Atomic Age

If you would like a quick glimpse into what the cold war was like watch the movie, Thirteen Days. It is about the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cold War and John F. Kennedy. The movie follows the literal thirteen days where America and the Soviet Union almost went to nuclear war.


The movie is a fascinating portrayal of the dynamics and politics of the era. I knew we didn't go to war with the Soviet Union and yet, during the movie I began to doubt because it looked like war was imminent.

The movie starts when our U-2 spy-planes notice that the Soviets are moving mid-range ballistic missiles called 'Frogs' into Cuba, their ally. This is terrifying for the US because it would give the Soviets the ability to deliver a nuclear bomb to any major city in the United States, especially Washington D.C..

America retaliates by establishing strengthening the embargo around Cuba to prevent any more missiles entering the island, but it cannot remove the ones already there. It is interesting to not that the embargo is still in place today, that's why people joke about Cuban Cigars because it is technically illegal to even own them.

Tensions escalate on both sides until the US exposes the Soviets intentions in front of the United Nations, at which point other nations agree that the Soviets should remove their missiles for the safety of the world. It is a lot like the real version of The Sum of All Fears.

Other Pop Culture

If you have seen the movie Julie and Julia, there is a part Julia Child and her husband become very nervous because they are being accused of being soviet spies. If you do not know the history it doesn't make sense. Senator McCarthy from Wisconsin claimed that he knew the identities of 205 soviet spies currently in the government. This was terrifying for the general public, who were always conscious that nuclear war could be just around the corner. Kids were performing 'duck and cover' drills at school for the event of a nuclear bombing, people were going to extremes like building bunkers in their basements for their families.

McCarthy feed off of this fear and started a witch hunt through capitol hill in search of communist spies that could give the Soviet Union an advantage over the US. McCarthy was ruthless and destroyed a number of reputations and entire careers by mere accusation. Even if they weren't convicted, peoples trust in the accused was destroyed because of the overwhelming fear of the time.
 
Current events
Luckily we don't have to worry about nuclear war anymore because the war is over right? Wrong. Nuclear war is just as real today as it ever was. The names and places have just changed. One extreme situation that has me worried is the current conflict between Iran and Israel. Iran is trying as hard as it can to develop nuclear capabilities for 'peaceful energy production' but has openly shown hostility toward Israel.   

Think about the situation. Israel is a tiny country surrounded by larger hostile nations. Israel hasn't been obliterated yet in part because of its close ties with the United States. Iran is a large nation that is actively pursuing nuclear technology, openly opposed to the United States and has hostile foreign policy against Israel.

If Iran strikes first they would wipe Israel off the map. So that gives Israel very limited options. One of those is a preemptive strike that is strong enough to keep Iran from retaliating. That leaves a nuclear bomb. If Israel uses a nuclear bomb against Iran there is a low likelihood that the world would justify such drastic action. So that leaves a situation of America and Israel vs. the rest of the world.


That is just one example of how quickly thinks can get out of hand. There are numurous others with North Korea and terrorist initiatives. We are very much a part of the Atomic Age and it is our responsibility to elect leaders that will navigate these situations tactfully much like JFK in Thirteen Days in order to prevent nuclear war from ever happening