The Last of the Cold War Kids

[JesseEllyson]

I was born in 1969. I missed out on the McCarthy era. I missed the Cuban Missile Crisis. I didn't know who Nikita Khrushchev was and John F Kennedy was just a name I heard from time to time. All these times, these stories and people, happened before I came along. Still, they were the foundation for the stories of my own time.

I grew up during the Carter administration, with gas shortages and Russian occupation of Afghanistan. I wasn't really aware of any of this on an intellectual level. It was all just background noise. But it had an effect. I grew up with a fatalistic worldview. By the time I was eleven or twelve years old, I was convinced that nothing really mattered because the world was going to end in a nuclear inferno really soon.

I remember my elementary school. We had an air-raid siren right out in our playground. We didn't hide under our desks as the generation before us had done but I was aware that this was the proper procedure. I knew that when the bombs came, that was where I was supposed to be. (Because surely my desk would save me, right?) I remember hearing that siren go off on a weekly basis. I think it may have been every Wednesday at noon; I'm not certain.

By the time Ronald Reagan came into the White House, I was ready for a hero. He was a cowboy in a suit, a guy who spoke plainly and took no prisoners. The way he blew Walter Mondale away in the debates was like a wild west shoot-out. This was some damn good TV. I watched every speech I could, (or at least the highlights.) When they credited him with ending the Cold War, I was hooked. Ronald Reagan, my hero!

Such indoctrination takes a lot of un-learning. It would be decades before I woke to the realization that Reagan's economic policies were nothing less than disastrous. Things sure looked good while he was in office but he set the nation on a downward spiral that hasn't quite stopped yet.

But still, despite my hero worship of this ultra-positive guy, this man who knew how to put a shine on anything and everything, that fatalistic outlook on life that I had developed in my early years never went away. I learned to hide it, somewhat. I always had a cheerful smile with which to face the world. But inside I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. I've always expected the worst.

I didn't do well in school. I still understood that the world could end at any moment so what did school matter? I had few friends but I was alright with that. I never expected people to like me. I got older, got jobs, lost them. That was alright too. I never expected an actual career of any kind. Relationships never went anywhere. That was alright. Who cared about relationships when the world was going to end?

What's strange is that I spent so much time pretending to be positive. Perhaps I just thought that was what was expected. I don't know. But when faced with someone else's woes I would always tell them that things would get better. I never believed that but I said it again and again. Things will get better.
They actually did get better in the 90s, during the Clinton administration but I was too engrossed in my negativity to notice.

I finally woke up during the Obama administration. For the first time I began to see that things weren't quite as dark as I had believed all my life. It was like waking up after a really bad dream, the sun shining outside the window and the smell of fresh mown grass in the air.

And now we have Donald Trump.

I've been proven right. All my life, waiting for the other shoe to drop, knowing that the worst possible thing that could happen was exactly what was going to happen. My fatalistic worldview has been vindicated and I've come full circle.

Once again, I see nuclear warheads around every corner. Once again, I hear Russia pounding on our door. But this time I can't look to my president to save me because he's the one placing me in danger. We are engaged in a new Cold War and we are inching ever closer to a real, physical war, a World War. And unlike the first two World Wars, this one will be nuclear, with death on a much vaster scale than anything humanity has ever seen.

My generation saw the end of the Cold War. And now we are seeing the birth of a new Colder War. In this war, the entire world is turning a cold shoulder to the USA. Our president is working hard to alienate every world leader, one at a time. If hostilities break out, the USA will have no allies. Then our new Cold War will turn hotter than imaginable. And I can't help but fully expect this to happen.

[JustAnotherGirlie]

THIS IS A GREAT TAKE.

Man I wish I could just retweet or post this everywhere because it’s quite true. I think anyone with an acute sense of history understands that this is how the Cold War begins. Putin is trying very hard to resurrect the USSR and is becoming quite antagonistic towards other countries - they aren’t even hiding it anymore.
I’m also detecting some shifts towards radical nationalism (or at least populism) that make me concerned about the state of affairs in Europe. The world is destabilizing, and I feel like it’s a perfect time for China to get their economic shit together and become the hegemon we know they will be. America is becoming disgustingly weak, and hard to respect. I don’t think people truly understand that military strongmen are the way of a different time - there’s not a ton of need for starting wars in 2017. I really do think Donald’s erratic “aggressive” foreign policy will do more harm than good.
As a students of foreign policy, we see the writing on the wall. America is becoming obsolete, which is something a lot of Americans don’t want to admit. Our intervention in other nations was KEY to our domination globally 50 years ago. It’s the best way to exercise our interests. So once you scale back from international treaties and organizations, piss off our allies... it’s not going to be good.
Man I need a drink

[JesseEllyson]

China has recently made public its plans for the future. They are forging trade agreements with pretty much every world power. The only world power, in fact, that is not even being considered by the Chinese as worthy of their new trade empire is the USA. We are too unstable and we have shown that we can't be trusted. The world is indeed changing and the USA is not going to play much of a role in the world of tomorrow.

[WalterRadio]

Reagan was fantastic. The mid 80s where the best years in American history. And when he told Gorbachov to Tear down that wall! We knew it was just a matter of time, and it did indeed come down.

Ronald Reagan freed a hundred million people from the slavery of Communism. He set in motion for a billion more to follow by his shining beacon on the hill.

Obama was a disaster. He appeases our enemies which emboldened them. He let recently freed people be captured into slavery again. He goaded Kim Jong Un to push headlong into developing nuclear ICBMs. He shackled the economy with regulations and tax increases.

Oh, I wish we had Ronald Reagan again.

