I arrived in Germany for military service when the infamous Berlin Wall was under construction to keep East Germans from escaping to the West. As a 17-year-old, I was aware that what the Soviet Union was doing in East Germany was serious.
This was reflected in the calmness of the moment broken by occasional news of American tanks “going out of bounds” and accidentally destroying the agricultural countryside during their training to prepare for an armored invasion. There were also subsequent tense moments because West Berlin was surrounded by Communist territory.
Two years later, at the height of the Cold War, President Kennedy came by during a trip that took him to Berlin where he delivered an uplifting speech to one hundred and twenty thousand West Berliners. The June 26, 1963 speech, heard and seen around the world, included the celebrated phrase, “Ich bin ein Berliner.”
President Reagan came to Berlin 24 years later and demanded that the Soviet leader Gorbachev “tear down this wall.” The Berlin Wall was such a powerful symbol of the Cold War that its coming down signaled the end of the Soviet Union.The “death” of the Soviet Union left the United States as the only superpower in the world. Yet, the vacuum created by the absence of the adversary began to be slowly filled by other issues no one thought about at the time.
When we think of the Cold War of the 20th Century we immediately go to the Soviet Union and its proxies like the Soviet Block, East Germany, China, Vietnam, Cuba and even Afghanistan. When we think of a “Cold War” in our time, we find the issue more complicated.
On the one hand, we find China and dangerous partners like Russia and North Korea in Asia and on the other side of the world, Iran and agent states such as Yemen and funded organizations like Hamas, Hezbollah among others. As a matter of fact, we are dealing in the short term with a threatened Iranian war on Israel and, on a more strategic level, an invasion of Taiwan by the Chinese who want the island country back.
Given that kind of context, we have failed to think about our domestic political situation then and now. We did not think about the lack of tranquility at home caused by major failures of unity displayed by the minority civil rights movements and the anti-Vietnam War activities led by the young Boomer community of the time.
This time however, the events at home are overshadowing the role of the United States in world affairs. This time, the “Cold War” is occurring at home. It seems almost like there is lull of discontent that precedes a general violent confrontation between two warring factions. Ironically, the issues, although are more complicated, are very similar to those that caused the American Civil War.
In the 19th Century the matter involved the “cotton belt” feeling that the abolition of slavery would doom the South to the economic backwaters of history. The economic argument was bolstered by a racial notion that White supremacy was essential to the well-being of the country.
Is White supremacy not the issue today? Is this not the notion being advanced ever louder as the minority communities of color continue to grow toward a majority?
Does that not make the nature of a new Cold War internal? Does that not serve as a reminder that what causes the demise of a country is the enemy within?
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of laVozColorado. Comments and responses may be directed to News@lavozcolorado.com.
