The Menace and Gift of the Cold War: A Brief Cold War Essay

In 1945, George Orwell wrote an essay about how the atomic bomb will discourage open wars. He predicted the tension between “super-states” would result in a “cold war” to avoid a traumatic incident like the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing. This later came true when mutual distrust wrenched the USA-Soviet Union alliance apart the same year Orwell’s cold war essay was published. And this essay will discuss the causes of the Cold War.

The Cold War is as menacing as it sounds. The USA and the Soviet Union did not engage in physical wars: They had a 45-year standoff through political schemes, proxy wars, and propaganda. Think of two businesses trying out to advertise each other. Knowing that both parties had access to atomic and nuclear bombs, USA and SU became wary of each other.

The Cold War began after the USA and the SU won together in World War II against the Nazis. It grew colder in 1948 when the two powerful states started acting on their resentment against each other.

The Soviet Union resented that the USA refused to acknowledge the USSR as a part of the international community. The USA also delayed its entry into WWII, causing mass Russian deaths.

On the other hand, the USA was cautious of the USSR’s ideology. It feared then-USSR ruler Stalin’s alleged plan of conquering nations. 

In the 1980s, a revolution for democracy arose in the USSR, resulting in economic struggles. During this crisis, the opposing parties proposed a truce. Eventually, the monumental division of the USSR into independent nations occurred. After 45 years of awful proxy wars in the East, papers of propaganda, power-play, and the famous “Space Race,” the Cold War finally ended by 1987.

To this day, it is apparent that nations have learned a thing or two from the Cold War. Past wars have shown modern leaders samples of the consequences if the nations let lust for power overcome them. The potential of international friendship and mutual respect to further cultivate a better, sustainable world is the priority.

Indeed, the past is not a good place to live in but a great place to learn from.