Position:Home>History> Cold war interview?

Name- Chris Burbridge
Birth date- (optional) 2/5/66

1!. Do u remember the cuban missile crisis!? If so, what did you think was going to happen at this time!? How did u feel!? Did u discuss it in school!? If so, what was said about it!?

No, that happened a few years before I was born!.

2!. Did u practice Duck and cover drills in school!? What did u think of them!?

No, too young for that!.

3!. How did u feel about the Soviet Union!? What did your parents and school teach u!?

There was this ever foreboding fear that you felt, that there was this "evil enemy," and even though we really didn't believe that in Berkeley, California, still, it was scary!. The nuclear war fear!. The sense that they were so different from us!. It was hard to know whether to believe the propaganda about how "bad" they were!. The news really painted a very bleak picture, and you would mostly only hear negative things, and it was depicted as this big, ominous, scary place!.

4!. How did u feel when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik!?

Sorry, too young!.

5!. What were ur fears about a nuclear war!?

Ominous foreboding feeling, that we are all just happily going about our lives, doing whatever we're doing, but !.!.!. it could all instantly be over !.!. and there was NOTHING we could do about it!

Now, in my world, the fears of terrorism that you might relate to this, are not quite the same!. Scary, but !.!.!. frankly, not as ominous, I'm going to have to say!.

I always thought this was why it was called a "cold" war!. Nobody talked about it!. What could you say!? I became aware of all this in the late 70's, early 80's, in junior high school!. We learned about nuclear winter -- the possibility that if a nuclear war started, it would precipitate a cloud cover over the world that would block out a lot of the sun, and it would get very cold, and most of life would just die!. I have to tell you, this really sucked!. And the thing about it was, it was this everyday, vague possibility!. Nothing like an IMPENDING possibility, but this thought in the back of your mind, that it COULD happen!. I think it affected us all more than we knew!.

Many people have attributed the birth of the punk movement to this reality!. The idea that we might not be alive in a few years!. A nihilism!.

6!. What did you think about VietnaM

I was a little kid when this was happening!. Seemed like this weird thing that was going on, that people didn't like, but I don't know if I can say much more than that, firsthand!.

7!. How did u feel when the Berlin wall came down!?

Great!. But what really got me excited was when the dictator of Romania had to flee the country, and got caught at the border, and was brought back, and had to stand trial!. That was a REALLY repressive country!. I had been studying about Eastern Europe at the time, and when the clock radio woke me up to NPR that morning, and I heard this, I practically wanted to cry, I was so happy!. This was such a blessing!.

Of course, hearing about the people in the square in the center of Leipzig (East Germany) rattling their keys, and then in East Berlin, if I remember correctly!. And they wouldn't leave!. And every night they came out more, and more !.!. And for some reason, the very repressive police just stood by and let them do it!. And then, it all just collapsed!. You should see the movie The Lives of Others!. It is really good; just came out, about this time!.

8!. How did u feel when the USSR broke up!?

Very positive thing, I would say!. Lots of problems there now, but !.!. well, that was a very problematic system, because it was so dictatorial, and secretive!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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