Historical and Political Conditions
The cold war is commonly characterised by the splitting up and the subsequent rivalry between the two major nuclear powers which were USA and USSR. The two powers also struggled for the control or loyalty of the decolonized nations – third world nations (Anonymous, 2010). Furthermore, the cold war is increasingly being referred to as an era that began in 1947, when a doctrine by Truman aimed at curtailing the spread of communism and expansion of USSR block (Farber, 1994). The era ends in 1991 when the soviet and eastern union began to disintegrate due to diplomatic, military, and economic pressures instilled in the eighties.
The cold war signified the emergence of a new form of imperialism from the two superpowers—USSR and USA. The two powers strived to gain the loyalty of hypothetically self-governing nations who would be dependent on the superpowers and further be subjected to their political, economic, and ideological strategies (Barrington, 2008). As a result of spreading their systems to global economies there resulted to tensions and a cold war ensued between USSR and its satellites and USA and its satellites after World War II.
The imperialism system of Soviet Union was anti-capitalist and advocated for a centralised economic and political system. They also blended economic leverage with military threat to integrate countries that were more developed to form a united territory. The integrated states were to depend on each other for things they did not have in a system called communism (Farber, 1994). The imperialism movement of USA also called capitalist ideologies was characterised by the open door policy. They advocated for private ownership of means of production in an economy with the sole intention of getting income intended for profit and wages (Farber, 1994).
Threats of Cold War to American Citizens
America is a very strong capitals society and communism from the cold war would affect the economy, political and social life the citizens.
Economically, the cold war would lead to increase in poverty amongst American citizens. During the cold war a lot of capital would be invested in gaining control of other territories which would render the populations without wages and profits. There is also a threat of job scarcity and unemployment to the American citizens where many professional from communist economies would immigrate to USA to seek for better employment opportunities. Immigration is because in communist societies there is a peg as to what amount a profession would obtain which is discouraging.
Socially, adults have the threat of being turned into children. This scenario could occur when American citizens marry people of communism territories. People from communist territories have a way of life where in case of difficulties the government would make decisions for them.
Therefore in instances of marriages and economic hindrances occur then social difficulties may follow, such, as domestic violence or even divorces. Politically, the cold war could create strife or result in a hot war where the one party would easily attack the other in case of infringements. The wars and strife could easily result to massive deaths especially when nuclear war is involved.
Preparations for Family Protection
As the head of my family during the cold war crisis, the first step would be in protecting my family from a possible nuclear attack. Even though survival is futile in case of a nuclear attack but my priority would be to move my family away from crowded cities to country locations with less people. This is because nuclear attacks target highly dense populations. The next step would be to arm my family with income generating knowledge such as practical skills in agriculture, business, and even in engineering so that they could be self dependent. The final step would be to educate them on how people from communist societies behave and live and how one can live with them positively. However, the question that begs for further study is since the cold war created two distinct societies how did economies that took a middle ground such as Ghana or Hong Kong relate with the two super powers?
References
Anonymous,. Cold War Redux: U.S., Russia Swap 14 Spies in Vienna. (2010, July). U.S. News & World Report,1. Retrieved May 23, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 2149506891).
Barrington, K. (Wednesday 14th, 2008). Guessess of an Extraordinary Decade. at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7398948.stm
Farber, R.D., & Forner, E. (1994). Age of Great Dreams. New York: Hill and Wang. Chapter 2
