Western Fear of Communism
Communism was widely feared during the Cold War era by the Western World, who believed Communism would destroy their capitalist lifestyle. Communist leader Stalin describes communism as a harsh ideology, which is reflected in Stalin’s quote ‘Death is the solution to all problems. No man - no problem.’ This demonstrates why communism was considered a threat to America; it was broadly opposed to the fundamentally capitalist system of economy and private business ownership underpinning the United States of America. The Cuban revolutionary war brought panic to America as Cuba was a small communist country only 2444.81 km from American shores (A+E Networks, 2015). It meant that communism was not on the other side of the world, it was their neighbour.
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This panicked state within American society made it easy for politicians to manipulate the population to ensure support against communism. This manipulation can be seen in a propaganda comic called ‘Is This Tomorrow?’ (Catechetical Guide Educational, 1947), released in America and designed to teach people about the subversive nature of communism. The cartoon depicts a view of what America would be under communism; there are men of different ethnicities fighting each other in the foreground and an American flag being burnt by large red flames in the background. The red flames symbolises the Soviet Union and communism by the flames burning the American flag shows how communism will destroy America. The people fighting in the foreground are showing the conflicting ideologies of communism and capitalism. The message of the cartoon is bias as it is negative towards communism showing anti-communist countries that if America is captured by this ideology a ripple effect will occur and other nations will follow.
Nikita Khrushchev leader of the Soviet Union addressed Western ambassadors in Moscow in 1956 and said ‘Whether you like it or not, we are on the right side of history. We will bury you.’ (Cubanmissilecrisis.org, 2015) While initially Khrushchev related the saying to colonialism, a later speech mentioning burial by the ‘working class’ (Cubanmissilecrisis.org, 2015) reiterates the divide in ideologies and the passionate intensity within the political divide associated with the ideologies. Khrushchev connotes the superiority of communism, and the ultimate destruction of capitalism due superiority. The American reaction to Khrushchev’s comments, given the climate of the time, was understandable – it was perceived as a direct threat. By analysing the strong anti-communist view and fear in America a general idea can be formed on the Western fear of communism as America was heavily influencing other nations.
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'Whether you like it or not, we are on the right side of history. We will busy you.'
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