As Ursula Franklin stated in her 1987 paper, Reflections on Theology and Peace, “peace is not the absence of war—peace is the absence of fear." In my opinion, the Cold War accurately demonstrates this definition of peace. The Cold War was a period in history where peace was nonexistent because of the fear present in the minds of Americans.
The Cold War, despite being a drawn-out period of tension and hostilities between primarily the Soviet Union and the United States, had an absence of actual military conflict. Although there were proxy wars supported by the two superpowers during the decades of the Cold War, the two sides never engaged directly in full-scale armed combat, hence the word "cold". Aside from the development and rapid proliferation of the two sides' nuclear arsenals, the struggle for dominance was expressed via proxy wars, psychological warfare, massive propaganda campaigns and espionage, rivalry at sports events, and technological competitions such as the Space Race.However, this was a period of time that was full of fear. During the Cold War, even when there was no outright conflict, there was the constant fear of a nuclear war and …show more content…
Each side had a nuclear strategy based on the doctrine of mutually assured destruction, which was a departure from traditional military strategy. Attacks were discouraged because an attack on one side would result in the complete destruction of the attacker. This paradox of building up nuclear war arsenals not to use during a nuclear war, but precisely to prevent it was a dangerous military strategy to take on and created fear among officials and civilians alike. During the Cold War, despite the absence of direct conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, no one could say that there were living in peace or that it was a peaceful time. The presence of fear in American society resulted in an absence of
The Cold War, despite being a drawn-out period of tension and hostilities between primarily the Soviet Union and the United States, had an absence of actual military conflict. Although there were proxy wars supported by the two superpowers during the decades of the Cold War, the two sides never engaged directly in full-scale armed combat, hence the word "cold". Aside from the development and rapid proliferation of the two sides' nuclear arsenals, the struggle for dominance was expressed via proxy wars, psychological warfare, massive propaganda campaigns and espionage, rivalry at sports events, and technological competitions such as the Space Race.However, this was a period of time that was full of fear. During the Cold War, even when there was no outright conflict, there was the constant fear of a nuclear war and …show more content…
Each side had a nuclear strategy based on the doctrine of mutually assured destruction, which was a departure from traditional military strategy. Attacks were discouraged because an attack on one side would result in the complete destruction of the attacker. This paradox of building up nuclear war arsenals not to use during a nuclear war, but precisely to prevent it was a dangerous military strategy to take on and created fear among officials and civilians alike. During the Cold War, despite the absence of direct conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, no one could say that there were living in peace or that it was a peaceful time. The presence of fear in American society resulted in an absence of