I am speaking of the Red Scare, Cold War, Cuban Crisis and Communists scare when saying anti-Russia sentiment. These are the things that are in the DNA of an awful lot of Americans. And yes. President Biden exhibited masterful skill in attacking Putin and not the Russians.
I am speaking of the Red Scare, Cold War, Cuban Crisis and Communists scare when saying anti-Russia sentiment. These are the things that are in the DNA of an awful lot of Americans. And yes. President Biden exhibited masterful skill in attacking Putin and not the Russians.
leaders turn populations against each other, and once the shooting starts it is usually too late. the cuban missile crisis was all about optics. the missiles in cuba would have been on above ground platforms and would have taken hours to deploy. meanwhile, there were missiles on russian nuclear subs off of both us coasts, not to mention missiles in underground silos in siberia. these were the real threat, but they were out of sight and out of mind for most americans. russia, meanwhile, was in paranoia mode. at a time when russia controlled the iron curtain countries from poland to bulgaria, she still thought of herself as 'surrounded' by enemy missiles, a laughable notion. kruschchev agreed to 'turn his ships around' when kennedy agreed to remove us missiles from turkey. kennedy hadn't even known they were there. in her second paragraph, HCR mentions the failed polish uprising in warsaw. it failed because of a cold-blooded decision on russia's part. the russian army was at the gates and the days of the germans were numbered. the polish underground asked that, as a matter of polish pride, they be allowed to signal the final offensive against the germans by coming out into the open to begin the battle, after which the russians would move in to assure victory. the russians agreed. but when the fighting started, the russians did nothing. the resistance leaders were all captured or killed in the german counteroffensive. then the russians moved in. without firing a shot the russians had killed off the future leaders of poland, the best, the bravest. this made it much easier for russia to control poland after the war. it took poland two generations to find new leaders, a pope and a shipyard electrician, who led a revolution in which less than ten people died. this has to be one of the great achievements of human history.
"the russians agreed. but when the fighting started, the russians did nothing. the resistance leaders were all captured or killed in the german counteroffensive. then the russians moved in. without firing a shot the russians had killed off the future leaders of poland, the best, the bravest. this made it much easier for russia to control poland after the war."
So Russian. Today, Russian Putin says one thing and does another. Things don't change.
"These are the things that are in the DNA of an awful lot of Americans."
Absolutely. We have been drowned in anti-communist propaganda for a long time. Consider the many Hollywood dramatic and documentary films of the late 1940s and '50s which brought a rabid anti-communist message to Americans. (Sen. Joe McCarthy really capitalized on this.) We were bathed and fed with endless propaganda, and that message has further been instilled in subsequent generations. Even the word "socialism" can trigger fear and anger in so many millions of Americans today.
Of course not. But Socialism seems to be the 'fear' most referred to here in the U.S. People can't even imagine Communism here, so it doesn't get an audience. But Socialism is the most often bug-a-boo used to frighten the masses.
The question is: how do you define propaganda? Seems to me that propaganda can have a kernel of truth or a lot of truth or absolutely no truth. ItтАЩs a matter of a person or organization or government who is trying to get another person or group to believe what the propagandist tells them to believe. ItтАЩs not a give-and-take discussion in pursuit of truth. In comparison, I think propaganda is to truth as indoctrination is to teaching. It all depends on the material and the approach.
In the 1950s U.S., I was a child and early adolescent. There was a plethora of anti-communist films, TV programs, and news accounts to accompany the Red scare going on in government and industry. People became afraid to question things for fear of being branded a communist or communist sympathizer. To be branded such meant you could lose your job and home, friends, and on. (I imagine the same process happened in Russia regarding capitalism and capitalists.) It was a bit of ongoing hysteria. We began to hear the term тАЬcommunist propagandaтАЭ a lot. For many Americans, that was a redundant term; that is, communist = propaganda. Further, that Americans didnтАЩt create propaganda because we spoke truth, and we trusted our government. The term was so often driven into the public consciousness that it became a deep part of our psyche, and so lingers to some degree to this day. It was almost epigenetic. Might as well have been since it has passed from one generation to another.
It's a fascinating topic and can be discussed on and on. Overall, I believe the pursuit of truth is the worthiest goal, and I believe thatтАЩs what we try to do here as we share information, experiences, and opinions.