[WalterRadio]

by the way. I am breaking ground next week on a fallout shelter. No thank you, Obama.

[JesseEllyson]

The Bush recession was caused primarily because of his reckless deregulation. Obama didn't place new regulations on the banking and housing industries, he simply replaced the regulations that had been there in the past. And despite the fairy tales you may have seen on Fox News, it worked.

[WalterRadio]

The housing bubble was caused by Democrat Chair Barney Frank ordering banks to lend to people who were not credit worthy and the fed dropping interest rates in order to stimulate the economy.

Unfortunately, there is only one fed rate, not two. What they needed to have done is to lower interest rates for businesses, but not for consumers.

[YellowHat24]

@JesseEllyson My town in Indiana has an old air raid siren from the Cold War that goes off on Wednesdays at noon. I can always hear it during Biology class, and some of my classmates that have never noticed it freak out for a second. It was probably used in case of a nuclear attack 30 years ago, but today it is tested weekly as a tornado siren.

[Naydyonov]

"Russian occupation of Afghanistan"
There was no Russia or Russian army, it was the USSR. Thus, "The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan".

"Once again, I see nuclear warheads around every corner. Once again, I hear Russia pounding on our door. "
"I finally woke up during the Obama administration. For the first time I began to see that things weren't quite as dark as I had believed all my life"

You do realize that US - Russia relations started worsening when Obama came into office right?
Before that Putin talked about Russia joining Nato, Bush and Putin would meet regularly.
only when Obama came did both countries start pointing their missiles at one another.

[ChapizCholo]

Don't put this on President Trump, he wanted to reset ties with Russia and make the world a less dangerous place, he ran on that and he was elected with that in mind. The Democrats have been villianizing Trump from the beginning creating the Russian narrative.

[Pettifog]

All I know is that it's funny to see old farts try to throw around "commie" like it still has any impact. I hope I never turn into an old fart that believes my political baggage is an existential threat for for the rest of time, and not just some crusty dinosaur idiocy.

[zagor]

Well, communist regimes did murder millions of their own citizens...

[lilaqua]

@zagor as did fascist states

[JesseEllyson]

Interesting viewpoint from a kid who hasn't been around long enough to have formulated an educated or informed opinion. Talk to me again when you've earned a few gray hairs.

[Pettifog]

@JesseEllyson are you saying hair color has some causation with political science?

[lilaqua]

really? Someone who happens to be young but they are relatively informed and well read obviously has a of less valid opinion than a person older than them simply because of their age. Thank you so much for your pearls of wisdom.

[Pettifog]

Reagan was a senile old man that fell asleep during meetings as president.

And all he accomplished was the start of stagnating wages, ballooning the debt and making deals with terrorists.

[JesseEllyson]

@lilaqua It's not a matter of age, strictly speaking. It's about the experience that comes with age. When yo live long enough you start to understand how things actually work and you leave behind those childish notions you had about how things "should" work. And yes, I know that you're not buying that. You think that you are the exception, that you see things perfectly clearly. Age won't change your viewpoint. How could it when you are so obviously right about everything already? That's exactly what I thought when I was your age.

The hardest part comes when you wake up one day and it all hits you at once. That moment when you realize that damn near everything you've believed in all your life was complete shit. It hurts but it's also a little liberating.

[JesseEllyson]

@Pettifog The hair color was a metaphor. I was simply referring to age. You'll learn to catch these tricky little metaphors when you have earned a few gray hairs. (See how I just used the same one again? You caught that, right?)

[Pettifog]

I know what it meant but the idea that age automatically brings wisdom is nothing but a platitude. It's better to stick with the demonstrable facts.

One of those facts is that Americans don't respond to McCarthyist boogeyman in the same way that they did during the red scare. Those days are fading and will only disappear as the imprinted birds that bought that story die out.

[JesseEllyson]

That's funny. You are watching a new cold war develop and you don't even recognize it for what it is. And that, young man, is the difference between youth and experience. Old farts who have seen it before know what to look for. Young pups who think they know everything are always taken by surprise when danger knocks on their doors.

[Pettifog]

Stating some generic and vague platitude doesn't prove anything. That's not facts.

[JesseEllyson]

You keep proving my point about the difference between youth and experience. What you call platitudes are simply observances which you are too young to make or recognize. Don't worry kid, you'll grow up one day. And when you do you'll find yourself having this exact same conversation with some other kid who thinks he knows everything. And you'll shake your head the same way I am now, knowing that he too will one day grow up.

In a way, I envy you. I am not so old that I can't remember being your age. I remember what it was like to have all the answers. I remember how sorry I felt for people who were older, people who were so jaded. And I remember telling myself I would never be like them. But I am grateful to have gotten past those days and you will be too when you get a little older and wiser.

[Pettifog]

Then you don't understand what 'platitudes' means, and this blogging at me is very boring. I am only interested in demonstrable facts when it comes to the tedious subject of politics.

[JesseEllyson]

You sound like a Trump supporter. Not much to be said for that. We all have the right to worship what gods we will but yours is sadly delusional and his insanity endangers not only the nation but the entire world. If you want demonstrable facts to back up my claim that the man is insane you have merely to open your eyes. He demonstrates his insanity on a daily basis. He puts it on display with nearly every Tweet.

But you're correct about one thing. I'm growing bored with you as well. This has gone on long enough. I'll give you the last word. Have fun with it.

[Pettifog]

Wow. I don't know where you got that from, or maybe you are trolling. You are the one defending Reagan. Trump is the culmination of that pedigree so you are very confused.

[HamAndCheese]

Perhaps you should get a therapist. There is treatment for these issues.