The Cold war is not perceived to have presented a real threat to the United States of America. It is just depicted to be propaganda between two rival super powers, the United States and the then Soviet Union. These two powers were constantly in the war of words over who was powerful at the time. The Cold war prevailed over a long duration and was fought in various battles such as the Vietnamese war with both the two countries taking sides. This, with the Korean War are considered to be the only battles fought between the two countries. This is inadequate to describe the intense rivalry that existed between these two nations and their affiliates.
In many historical events, the United States has employed propaganda aimed at winning supremacy battles with its rivals. Almost immediately after the end of World War II the United States shifted from war propaganda to the Cold war. In the 1950s the United States used propaganda as an instrument aimed at exposing the bad side of communism and to counter the growing euphoria in many countries affiliated to the Soviet Union. This period is tagged in history as the ‘Red scare’ a period characterized by hysteria over the communism. The government played a central role in promoting this hysteria which came in the form of books, movies, brochures and government services. It is even striking to note that it was also taught in school. This alone describes the intensity to which the United States was determined in advancing propaganda against its enemy. This propaganda is noted for its negative influence. It was characterized with luring the general population with falsified or exaggerated information aimed at winning their hearts or invoking an intended feeling and general opinion.
Both the United States and the Soviet Union used propaganda. On one hand the United States employed the use of movies and the media while on the other hand the Soviet Union preferred to boast over their military might and equipment. Early in 1950, the cold war could not be regarded a virtual enemy since it had a concrete threat in form of the Soviet Union and in particular Stalin, who was then the leader of the Soviet. Many hurdles were met in the war against communism championed by the Soviet Union. This included the Korean deadlock and the defeat of China which was an emerging communist power. There was always a search for a scapegoat in the communist conspiracy with people engaging in blame games with many people drawn to this phenomenon.
Many institutions including schools and state organs sought to rid themselves this conspiracy. There was a constant. There was a fear of association with communism among American nationals sparking widespread hysteria in the United States. The result of this was the persecution of some government workers and people suspected to be sympathizers of the Soviet nations. Senator McCarthy was one of the personalities to come into the spotlight over the cold war. He publicly claimed that he had a list of close to 200 communist sympathizers working in state departments. He led to the ousting of many communists from these departments which affected many other people. Many individuals were later to be blacklisted in the United States job market due to their communist secret intentions.
McCarthy’s approach, however bold and radical it was, genuine spies used this as a loophole to gain sympathy from observers. A few people cast McCarthy’s technique to be so radical and irrational. McCarty emerged the most visible individual during this period that was characterized by extreme tension. With the help of his assistants he investigated many individuals while he sought evidence against communism. His claims, despite lacking ground or proof, were later to be adored by the general population leading to emergence of a phenomenon termed McCarthyism. This led to unconfirmed and invalid accusations on the patriotism of some individuals. Political opponents came under public scrutiny bringing their patriotism under question. Any opponent to his policies was suspected to be communist.
There emerged a new threat in this war. The television, despite not being colored and a little costly, many individuals had access to it. This was a new strategy used in the propaganda against communism since it became a new way of interacting with the masses. Commercial classifieds aired on television portrayed American consumers to be perfect which helped promote the view of supremacy of capitalism championed by Americans. The television was in some instances used to show movies in which Americans defeated Native Americans in war, which worked to enhance and cement the notion that the United States was superior to the Soviet Union.
One of the main tools for propaganda in America was the radio. It is worthy of note that while very few individuals possessed television sets, the radio was accessible to every citizen at that time. It made people and families gather during prime time news or during some entertainment programs aired. The radio was held with high regard and people often placed it at the center of the living room and keeping it dusted at regular intervals. This was a huge win for the protagonists of capitalism since this was a very viable weapon of enhancing propaganda. It was used as a major way of interacting with the masses. The United States government majorly influenced broadcasts. The government invested heavily in radio propaganda spending over ten million dollars promoting Voice of America in different countries including the Philippines and parts of Japan and Germany. The United States introduced biased programs aimed at shifting the opinion of individuals over communism and the Soviet Union. The Voice of America is noted for the spread of propaganda known widely in history as ‘Black propaganda’
The Hollywood industry came into the spotlight for its role in spreading propaganda. This was especially true after the events of McCarthy and the phenomenon of McCarthyism. Movies that were previously lighthearted and aimed at being entertaining shifted gear and began having sinister themes. The films worked in creating the notion that communism was a threat and that the Soviet Union was in the verge of taking over leadership in world politics unless Americans stood up against them. The films encouraged Americans to get rid of communism at their midst. An ideal Hollywood film depicted an American family with a perfect lifestyle. These American values would then be threatened by communist ideas and it would take solidarity and patriotism to rid of these ideas. Some films were dedicated to casting communism in bad light. The US government began to fund movies that worked to promoted capitalism while dramatizing the communist traditions. Some took a comic twist, using comedy to shed communist activities in poor light. These movies which include ‘Red nightmare’ were very instrumental in spreading government propaganda against communism. In fact, some of them were incorporated into the curriculum.
