had in the late 80s early 90s. Pulling out of the Cold War would not be as easy as it was desired. Between political bantering and the proxy wars progress towards compromise was far from meeting reality. This enormous tension resulted in wildfire like fear across the nation which coincidentally heightened with a growing homegrown – as well as Soviet – nuclear weapons program.
No one could be trusted. One faulty move could have sent the world into a nuclear holocaust. It was as simple as the pressing of the infamous big red button – which seemed all too legitimate then – to send the colliding nations into a destructive power struggle. The Cold War created an eternal enemy between the United States and Russia that lives on today, hiding under the noses of America’s citizens.
In 2015, the Cold War is only in its second phase. What the United States government is slyly hiding from the public is that this Cold War redux is stronger than ever and isn't stopping. Without diving into any information regarding the two rivaling nations, the relationship between Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama should say it all. Always in a seemingly constant state of disagreement, and any compromises made between the two Presidents are merely for media purposes. Keeping their respective citizens at ease so the governments can continue without ridicule or uprising is the primary goal other than trying to systematically decimate one other at any cost. At the end of the day when these two men leave nothing that was spoken of was taken to heart or had meant anything too serious. At least, that is what the progress, if any, has shown.
People need and deserve to know what is going on in U.S. foreign affairs. Any bit of information can be beneficial for two reasons: to stunt ignorance and protect our citizens using knowledge as the powerful tool it is. The truth is key to progress no matter the consequence. Fallacious lies only lead to continuous blind ignorance and unwarranted deceit. Unfortunately, the latter is how many governments choose to organize. To fully grasp what is going on around us today one must analyze the events from the Cold War’s origins to further apply understanding in modern day standards.
Part of understanding the Cold War era is taking a look into the ideology and schematics of the government. The U.S has used nuclear weaponry before, but when extensive nuclear planning began in 1959, the United States wanted to be ready for an all-out war. Since protecting the home front is top priority, the only way to defend themselves was to stock up on nuclear warheads. The United States, however, was not on the defensive and the recent unveiling of government records from the National Archives and Records Administration proved we were on the verge of a major offensive move. The American government was calling for a “systematic destruction” of major populated cities in Europe as well as Russia to cripple communist influence. The nuclear targets in mind were East Berlin, Moscow and Leningrad among others. Imagine the death toll.
Is this much unnecessary civilian casualties worth defeating the hammer and sickle? There always is a systematic answer that does not have to deal with any form of destruction. Neither side had dealt with this tension properly nor is it improving and it is showing in today’s society. Since the end of World War II the world has seen and been involved in numerous of proxy wars between the U.S and Russia causing the Cold War climate in 2015 and 2016 no better than the past sixty years. It has been made clear that Russia is not our friend for very good reasons, but both sides must learn how to negotiate for the benefit of worldwide peace.
