Biggest Issues Citizens Politicians Confronted 1960s Cold

¶ … biggest issues citizens politicians confronted 1960s Cold War, defined geopolitical tensions, proxy wars fought United States Soviet Union. Indeed, grew 1950s, 60s, 70s, Cold War a household topic understand.

The interpretation and understanding of history largely depends on the perspective used to process events and experience that create that history. The period of the Cold War and especially the political implications of the silent confrontation between the United States and the U.S.S.R. is seen and perceived differently by people with different backgrounds. For this assignment I chose to interview three people that have different backgrounds in terms of age, life experience, and cultural background. Ms. X is a high-school graduate from a traditional American family, born and raised in the United States. Mr. Y is a middle-aged engineer that came 25 years ago from Eastern Europe. Mrs. Z is as well middle-aged, Cuban primary school teacher.

Each of the people interviewed had different answers to provide to the same questions: "how would you characterize the Cold War period?," "What did you learn in school about it?," "What is, if any, your experience related to this period."

Ms. X answered that she would characterize the Cold War period as a historical period in the history of the United States that consisted in deep tense moments in the political relations with the Former Soviet Union. Further, she mentioned the Cuban Missile Crisis and the way in which President Kennedy avoided in the last minute a nuclear war. However, Ms. X did not know to elaborate further. All this information was learned in school where they were taught as part of the 20th century history class. No mention of this period in her home.

Mr. Y described his own experience in the Eastern European country from which he fled decades ago and characterized the Cold War as one of the darkest periods in recent history because it affected generations of people and entire societies. He recalls that the pressure of the communist rule was so great that once arrived in the United States, it was difficult to accommodate himself with the idea that the freedom of speech was a right and not a luxury. Further, he recalled listening to Free Europe Radio, a broadcasting channel that would be listened to in secret in most homes. If caught, people were heard to have gone to jail. In school, there was little mention of the actual terminology of "Cold War" as the confrontation between the East and the West was portrayed as a battle between the ideal society, which was the communist one, and the capitalist oppressors that were the Western powers. His personal experience included good and bad parts but mostly he did not feel the "Cold War" as a state of threat; rather, it was the communist rule that determined him to flee his country and come to the U.S. People, he pointed out, did not know or cared much about the foreign policy his country was conducting because they did not have the time to dwell on it too much. They were too concern with the shortcomings of the regime and the hardships of the last years of communism in the country when, although there were financial possibilities to purchase goods, there was little if anything to choose from. The queues for groceries that were rationalized gathered all the discontent of the population and reverted their interest from foreign policy. Moreover, he concluded, the contact with the news around the world only happened through the Free Europe Radio station which was not available to everybody so few opinion exchanges would have been possible on foreign policy issues. His personal experience during this period was rather consistent given that he was in his early twenties when he left the country he was born in and educated.