Literature was viewed as a cheap way of feeding the people with massive propaganda. Both fictional texts and comic ones were used in this battle of propaganda. The government quickly saw this as a simple way of instilling hysteria among the citizens including students and seized the opportunity. The government decided to subsidize these books making some of them extremely cheap so as to get in the hands of as many readers as possible. Books that majorly focused on a heroic character defeating American enemies such as the Soviet Union became major hits and among the best sellers. The story line would for instance focus on a soldier who went to war with the Soviets and in the end emerged victorious. In another instance, the events in the novel would surround ordinary American citizens and their fight with communist values in their society. These texts were almost always biased and they often focused on the negative side of communism. The books depicted communism as a threat that was always lurking and ready to attack at any time. This was aimed at shifting the opinion of the reader into believing that communism and its sympathizers were always enemies. These books targeted young readers such as children with the aim of winning hysteria at a young age. The US government later sponsored the pinning of anti-communism posters in schools and public places. These posters had a predictable message. They emphasized on the urgency and need to fight communism insisting that it was a real time threat seeking for an opportunity to strike.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) is noted for its crucial involvement in the cold war and other events associated with it. The FBI agents were very instrumental in fighting this battled. It is reported that in 1950, a number of former federal agents assisted by a producer, were behind publishing of a pamphlet labeled ‘Red channels’. This publication incriminated a number of close to 150 producers, performers and their directors for their role in conspiracies before the World War II demanding that they too be blacklisted. The other people suspected of similar conspiracies had been blacklisted including communist sympathizers such as publications mad by the Communist party. These agents and their associates facilitated the supplying of copies of this publication tagged the ‘Red channels’ to employers in the entertainment industry. This publication had strong recommendations which included the blacklisting of individuals suspected to be sympathizers of communism. It proposed that those listed appear before a panel the ‘House of Un-American Activities’ and denounce their involvement with these activities. They were later required to publicly declare that they have abandoned their radical activities. In 1945, the Federal agents carried out a raid on premises run by Amerasia, a publication company that supplied magazines. This company had many links with the Soviet Union. The FBI discovered numerous government documents that contained information regarded as classified.
With the introduction of the Atomic Energy Act in the later part of 1946, the FBI was entrusted with the responsibility of scrutinizing and determining the loyalty of people before handing them the authority to have access to classified information about the atomic bomb.
A policy was passed that required any individual that held information regarding communist sympathizers to report it to the FBI. The government required that people with information about conspiracies connected to communism be reported to state agents. The FBI embarked on supplying posters to various police department that explained the details of these requirements.
Paranoia began taking its toll in the 50s during the height of the cold war. This was due to many issues that depicted the communist nations as a threat. Key among them was the threat by the Soviet nations to develop an atomic bomb. This was seen as a major threat to the security of the US. The fears were worsened with Klaus confirming that he had given information with regards to constructing the atomic bomb. There were other fears that indicated the intention of the communist North Korea invading South Korea backed by communist allies such as China and Russia. There were later events that saw former communists publicly confess their spying activities. This heightened fears among US nationals who were not ready to give into communism at any cost.
Once people were overwhelmed with hysteria, there emerged a gradual but constant feeling of mistrust among individuals. People were thrown into the confusion of choosing whom to trust and whom not to. Previously close friends were thrown into the confusion of being torn in between personal loyalty and patriotism coupled with the fear of victimization. Many scholars wrote on patriotism and the need for Americans uniting in the War against communism, an event that saw the public making fronts and joining the government in the war against the enemy. The public opinion was in favor of the government in historical events such as the Vietnamese war. The US government won its mission of creating public opinion and hatred towards the Soviet states thereby getting the backing of the public in events such as wars on enemies on the pretext of fighting communism.
Works Cited
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