----- Original Message -----
From: K.Feete <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Brin Listserve <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2001 7:13 PM
Subject: Re: American Attitudes
> Joshua Bell wrote:
>
> >"K.Feete" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >>
> >>As for the "dark shadows of communism", turned out to be more a "sort of
> >>grey spot on the wall that America used as an excuse to kill hundreds of
> >>thousands of people, spend millions of billions of dollars, and make a
> >>lot of noise," didn't it?
> >
> >Would it still have been merely a "gray spot on the wall" had America
acted
> >differently? Would the USA have won the Cold War if it hadn't been
fighting
> >it, and making the USSR do likewise?
>
> Hmmm, well, the USSR seemed to collapse all on its own, frankly. I don't
> seem to recall us having much to do with it. And, from my history lessons
> at least, I don't remember America taking any sort of real *action*
> during the Cold War. There was Korea (disaster), Vietnam (*gigantic*
> disaster), the Cuban missile crisis, a lot of posturing, a lot of good
> sci-fi about the possibility of nuclear war, and McCarthy. Whether or not
> this had anything to do with the fall of the USSR is... debatable.
>
Where did you study modern history? You never heard of the Berlin Airlift?
Kat, I marched in anti-war marches in the '60s and I still think that was a
mistake. How best to coutner the Soviet Union is a reasonable question.
But, if I understand correctly, you think that the Soviet Union would not
have leaned on Europe if they were the strongest nation in the world with
only the European armies to defend them.
After WWII, the US decided that appeasment was dangerous, but didn't want a
war with the SovUnion. So, the docterine of containment was established.
The US would thwart the expansion of the Soviet Union, but not attack it
directly. Since the Soviet Union had internal problems, it would fall of
its own accord.
I take it that wasn't taught? It was policy for all US presidents from
Truman on. I think it was developed in 1948, I want to say Dean Atkinson,
but Gautam can correct me if he isn't too busy celebrating finishing his
final Harvard exam.
Dan M.
> Kat Feete
>
>
>
> --------
> They show you how detergents take out bloodstains.
> I think if you've got a T-shirt with bloodstains all
> over it, maybe your laundry isn't your biggest problem.
> - George Carlin
>
>