I am speaking of the Red Scare, Cold War, Cuban Crisis and Communists scare when saying anti-Russia sentiment. These are the things that are in the DNA of an awful lot of Americans. And yes. President Biden exhibited masterful skill in attacking Putin and not the Russians.
leaders turn populations against each other, and once the shooting starts it is usually too late. the cuban missile crisis was all about optics. the missiles in cuba would have been on above ground platforms and would have taken hours to deploy. meanwhile, there were missiles on russian nuclear subs off of both us coasts, not to mention missiles in underground silos in siberia. these were the real threat, but they were out of sight and out of mind for most americans. russia, meanwhile, was in paranoia mode. at a time when russia controlled the iron curtain countries from poland to bulgaria, she still thought of herself as 'surrounded' by enemy missiles, a laughable notion. kruschchev agreed to 'turn his ships around' when kennedy agreed to remove us missiles from turkey. kennedy hadn't even known they were there. in her second paragraph, HCR mentions the failed polish uprising in warsaw. it failed because of a cold-blooded decision on russia's part. the russian army was at the gates and the days of the germans were numbered. the polish underground asked that, as a matter of polish pride, they be allowed to signal the final offensive against the germans by coming out into the open to begin the battle, after which the russians would move in to assure victory. the russians agreed. but when the fighting started, the russians did nothing. the resistance leaders were all captured or killed in the german counteroffensive. then the russians moved in. without firing a shot the russians had killed off the future leaders of poland, the best, the bravest. this made it much easier for russia to control poland after the war. it took poland two generations to find new leaders, a pope and a shipyard electrician, who led a revolution in which less than ten people died. this has to be one of the great achievements of human history.
"the russians agreed. but when the fighting started, the russians did nothing. the resistance leaders were all captured or killed in the german counteroffensive. then the russians moved in. without firing a shot the russians had killed off the future leaders of poland, the best, the bravest. this made it much easier for russia to control poland after the war."
So Russian. Today, Russian Putin says one thing and does another. Things don't change.
"These are the things that are in the DNA of an awful lot of Americans."
Absolutely. We have been drowned in anti-communist propaganda for a long time. Consider the many Hollywood dramatic and documentary films of the late 1940s and '50s which brought a rabid anti-communist message to Americans. (Sen. Joe McCarthy really capitalized on this.) We were bathed and fed with endless propaganda, and that message has further been instilled in subsequent generations. Even the word "socialism" can trigger fear and anger in so many millions of Americans today.
Socialism and Communism are not the same thing.
Of course not. But Socialism seems to be the 'fear' most referred to here in the U.S. People can't even imagine Communism here, so it doesn't get an audience. But Socialism is the most often bug-a-boo used to frighten the masses.
Anti-communist propaganda? You sure all of it was propaganda? Or was it a rational fear based upon Russia's actions following World War II?
The question is: how do you define propaganda? Seems to me that propaganda can have a kernel of truth or a lot of truth or absolutely no truth. ItтАЩs a matter of a person or organization or government who is trying to get another person or group to believe what the propagandist tells them to believe. ItтАЩs not a give-and-take discussion in pursuit of truth. In comparison, I think propaganda is to truth as indoctrination is to teaching. It all depends on the material and the approach.
In the 1950s U.S., I was a child and early adolescent. There was a plethora of anti-communist films, TV programs, and news accounts to accompany the Red scare going on in government and industry. People became afraid to question things for fear of being branded a communist or communist sympathizer. To be branded such meant you could lose your job and home, friends, and on. (I imagine the same process happened in Russia regarding capitalism and capitalists.) It was a bit of ongoing hysteria. We began to hear the term тАЬcommunist propagandaтАЭ a lot. For many Americans, that was a redundant term; that is, communist = propaganda. Further, that Americans didnтАЩt create propaganda because we spoke truth, and we trusted our government. The term was so often driven into the public consciousness that it became a deep part of our psyche, and so lingers to some degree to this day. It was almost epigenetic. Might as well have been since it has passed from one generation to another.
It's a fascinating topic and can be discussed on and on. Overall, I believe the pursuit of truth is the worthiest goal, and I believe thatтАЩs what we try to do here as we share information, experiences, and opinions.
We comment pertinent to the writings of Dr. Richardson mostly.
Even the countries that were subjected to soviet rule are anti-communist. They lived it, unwillingly.