There were many interesting pages in America’s history that continue drawing attention both of the US citizens and the representatives of other countries even now. One of such pages was the Cold War – the period of geopolitical tension that started after the World War II between the US and the Soviet Union. Some historians and politicians emphasize that despite the announced quest to safeguard the American things during that historical period, the government’s actions encouraged people to behave in the “un-American” way.
While the government made efforts to spread the idea of the Great American Boom and convince the world that everything was excellent in the country, there were many individuals who could disagree.1 The life was rather complicated and even “hypocritical” due to the citizens’ apprehensions about their future.2 One of the things that America had always been proud of was the high quality of life that it gave to its people. However, during the Cold War, the new economy led to the power of consumption that outlined citizens’ spiritual comfort. The habit of economizing that had always been the country’s pride stopped being patriotic.3
Another thing that was contradictory to the usual American values was the enormous gap between the level of life pertaining to White and Black people. While the US had always proclaimed the right to freedom, it appeared to be the place where that right was given only to a particular group of individuals.4 Popular TV shows glorified children as the center of family life, but that concerned only Caucasian families. The Blacks had no possibility to give their children the best things since they had to struggle to provide them with at least the most sufficient ones.
There was one more issue concerned with the racial inequality that undermined the endeavor to preserve the American things. While the country had always boasted its care about veterans, it provided those who returned from the war with unequal opportunities.5 The GI Bill offered a number of social security possibilities for the veterans such as housing and education. However, the opportunity door was closed for the Afro-American veterans. If a person was brave enough to enter a university, they were doomed to be left out of any social life events and sports activities.
A crucial issue related to the Cold War was the negligence of women’s rights. Although America had proclaimed the rights to work and independence, it was not in a hurry to provide females with those rights. Instead of letting women be equal participants in all the spheres of life, the government pictured them as the attributes and servants to husbands.6 Women were given the role of a caregiver rather than an individual capable of taking important decisions.
In his book “The Road to Serfdom,” Hayek mocked the ideas of collectivism and considered the central planning decision-making responsible for tyranny.7 The US was confronting the Soviet Union, but at the same time, many actions of its government made the lives of some people unbearable. Hayek mentioned that mobilizing the country’s economy led to the refusal of significant freedoms.8 Also, he emphasized that some promises made by the government were utopian, and people were being deceived deliberately.
Therefore, the Cold War America did not perform sufficient protection of the things that had been considered American. People’s apprehension grew stronger as they noticed the unfair treatment from the government. Such politics led to the initiation of civil rights movements and other actions of protest.
Bibliography
Hayek, Friedrich. “The Road to Serfdom.” SCRIBD. Web.
Shi, David Emory, and George Brown Tindall. America: A Narrative History. 10th ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2016.
Footnotes
- David Emory Shi and George Brown Tindall, America: A Narrative History, 10th ed. (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2016), 1259.
- Ibid.
- Ibid., 1267.
- Ibid., 1268.
- Ibid., 1269-1271.
- David Emory Shi and George Brown Tindall, America: A Narrative History, 10th ed. (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2016), 1272-1273.
- Friedrich Hayek, “The Road to Serfdom,” SCRIBD. Web.
- Friedrich Hayek, “The Road to Serfdom,” SCRIBD. Web.