The Cold War
1947 to 1985

In 1945, WWII had left its final mark on the world population. The US population sky rocketed and reached numbers it had never seen before, let alone imagined. It was in this time that immigaration and the "Baby Boom" became the norm. In spite of this, the US population was becoming dispondant; jobs were becoming harder and harder to find, debts to other nations were being called into play, life was becoming difficult on the homefront. A scape goat was needed... and Joseph Stalin and Chaiman Mao were the perfect marks.

Russia (the USSR in its earlier years), was experiencing the greatest hardships it had ever endured. Marxist Communism had been adopted years before by Vladmir Lennin. After his death, he was successed by Stalin (1922-1953), who was a paranoid egotistical, controlling shovanist. His regime, before and after WWII, consisted of forced labor camps for those who he felt a threat to his power. His most profound effect was the "Great Purge" in the 1930's.

China, a man named Mao Zedong (1945–1976), aka Chairman Mao, siezed power during the peak of the Chinese Civil War (1927-1950). Within the Chairmans reign, he had issued many edicts including "The Anti-Rightist Campaign," and "The Great Leap Forward." His most reknowned issue was the "Cultural Revolution," which is where the military gathered all the intellectuals, artists, and thinkers... and killed them all.

The stage was set, and a new "enemy" of freedom and democracy was found. All that was needed was the final piece of the puzzle... Nuclear Power. As we all know, the bombs fell upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki in early August of 1945. They were days no one could forget.

But a more powerful weapon was in effect from long before even WWII... Mass media. In 1941, a new type of hero found the eyes of children around the US... the superhero Captain America (a failed super soldier). His fight for democracy and the american way spoke volumes as his greatest nemisis, Red Skull, made his way into the picture. Origionally, Red Skull was a Nazi who used Hitler as a front man... but after the fall of Nazi Germany, he became a Communist.

Men, Women, and Children began to take arms against the evil Red Menace. With that, the story began to take effect, and no one will be able to tell where the reality end and the fiction starts. The eyes of the nation began to blur... and no one was safe.

In the first Red Scare (1917-1920), Red Summer (1919) took the populace my storm as a series of letterbombs shook the nation.

J. Edgar Hoover (1895-1972), an avid cross dresser, formed the FBI in 1924. The second Red Scare (early 1940's to the mid 1950's), took effect. People were told on a daily basis to report any "odd" behavior from neighbors, friends, and even family. This sparked paranoia and fear in the populace, even children were eager to become Junior G-men.

The Bay of Pigs, the Korean War, Cuba, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam... all were fassets and guised under the name of fighting Communism. And these all fell into the thriving battle of the Cold War.

In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell... and the entire world took a deep breath. But the peace was short lived due to Chernobyl exploding of 1986 beginning to show genetic problems in the populace. But in 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved into Russia and the Cold War was officially over.

For less than 10 years, the US enjoyed prosperity and relative peace, if you don't factor in the Gulf War. And now, we begin to fall into the old rut. Communism is no longer the threat... it is now "Terrorism." Letter bombs and Anthrax filled the minds of people with paranoia... the Red Scare became the Patriot Act, as people were told to report any "odd" activity of neighbors, friends, and family. The Red Skull became a bilogical weapons engineer.

Those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it... since WWII, the entire world has been, in one way or another, at war with someone. THough the weapons have changed, the means remain the same. There has been no end to WWII...

I understand I left out a lot... but it should be enough to get my point across.